In recent posts, I have talked about the need to transform your agency's approach to new business to meet the changing needs of clients - see my posts titled Beyond Advertising and The Ad Agency of Tomorrow. As marketers face the daunting challenge of blending new digital technologies with traditional tools, agencies can play an important role in helping them navigate these unfamiliar waters.
Clients are dealing with a laundry list of challenges – a struggling economy, new competition from all sides, a continued drive for lower costs, and a growing realization of the power that a connected consumer has over their business strategy and success. And many clients are simply overwhelmed by the new digital media options and how to use them to their advantage.
There is no question that social media and other digital marketing tools open opportunities to redefine and expand the role agencies can play with their clients. But when all is said and done, you can't win new business on a regular basis without really smart strategic thinking. Agencies are in the business of selling ideas, first and foremost. I will never forget my conversation with Stan Richards years ago, when he said that the secret to his new business success is that they always try to give the client some new insight, especially if it is an idea that was right under their nose yet they had missed it.
That thought has never been more relevant than today when clients are not saying to their agencies "how can you help us make ads or design a new web site?", they are saying "how much do you understand about our business in order to help us build a bridge between our brand and our customers?"
In recent conversations with marketing directors about how their businesses are faring in today's economic environment, I have been struck by the the fact that many seem more preoccupied with how to use Facebook or Twitter than in researching and understanding how changing customer attitudes are affecting their brand position in the marketplace. This is a great opportunity for an agency to step in and show a client how to find better answers.
In one recent new business meeting, I asked the prospective client if they had done any audience segmentation modeling for ROI and was met by a blank stare. The blank stare was quickly followed by a question "how do you think we should initiate that kind of analysis?" I created an opportunity for an extended conversation on how to segment their current customer base that will have a significant impact on their future marketing strategy. And on mine as well, since I gained a new client.
That conversation reinforced my belief that clients are hungry for ideas, and agencies can win new clients by providing those ideas. Yes, they need help with how to find the ideal marketing mix of creative, technology, new media, and traditional media, but the best media mix doesn't work without a strategy that differentiates the brand and speaks to a real customer need. When all is said and done, smart strategy still trumps everything else.
