Agency Clients Need to See Action, Not More Conjecture

As marketers we are completely consumed with the changing habits of consumers - whether that’s viewing behaviour, attention spans or disposable income - to the extent that we seem to have forgotten that our own behaviour is in need of a spell under the spotlight. 

The way an agency of any size operates is never easy to change quickly - and that’s if you know how to make changes for the better - and when many of the sticking points are to do with industry-wide processes outside your control, that hurdle becomes even higher.

Businesses of any size, not just start-ups, need flexibility and agility with the agency partners they choose to do business with - now more than ever. If agencies want to genuinely be ‘partners’ and not suppliers, and if the businesses they work with are going to survive and grow in the current operational climate, then the ways we do business have to be adapted.

Discussions around evolving agency models and the debates concerning how agencies continue to provide value to clients isn’t new but I would argue that, right now, clients need to see action and change, not more conjecture about it.

Supply chains are disrupting businesses of all shapes and sizes, adding increased pressure to be able to meet demand while maintaining a margin to support the business.

Labour shortages from Brexit and other factors are leaving businesses understaffed, or with inexperienced teams that can’t provide the customer experience they must deliver to remain competitive and create value for their hard-won customers. The energy crisis, inflation, congested ports, a war in Europe and a looming recession are also compounding the difficulty of running a successful business. For consumers, high inflation affecting their mortgages, plus the price of food and essentials shooting up, is also directly impacting purchasing behaviours, as is working from home and their own struggles with energy pricing.

At this time, how agency partners support and provide ongoing value to businesses has to absolutely spot on, and must certainly avoid providing more barriers and friction to the business owners and marketers within them.

When we look at the nature of doing business now, anything within our industry that has long and rigid time frames or approval dates is arguably no longer fit for purpose for brands dealing with the pressure of cash-flow management or even struggling to meet and supply demand.

Businesses in today’s world need: 

Flexibility - Asking a business to commit to annual marketing and media plans, requiring them to agree to Advanced Booking deadlines (which for TV is two months) is too rigid and counter to the fluidity required across the rest of their business needs.

Business owners and marketers know the principles of speculating to accumulate but any resource allocated to marketing must be flexible and weigh up against covering a different cost for doing business.

Indeed, even in competitive marketplaces or with changing consumer behaviours, flexibility and adaptability is key. Businesses who can’t see beyond the immediate must be able to book marketing and media activity late, be live tomorrow to see returns quickly (on more than just digital) while also having the ability to defer the booking the next day if something changes in the meantime.  

Focus – Agency partners need to focus on, measure, and report back on the metrics that truly matter to the client’s businesses, not get blinkered by our own industry measurements as the guiding metrics of success. It’s always good to remember that marketing is just a means to something else. Yes, we should evaluate our work and ensure we’re offering a best-in-class delivery by looking at metrics relevant to the discipline in question, but what businesses need today are improvements in their metrics, not ours. How we speak and how we present success has to be in the language of our clients’ business.

Growth Cycles – It’s important to understand any business’ attitudes and abilities to doing business and then work with them to increase their tolerance for growth. For some businesses you may need to start with a small, low-risk test-and-learn approach and ensure key stakeholders see and understand the inputs and outputs in order for them to develop confidence and tolerance in expanding the next cycle. What these cycles also address is what we call a ‘Growth FOMO’ or a fear of missing an opportunity. New and scaling high growth businesses can’t wait for a traditional Post Campaign Analysis which happens  three or more months after a campaign has run. If the PCA reveals an opportunity that they could have doubled-down on then it’s too late for them to act by that point.  They need to know what’s working, when it’s working, in order to maximise revenue potential in real time.

Remember it’s personal – How many times has an agency heard ‘we want fame’ or we’re ‘brave’, but the client or the business is completely uncomfortable and can’t sign off anything close to fame driving, or move out of their comfort zone of known knowns? To be fit for purpose, you need to be aligned with not just the functional needs of the business, but the emotional needs of your client and those around them.

Change is never easy, particularly when it involves other people and their habits and comfort zones. But as agencies we are partners, not yes-men and women. We are responsible for creating the best value from a client’s investment and if that means having some tough conversations - either internally or with them - we must be brave enough to do that. Because by not responding to the changing economic and social landscape the client-agency relationship will no longer be fit for purpose.   

Toby Strangewood, co-founder of Wake The Bear