Agency business development implications from longer CMO tenure

June 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Hello, agency new business development fan! Wanted to make sure you saw that the CMO tenure has been increasing over time. From a low point of 23 months in 2006 to its current average term of a whopping 43 months. (See Forbes post.)

Gotta love that. You will be reading a couple of posts around this news. But this post will address a unique area in which agencies can help ensure your agency sticks around for all that time. Thinking around this area can also help you earn and win a new business pitch.

The afore mentioned Forbes post is a quick, fine read. What caught my attention was a comment from the VISA CMO around why he has been able to keep his job for so long (49 months). He attributes his tenure to delivering against three parameters:

  1. business results
  2. brand results
  3. broader organizational impact

Gotta love the above even more, right? You can read about business and brand results on other terrific new business blogs. It’s fairly straightforward kinda stuff that the industry will continue to wrestle with, optimize, deliver, yadda yadda…

But to me, the third bullet is the most interesting thought.

How to create broader impact
This is most interesting because it gets at two cool thoughts:

1. Re-purpose and re-fine the agency / client relationship
I’m not quite sure if that consultant-speak delivers the thought. Might be better to illustrate this with as few sample questions:

  • How might your brand definition work effect a client’s HR policy?
  •  How does your consumer understanding effect the make-up of things like their sales channels, DMA selection or product R&D?
  • When and how is your agency involved in new client initiatives? Who’s in the room on the client side?
  • What services might your competently supply that would get other people in that room?

All agencies deliver business or brand results. Fewer agencies deliver thinking, ideas and services that move beyond marketing communication.

2.Merchandising and marketing the results of the client / agency partnership.
Said in another way, this helping your client sell-in and sell-through your team’s work throughout his or her organization. That’s a fairly broad idea, but I think it’s clear. The sometimes political, internal stakeholder work that all clients and prospective clients must do to justify marketing’s existence. Not to mention their own jobs. Should you wish to hear more around that, lemme know.

Anywho, I hope this gets you to expand your thinking around the relationship agencies typically enjoy with their clients. Having had the privilege of working on two long standing partnerships (Shell and Coors), I can tell  you it’s the above kind of thinking that leads to happier, more productive and valuable relationships.

Thanks. And happy thinking!

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Looking for some hand-picked Thunderclap posts around this area? Check these out:

How to keep your client / agency relationship spicy after 50 years.

How client service can differentiate your agency.

How a Chief Experience Officer can make your ad agency new business more efficient

Another ad agency new business inspiration from Apple

Walk the halls. Now, with donuts.

Filed Under: Agency Operations, Client News, Existing Client Growth, Marcom Industry, Planning, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How service can differentiate your ad agency new business

June 21, 2012 By 1 Comment

Hola, agency new business development aficionado! Steve Congdon here. From time to time you see a post inspired by the very work we do as agency folks. And with any luck, the post will offer up some new business inspiration on how your agency can compete against the big alphabet soup shops. One of the areas in which you can compete is the service you deliver to clients.

This particular bit o’ inspiration, by the way, is the latest outdoor campaign for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts. The headline: “Not  on every corner.” Me likey. In the agency marketing space, we can replace InterContinental with a small agency footprint. Replace the Hyatts of the world with any one of the global giants.

Small can mean lack of resources and capabilities. But it can also mean luxurious, intimate and highly customized service. It can be special and unique. Here are some thought-starters to get you going around how the notion might work in your agency:

Service:

  • Valet parking
  • Office space for clients
  • Concierge service
  • Reflective personal favorites in meeting snacks
  • Reflective interests and preferences during business travel

Business:

  • Junior client training (on marketing communication issues, process, etc.)
  • Immediate return phone calls
  • Project feedback loops

Some maybe not so great ideas:

  • Special PR emphasis on the clients behind the work
  • Help to clients’ children and professional network (the stories you could hear!)

Please note you are not reading about outrageous gifts or sackfuls of money. You’re not offering to hide bodies, pay for hookers or erase gambling debts! But if you look through the experience a client has when they do business with your agency, my guess is there may be a few ways you can differentiate yourself. As well as cement your relationship. And lead to more referrals. And…

Happy thinking!

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Related posts:

Some other benefits of being small

A few thoughts on prospecting against the big guys

One agency’s take on the client experience

Filed Under: Agency Operations, Marcom Industry, Planning, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

The magic of any successful agency new business prospecting plan

June 5, 2012 By 1 Comment

Hello again, agency new business development fan! From time to time yours truly is hired to pull together a prospecting plan. It is a job I relish, as it addresses a common challenge most agencies face: earning more pitch opportunities. Today’s few hundred will explore the most critical part – the magic – of any agency  business development prospecting plan.

In a word, it is synergy. Perhaps this word can best describe the effect that happens when your entire business is aligned around your agency’s positioning. Yes, Thunderclappers, this is more 6Ps talk.

One of the 6Ps is promotion. Your agency’s special sauce – the magic that can differentiate you – can happen when your positioning is aligned around the what, how, why etc. of your agency. Some examples that will get your brain working include:

DraftFCB and their “Institute of Decision Making.” Say what you will about this agency. But here’s a positive story. An initiative that ties into their “6.5 seconds that matter” and has many, many new business legs.

JWT and their Worldmakers. Read all about that here. Big, global agency interviews big, global brand leaders? Me likey.

Google & SXSW. Don’t think that just agencies should have all the fun. What Google did at SXSW is one of the reasons they’re well, The Google. Smart! The post will also give you some insight on what Ogilvy did at this important show. Does Ogilvy’s execution closely align with their positioning? Meh.

What, you’re looking for some smaller agency inspiration? I hear ya cluckin’, big chicken. Some quickies:

Holland & Holland and She-conomy. Generally speaking, I leave social media talk to the master, Michael Gass. He is The Man. But this is a classic that can’t be ignored as it relates to this subject. Agencies who do social media best do it with a strongly articulated positioning.

McKee Wallwork Cleveland and “When Growth Stalls” book. Check it out. Very interesting here. The book aligns with their area of expertise. Leaders did another smart thing by finding a bigger platform upon which to demonstrate their expertise. (Businessweek, Ad Age, etc.)

Mistress and their no doubt secret new business dealings. Fun post. You would read more here, but I don’t know anything about ‘em. Which might attract me were I a potential client. Hmmm…

There are plenty more examples out there. These are just the ones I could quickly find to round out the few hundred. Should you have any examples, feel free to share below or drop me a line. Your input would be valued. Thanks. And happy prospecting!

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Filed Under: Agency Operations, Marcom Industry, Planning, Prospecting, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Team of Record approach in ad agency new business

June 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Hello there, agency new business development fans! Saw a good article in Ad Age recently that you should check out. It discusses four things to think about when you partner with other agencies. Marketing analytics smart Kenyon Blunt writes about something call the Team of Record approach. Meaning, sharing a piece of business with multiple agencies. He uses recent examples of large clients pulling together bits and pieces of agencies and stand-alone, one client, one team kind of approach. I like the branded moniker. And his suggestions.

But what’s missing is a small agency spin. No need for just the alphabet soup agencies to have all the fun. There’s also a missing reason for why an agency of any size should consider partnering with other firms: new business!

Here are five Thunderclap posts to get your head thinking about partnering with other firms:

True love vs. arranged marriage: agency partnership in new business 

True love, more on agency partnerships (part two) 

How to get three more meetings this quarter (part one)

How to get three more meetings this quarter (part two) More about suppliers than other agencies.

How to get more meetings (part three). Less about partnership, but more on relationships.

Hope this helps accelerate your agency new business development success!

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Filed Under: Agency Operations, New Business Lore, Planning, Prospecting, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

How a Chief Experience Officer can make your ad agency new business more efficient

May 10, 2012 By 1 Comment

Hello there, fan of new business development for your ad agency. Yours truly read a story in Ad Age the other day about how some big agencies are creating a new position: Chief Transition Officer. Someone who leads the on-boarding process as your new client transitions from the incumbent. A fine idea. And not just for big agencies. So, what’s the small agency version of this?!

How about a Chief Experience Officer?

Hmmm.

I love this idea. It captures the soft side of a client / agency relationship. The human side. The people involved in delivering and receiving our Professional Service. It’s one thing to create and manage ideas that make money for a client. But when we talk about “experience,” we’re talking about the bits your agency can control to help ensure happiness. This, in turn, leads to a longer, more profitable relationship, new business referrals and more revenue for your agency.

This role was recently created at HY Connect, a terrific mid-sized, independent agency with offices in Milwaukee and Chicago. To learn more about their take on the position, I recently connected with Kellie Bliss, the professional in the role. We covered two basic questions.

What is the role of the Chief Experience Officer at your agency?
Kellie suggests this senior-level professional is responsible for ensuring success. HY Connect sums this up best: it is focused on improving and accelerating HY Connect’s ability to adapt to every client’s needs and exceed their expectations.

And just as important? The agency’s staff.

You will see this in some of the functions of the position:

  • Defining & improving use / sharing of best practices across specialties and departments
  • Streamline and enhance priority customer touch-points. This includes new client on-boarding, developing client retreats, and leading the development of agency thought leadership and value-added intellectual property.
  • Improved training:  developing an energized & competent staff that delivers an energizing (or inspiring) experience

How is this different than the Account Service leadership function?
The Chief Experience Officer at HY Connect does not drive client business strategy, manage day-to-day responsibilities for client management or get work out the door. Rather, the position is a resource available to account management to help cross-sell and up-sell agency services and ensure Account Service has what they need.

I’ve known this agency for years and have come to admire them. They understand the values of culture, relationship and partnership. It has served them well – for nearly 80 years.

Should your agency also hold these tenets close to your heart, consider how the role of Chief Experience Officer could work at your agency.

Should you wish to contact Kellie Bliss, feel free to do so here.

And if you’d like to know more about an agency experience audit, check this out. Or, maybe you’d like to read about reversing a slump…

Thanks. Hope this gets you thinking! Oh, and should you have any thoughts on improving your experience on this website and blog, feel free to lemme know at your convenience.

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Filed Under: Agency Operations, Existing Client Growth, New Business Lore, Planning, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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