What Is an Agency Report?

An agency report is a formal and comprehensive report created by an agency or firm that contains various data such as profit margins, organizational strategies, ROIs, financial data, etc. The report is typically presented to the agency’s clients, customers, and other stakeholders within a specified period of time.  

According to a report by Statista, there were 13,845 advertising agencies in 2019. A decline was observed in the number of agencies. Back in 2007, there were 14,355 advertising agencies in the United States. 

Types of Agencies

Agency is a broad word, so it can encompass several different meanings. In a professional and business sense, an agency is essentially an organization that delivers different services and products to a particular target market. The following examples describe just some of these common types of agencies. 

Advertising Agency. One of the most well-known types of agencies is an advertising agency. They specialize in marketing and promotions. And since advertising can come in many shapes and forms, an agency may offer several kinds of services to clients. From billboard advertising to promotional events to digital marketing and social media management, each client would normally receive customized service based on their specific needs and objectives. It is quite common for advertising agencies to act as third party service providers. Different companies and industries may tap their services to help with the sales and marketing aspect of their business. Advertising agencies can have a range of different clients from all sectors and industries. Whether it’s a real estate developer, food establishment, hospitality brand, or even a ride-sharing company, any business that needs an effective marketing strategy can engage the services of an advertising agency. Travel Agency. Another type of service-oriented agency is a travel agency. These types of businesses offer various travel-related services including visa application processing and help with transportation and accommodation. Travel agencies are also known to offer customers different tour packages and personalized travel itineraries. For the price of convenience and assistance, many travelers-especially families and big travel groups- opt to engage the services of a third party travel agency instead of doing everything themselves. From booking flights to hotel reservations to airport transfers, the agency’s main objective is to help in ensuring smooth travel transactions for their clients. Most travel agencies are relatively small or medium in size. Many of them establish partnerships and special agreements with different airlines, hotels and tourist attraction centers as part of their business. Government Agency. In the public sector, there can be many branches of government agencies. Each agency serves a particular purpose as part of the larger system of governance. Whether it is social security, healthcare, education, economic planning or welfare, government or federal agencies are mandated to help address the basic needs and deliver basic services to a nation’s citizenry. It is a well-known fact that government agencies can be highly bureaucratic. But excessive red tape can diminish the capacity of government agencies to extend help to its citizens. Thus, good governance and servant leadership are key for fully functional and reliable federal institutions and state agencies. But if the system is riddled with corruption and patronage politics, establishing reputable and transparent agencies can prove to be difficult and challenging. Manpower Agency. Another common type of agency is a manpower agency. These types of agencies typically act as independent service contractors that supply labor or manpower to individual clients and companies. It is pretty common for companies to outsource workers instead of hiring them organically. For instance, hospitality and construction companies often tap third party manpower agencies for their housekeeping staff and manual laborers. Generally, the hotel or construction company has no direct authority over the hired staff. If the client or company encounters any problem with the individual, the issue is elevated to the manpower agency and they are responsible for resolving the situation.

Tips for Writing an Agency Report

Since an agency report can have several objectives, it can vary in content and format. But in a more general sense, you can improve the quality of your agency report by keeping in mind a few tips. The following examples are just some simple yet effective tips on writing a basic agency report.    

Be highly descriptive. When writing an agency report, it is important to use highly descriptive language. A good report is essentially a measure of how well you can explain. Regardless of the objective, a well-written report should be descriptive and informative in nature. Try to use active or action-oriented words and make sure not to leave out the important details. But perhaps more than displaying excellent written communication, it is also crucial to be accurate in your reporting and ensure that its content is based on facts or informed and educated opinions. Lastly, you want to avoid overly general and vague statements as well. Keep it direct to the point but also interesting enough to keep the reader engaged. Provide visual aids. Another useful tip to remember is to incorporate visuals into your report. You can always just publish a report plainly and simply. However, a lot of people find long or lengthy blocks of text dull and uninteresting. If you want to capture and retain the reader’s interest, it would be a good idea to introduce pictures and other visual aids just to break the monotony of text in your report. You can include graphs, charts, figures, statistics and other similar elements to represent your data in a more visually appealing way. These are not merely for presentation purposes, but pie charts and bar graphs can be highly effective as supporting evidence to back up your claims. You can even use bright and contrasting colors to really highlight the data in your visual aids. Include the negative side too. The general goal of writing an agency report is essentially to inform. But in addition to merely being a vehicle for information, it must also be accurate and transparent. This means that the agency report should be a realistic representation of its actual state. In a lot of cases, the reality is that it is not always praise and positive affirmations. So aside from only highlighting the achievements or successes, you can also include the difficulties, challenges or even failures encountered. The point of acknowledging the ‘negative’ side too is to establish the opportunity for initiating improvement and change. By realizing that there is room for improvement, the agency can take the necessary steps that will allow them to learn and grow.

How to Create an Agency Report

Creating a comprehensive agency report takes careful planning and preparation. The report’s specific content would greatly depend on the objective or type of agency as well. But if you are looking for quick and reliable templates to use as reference, you can easily download any of the editable templates above. Simply choose one that suits your needs and follow the basic steps below.    

Step 1: Prepare an Outline

The first step in making an agency report is to create an outline. A report can contain all types of information that it is sometimes a challenge to organize everything in a logical order. Having an outline can help you organize your thoughts and information better. It breaks your entire report into subsections so it does not become too overwhelming to create. This stage is merely the preparation phase but it is an important process if you want a clearer and more focused agency report. If you are unsure of how to prepare a report outline, you can browse the numerous sample templates above for more ideas.  

Step 2: Present the Data  

Once you have planned out your outline, the next step is presenting the data. As discussed in the previous sections, a report is essentially explaining and describing a set of information. How you format or present this information is entirely up to you. For example, you can start by presenting the most significant or recent data and work your way from there. Relevance is key. Thus, it is absolutely vital that you have a deep understanding of your agency’s objective as well. It should be able to guide you as you make your report and as you discern which data to include and omit. Lastly, try to keep the reader or audience in mind. If you are writing for a customer or a client, put yourself in their shoes and visualize what kind of information they might be after. 

Step 3: Provide Recommendations

Sharing data is one thing, acting on it and applying what you learned are a whole different discussion. Once you have reported and presented your data, the next section should be dedicated to concrete plans and action steps. In other words, you have to provide the appropriate recommendations that will help solve whatever is lacking or what areas need improvement. Detailing the next steps is crucial because it is the only way to move forward and apply the lessons and insights learned from the report. 

Step 4: Review and Revise 

The last step is to review your report and make the necessary revisions, if needed. Skipping this often overlooked step can be a mistake. Like with any formal report, an agency report must be proofread and reviewed so as to avoid mistakes and future inconvenience. Go over your report once or twice before submitting the final version. If possible, you can also have a trusted colleague or supervisor evaluate or double check it to be sure. Although it’s not always necessary, any revisions or modifications made to the report should likewise be documented and critiqued.

FAQs

What is an agency report?

An agency report is a comprehensive and written report that an agency publishes for their clients, partners, stakeholders, or any particular audience. The report is meant to inform, share and monitor agency data.


How do you write an agency report?

To write a formal agency report, you need to prepare the necessary information beforehand. Be sure you know the objective for crafting the report. Present the data in an organized and logical manner. Take note that content and format may vary depending on individual and organizational needs. Refer to the previous section for a more detailed tutorial guide on how to create a basic agency report.


What is AgencyAnalytics?

According to Backlinko, AgencyAnalytics is a software application that is used to help marketing agencies and similar firms manage and report results to their different clients and customers.

A good agency report is comprehensive, detailed and useful. The report should also be informative and insightful. Browse the wide collection of free sample templates above, choose one that suits your needs and create an agency report of your own!