Can you ever really completely rationalise the process of finding the right marketing agency? Dudley Masters, Account Director of marketing agency, Acumen Marketing Communications tries to make sense of it all, looking at the similarities between agency search and selection and dating.
It's a process that's been dissected, researched, advised on and tried a million times, but honestly is there a right and a wrong formula, even if current online technology could be transformational when it comes to agency search and selection?
OK, identifying those agencies with the right ‘fit’ is, in theory, pretty simple, but then you have to reconcile expectations and reality – assuming you want it to last. Just like dating, which has been used as an analogy innumerable times, it`s tough enough if you are looking at a single ‘activity’ (please excuse the word choice), but if you are looking for an integrated relationship, how do you really know if they will deliver your expectations and if the chemistry is going to be strong enough to overcome the stresses and form the basis of trust?
An over-whelming pool size?
I'm starting with the search aspect by borrowing from last week's FindGood webinar on ‘Getting your agency found’ (only fair as it prompted this blog) to make the point that there are, apparently, around 26,000 marketing and related service providers in the UK – a truly mind-blowing figure. What this means, however, is that when you are looking for a new service provider to provide inspiration and particular skills, how on earth are most candidate agencies, or independent consultants (even if they are a ‘little gem’) going to get a shot at your brief?
Content marketing will deliver – won't it?
Sounds like a really daft question because content marketing ought to work just as well in this arena as it does in any other product area, but is this true? Again quoting from the webinar, ‘Google has recorded 60,000 searches of 366 agency-specific keywords in a day’. Well, I speak from experience when I say that not all agencies are great at self-promotion (is this just my experience?) or getting their own searchable content right. So, maybe a few agencies are getting a lot of attention, but many are still being missed - is this just tough on them or also a missed opportunity for you?
That's why many clients are still drawn to other approaches which deliver, or should deliver, a shortlist.
For example:
a) Networking - perhaps how most agencies have traditionally been found; in my experience it`s still alive and well and playing an important role.
b) LinkedIn company profiles promise much once we all get our heads around the potential; it ought to turn out to be as good for specific company/services searches as it is for recruitment.
c) Agency selection consultants like AAI (Agency Assessments Int.) who advise and partner advertisers on both selection and remuneration especially for multinational enterprises
d) Specialist search co's, like FindGood, (sorry,I realise that you are already on their site), who, apart form short-listing from their database, can also offer savvy guidance.
e) General online search co`s like Checkaprofessional.com, who offer ‘no fee’ access to provider profile pages, including client feedback, but no advice.
So, it's still not that simple and, maybe, you have to use several sources of ‘intelligence’ until inbound is truly universal.
Still substantially about personal chemistry
OK, so you have your short-list, but then you just can`t ignore personal chemistry whatever the particular fit between client and agency. A credentials presentation may help a little, but often not enough for such an important decision.
You may want the relationship to work over many years, as the benefits of a long relationship with an agency can be numerous and valuable, so how do you make the judgement that they are really going to deliver what you need?
Projects can reveal many things!
It’s not a new idea, but just shuffle your programme so you can put a real project out to your top 3 candidates – don`t ask for a free pitch because that changes the psychology and risks them trying to over-impress (some will remember the stories of `showbiz’-like acts at presentations). How they approach the brief, how they relate to you and how they perform at that scale (modest budget!) is going to tell you so, so much.
It truly is like the dating game where selecting, short-listing, then going on a weekend away together is going to reveal a lot about what`s good or not good. That seems to be the formula on the ‘Millionaire Matchmaker’ programme that`s running on ITV2 at the moment and it really gets pretty close to the reality in our business (well maybe not the abusive language reserved for some participants).
