We've all seen the swanky offices of big-time agencies, the fancy coffee makers and state of the art conference rooms with sound-proof windows. There are many things agencies have done wrong during the recession, such as laying off expert staff in a panic, or not prioritizing business needs properly. However, there are agencies who worked through the toughest time in a plaguing 2009 economy, and now as the recovery begins with its noticeably slow pace, here are four things that our CEO, Dennis Franczak, suggests agencies must do right in order to be successful as we move into the new decade.
1) Spend time thinking about the client. It's one thing to execute a plan and produce deliverables to the client, and clearly another to provide "thinking time" for them. Thinking about a client's business is the most genuine part of the relationship. It's productive, it's personal, and it communicates to the client that you care and are interested about their brand's well-being.
2) Enough with the constant billing! I can't tell how people should run their business, but I can understand the frustration clients face when they receive their monthly bill and it includes charges for each time they picked up the phone to call their agency for advice or direction. If agencies want to produce good work, then the communication between client and agency should be open. Fear of over charging can lead to major miscommunications and other blunders that can be costly on both sides. It's important to agree on an estimate for each job that makes sense to both sides, but ballooning fees that make no sense to the client will eventually set you back.
3) The big idea, re-energize! Finding the big idea for every ad, PR and social media campaign is the key to success. Unfortuantely, many agencies don't spend the time to come up with one solid positioning statement for a brand, and rather create a mosaic of ideas that relate, but don't necessarily communicate a strong message. We're in a message cluttered world now more than ever. Agencies must work closely with their clients to develop those key messages that will form a holistic marketing campaign
4) Credibility and then more credibility. In an era where everyone is the writer of something, information lacks credibility. Agencies stand out because of their quality of work, their track record of servicing clients, awards, successful campaigns, and so forth. Spend the time to do some internal PR and use the tools of today to communicate what your agency does to add value to your clients' brands. Writing a concise blog that provides useful information that readers can benefit from is a great beginning. Discussing agency work in a case study is another way to start building credibility. You will shine not only in SEO searches, but in the eyes of your current and prospective clients.
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