Felicitas Betzl, Managing Director & Partner of SERPS Invaders Ltd., a full service digital marketing agency, shares her expertise from working both client and agency side for more than 16 years.
Here she offers her quick-fire tips for making the most out of your agency
When I first heard the quote by Roger Stirling from Mad Men: “The day you sign a client is the day you start losing him.” Quite amusing, but sadly with an element of truth, as most marketing agency owners will find.
According to the Marketing Forum’s Research Report from 2013/14, one of the top three reasons for wanting to engage with a new agency was that clients weren’t happy with the current relationship; the other two were price and new projects.
Sometimes there can be some very simple reasons why a client might not get the most out of an agency. However would it not be preferential to try and improve an already existing relationship, rather than going through a brand new agency search and selection process which is going to take up a vast amount of someone’s precious time? Appointing a new agency means getting to know each other all over again, and it means investing a lot time and effort from the client.
Often the easiest steps to improve the client-agency relationship are so simple that they can be overlooked. In this article I’ve put together a few easy tips that could help improve the client-agency relationship, as well as improve agency productivity.
Update on internal changes and plans
Changes do happen within most organisations on regular intervals. Some of these can impact the strategy for marketing or PR projects, even if they aren’t obvious at first. New product launches, a company anniversary, or a new CEO can be items that can impact the agency’s work load or can also open up new opportunities for PR or other marketing activities, and should never be ignored.
On some occasions a change in management, often means that agencies’ work will be reviewed. Giving the agency as much warning as possible to prepare a solid presentation for new senior management can also make the client look more competent and proactive.
Tip: Clients should ensure that they give agencies a quick run-down of any new or planned activities, so they can align their strategy and plan for any additional workload. Additionally client should inform their agency of any major staff changes i.e. a new Head of Marketing/ CEO etc.
Make yourself available to your agency
We're all busy and time is valuable. It seems over the past few years everyone is that bit busier. As most employees are often expected to take on more responsibilities, no-one ever has enough time to get through all their workload. This often leads to clients leaving their agencies to get on with their projects and emails from the agency are ignored and calls are re-scheduled as there are always more important items on one’s to do list. Agencies are usually fairly self-sufficient but not receiving vital information, or a sign off on deliverables can have a knock on effect on project deadlines and maybe cause critical tasks to be delayed. Even just ten minutes to clarify a few but essential facts or sign offs can help your agency to move things along.
Tip: Clients should try and make themselves available for their agency. They should also be clear about how or in what format the agency should provide their deliverables in order to enable a quick sign off. Agencies should clearly outline priorities if they require input from the client. This way the client avoids having to spend too much time to low value items.
Encourage cross agency collaboration
Often clients have more than one agency appointed. Particularly in a cross-channel marketing world, cross-overs can happen. An SEO agency might be looking at PR and social media and so is your PR agency. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’s important however that both agencies are aware of what each company’s strategy is and how these might be best aligned. That doesn’t necessarily mean that a big meeting will have to be arranged. Often a quick conference call to go over each agency’s quarterly plan will suffice. The client doesn’t necessarily have to be present either. Agencies can certainly brief each other and update the client with meeting minutes or a list of actions from either agency.
On a quarterly basis an agency day, or a meeting where all agencies are present should be arranged. This will enable all parties to collaborate better in the long run and the client will get the most out of their agencies without having project overlap.
Tip: If there are possible cross overs clients should encourage agencies to have a quick strategy call. Then on a quarterly basis an agency day, or a meeting with all parties could be arranged in order to facilitate collaboration amongst everyone.
Final thoughts
A lot of the outlined tips touch on communication. Clients should always remember to view the agencies as an extension of their own team. It makes sense to invest a little bit time on a regular basis to brief agencies on changes or about the appointment of another supplier. Transparency will enable clients to take full advantage of the appointed agency’s capability. A worthwhile investment - wouldn't you say?
