Managing your client relationship doesn't have to be like herding cats.

Since agency training programs are almost non-existent these days, young people aren't given much guidance on how to handle client relationships ... especially tough situations. Here are some thoughts on what I've learned over the years that may be helpful.

How to say “no” to a client.
Most clients don't like to hear the word "no", but they aren't paying you to be a lap dog, they are paying you to help them grow their business. So there will be times when you need to convince a client that his idea is not a good one. It can be tricky...but it can be done.

I've always tried to look for is a left-brained logical reason for why it’s not a good idea, or can’t be done, or shouldn’t be done. Most clients won’t accept the “we just don’t like that idea” answer from their agency. If you can tie the “no” reason to financials, your objection will usually go down a little better with the client.

Another good strategy for saying “no” to a client, is to not react immediately. Rather, I prefer to say "let me see if that is possible" or "let me discuss that with the team and get back to you". In either case, you will demonstrate that you have taken their idea seriously. If you are still thoroughly convinced that their idea is not a good one, then you have also given yourself time to think through the options on how to present and sell your objection.

I once heard a story about Bill Bernbach that I never forgot. According to the story, Bill carried a 3x5 card in his shirt pocket and during client meetings he would often pull out the card, read it to himself, and then replace it into his pocket. The card read "Maybe the client is right". That's something to think about.

How to calm an angry client.
My first step is always to try to get the client to express the reason for his anger. If you can get him to talk about it, you can understand more about why he is angry.

My next step is to try to empathize with his situation. When an AE comes to me to tell me a client is angry about something, my first question is “why” and my second is “do you agree with him”. If they don’t agree, then I try to understand the AE’s perspective first. Then, I ask the AE to put themselves in the client’s shoes and try to understand why they are acting or overreacting the way they are.

A final step is to have myself or a senior executive at the agency call the client to let them know we are aware of the situation and take it seriously enough to have the boss call them. Sometimes, just knowing that we are listening to them helps.

How to build trust (and your business) with a client.
If your true desire is to help the client grow their business (not just yours), then you can do things to make sure the client knows you are sincere. Understanding all you can about how the client operates and makes money is a great start.

I have ridden on a bread truck at 3 a.m., made store checks at all hours of the day and night, made pizza, flipped hamburgers, toured chicken processing plants, and a bunch of other things I never thought I would do in order to understand the client’s business better. Then, I have some credibility when I recommend things that might generate more business for the agency.

One of the most powerful things an agency can do is offer a suggestion to the client on how to grow their business that doesn't involve advertising or any revenue stream for the agency. Clients have a lot of skepticism about agency recommendations and commitment to their business, and this has never failed to impress and win over a client.

If a client has multiple agency partners, you must never, ever denigrate the other agency or their work. You don’t have to praise it, but any criticism is a criticism of the client who approved the work or who hired the agency. And it seems petty and unprofessional.

How to generate selling opportunities for your agency.
The first step is similar to the previous one mentioned above - get inside your client’s head to understand what his business is really about. How do they really make money? What are their long term goals? Understand his problems, before you offer solutions.

Make sure you understand their personal or professional feelings on what you are trying to sell as a new opportunity. For example, if the client doesn’t really understand how to use Twitter, Facebook, mobile marketing or other social networking tools, you should pre-sell them through case studies or statistics on penetration and usage before you present your recommendations. There are numerous research studies available to show demographics and usage data on how their target audience is using these tools.

Sometimes, giving them new information about how a competitor is using a new marcom tool will stimulate their desire to think more about other options.

How to get more deeply involved in the client’s business.
I’ve already addressed a few of these in previous answers, but here are a few other things to consider:

1. Volunteer to work with the field sales force. Or work in the store.
2. Subscribe to all trade journals, and always be on the look out for articles of interest that you can send to them.
3. Call the client every day. Make sure they know you are thinking about their business all the time.
4. Buy stock in their company. It shows a real commitment on your part when you casually mention that you just read the Annual Report and were very impressed with it.
   

Using their products is another way to demonstrate your commitment to them. When I started my career at Leo Burnett, they were fanatics about this. I'll bet they still are.

If you were a smoker and preferred a brand other than Marlboro, you’d better not leave the pack out in plain sight. When I was there, the company brought in special coffee machines that only dispensed Taster’s Choice coffee. When Leo died, agency co-founder Phil Shaaf, told a wonderful story about Leo’s dedication to using his client’s products. It seems that Leo often had severe attacks of angina that could only be soothed by chocolate. Once, at a P&G meeting in Cincinnati, Leo had an attack in a client meeting, and was doubled over in pain. Someone said “Get him a candy bar”, and Leo shouted “Make sure it’s a Nestle”. I can tell you clients appreciate it when you are that dedicated to them.

Is 2011 the Year that Mobile Finally Becomes Mainstream?

The cover story in the January 30 issue of Marketing News presents a solid argument that 2011 will be the year that mobile marketing finally becomes mainstream in the United States. For years, marketing prognosticators have been saying that mobile marketing would reach a critical mass, so when I saw the headline This Time It’s Different, I was curious as to why their editors felt that 2011 would be different. Here's what I found:

82% of U.S. consumers now own a cell phone, according to Forester Research. Tablets such as the iPad will reach 54.8 million units in 2011, according to Gartner Inc. and annual global tablet devices will reach 81 million by 2015 according to Juniper Research.
These are boxcar numbers that support their conclusion that 2011 will be different, but the real story is more than just about numbers. Mobile phones and devices have increasingly become an integral part of our everyday lives, and for many of us mobile is the “first screen” in our lives. When mobile first came on the scene, it was the third screen - behind TV and the Internet. Now with the advances in technology, and the widespread use of text messages and apps, mobile has become the first screen. It’s something your clients and their customers, no matter who they are, trust and use throughout the day.

The explosion of 3G and 4G devices, growth in data plans, and the resulting acceptance of smartphones are three key drivers for mobile growth.
According to recent comScore data, among mobile subscribers 13 and older, nearly half (48.9%) have 3G or 4G devices, up 23% from 2009. Their data also show that 33.4% of subscribers have some sort of data plan, and among those consumers, 83.9% have unlimited data plans. They now estimate that more than a quarter of U.S. consumers have smartphones, a 68% increase from 2009.

Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android are leading the charge on improving customers experiences on mobile phones, which will boost industry growth.
And we can't forget about RIM/Blackberry, Windows OS, and Nokia's Symbian OS. When you hear the phrase “there’s an app for that”, it’s true. There are now almost 300,000 third-party applications officially available on the Apple App Store, and last week Apple announced they had reached over 9.9 billion downloads. It’s becoming second nature to shop, do research on products and services, and communicate with your friends throughout the day because the new phones are so easy to use.

Spending on mobile advertising is expected to grow more than six fold over the next four years.
Spending is expected to reach nearly $2.55 billion, according to eMarketer, a New York-based digital marketing research firm. Along with consumer’s increasing mobile usage, growing ad spending on mobile will help to fuel its growth. Julie Ask, a vice president and principal analyst in mobile and telecom at Forrester Research, feels that “the larger screens have resulted in an increase in media consumption, and that generally leads to more advertising.” A recent survey by the Mobile Marketing Association of 200 executives found that 24% of respondents said they would more than double or even triple their investment in mobile advertising in 2011 compared with 2010.

Other factors cited include the growth in “tools you can use” to aid your marketing efforts.
Mobile payment technology, mobile gift lists and mobile gift cards will open more opportunities for savvy marketers to take advantage of mobile as an important part of their marketing plans. Many marketers are now experimenting with text messaging to alert shoppers to deals, and mobile apps have moved beyond games and GPS to include everything from recipes to tips for parents to teach their kids smart eating habits. Another growing trend is location-based marketing, and companies like Foursquare allow users to find special deals while in-store where they can make an immediate purchase.

Analytics will provide the final piece of the puzzle to marketers.
Michael Becker, managing director for the Mobile Marketing Association calls analytics “the connective tissue of mobile to traditional media”. The ability to track direct sales or indirectly influenced sales through mobile is expected to grow significantly and allow marketers to monitor sales activity in real time. With increased recognition of the valuable potential of having an interactive mobile device in the hands of consumers at a time when they are requesting support from your clients will entice more marketers to find ways to leverage that capability.

MMA’s Becker concluded the article with the statement that “mobile is where the customers are. It’s as simple as that. Old world marketing was about attitudes, awareness and usage. New world marketing is putting the focus on making sure that you, as a marketer, are there at a time of a consumer’s expressed need.”

With mobile marketing, a company can respond to their customers when they need them. No matter where they are at the time.

What about your agency and clients? If 2011 is, indeed, when mobile finally grows up, are you ready to take advantage of the opportunity?

Are you helping your clients to monitor their corporate reputation?

Are your clients doing a good job of monitoring and managing the online conversation about their company? Maybe this is an area where your agency can help them with a service they know they need but just can't afford to add the time and resources to properly manage.

In previous posts, I have discussed the need for agencies to broaden their service offering to clients and re-position themselves as more than just a vendor of ads. I have gotten responses to these posts that say they would love to help their clients in more ways, but too often it becomes an add-on cost without incremental income.

Managing their online reputation has become a critical need for many companies that simply can't afford to do it well. So here's an opportunity to approach your clients to add a new service (and build your relationship) for a small incremental fee -- monitoring the online conversation and managing their company reputation.

As we all know, the Internet and social media have shifted a significant amount of marketing power from the company to the general public. For many businesses, this is a terrifying prospect. As an example, a restaurant owner could be doing everything right, have one bad customer experience and end up with a negative review on Yelp or another review site. Just because their 19-year old server broke up with his girlfriend and is having a bad day.

On the Internet, peer reviews are increasingly important. According to a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation, eighty-four percent (84%) of Americans say online reviews influence their purchasing decisions. A negative review or disparaging comment can now be seen by hundreds, or even thousands of potential customers, and it can hang an albatross around your neck that never goes away.

On the bright side, positive reviews and happy clients are traditionally the best source of new business. That’s why it has become increasingly important for companies to monitor what’s being said about them online.

This is an opportunity for you to build a stronger relationship with your clients. By helping them with a problem that many know they have but just can't afford to hire additional staff to support, your agency can become a hero.

Popular sites like Facebook and Twitter have become essential components of many companies’ online marketing strategy, but there are hundreds of other sites where customers rant and rave about companies, products and services. The question you should ask your client is this: Do you know what they are saying about you?

There are a host of free and low cost social media monitoring services to help you monitor and manage the online conversation for your client. Google Alerts and Yahoo Alerts are free services that allow you to select keywords and topics to track and receive email updates whenever they appear on the Web. They aren’t new tools and have some limitations on where they monitor, but they can still be useful for keeping an eye on search engine and blog activity and other mentions of relevant content.

More specialized monitoring services like Social Mention, HootSuite and Addictomatic track a broader range of social sites like Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, etc. Their function is to give you a more complete picture of online conversations and help you to organize this information better by aggregating all of this user-generated content into a single stream of information or dashboard.

Is your client aware of some of the newer monitoring and aggregation tools that focus on small local businesses, like Yext Rep? This company offers a real-time feed of what people are saying about them on Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc. as well as local sites like Google Places and Superpages - all on one dashboard as it happens.

Companies like Trackur, Radian6 and Viralheat offer a feature-rich monitoring package with more sophisticated services for a fee. These more robust service companies can offer greater appeal to a company with multiple brands and numerous keywords to follow. They can provide detailed analytics with comprehensive dashboards that show precise details (date published, source, title) as well as a summary of each item discovered. Their analysis can also allow the user to evaluate the potential influence of each blog or news site discussing your brand or company by measuring and reporting statistics like coverage, Twitter followers, friends, etc.

In addition to helping companies defend themselves and their reputation, keeping track of online mentions can create new marketing opportunities. For example, Radian6 users can drill down into several layers of detailed information on their profile results to segment comments by media type and geographic region. This data can help your client as a business-building tool by allowing them to tie this dashboard into their SalesForce.com database to create contacts and sales leads for the sales department.

There are many other tools and services out there that you should consider. These are just a few that I am familiar with. The important thing for you to understand is that you can help your clients, and make more money, by helping them monitor what customers, prospects, and peers are saying about their brand, their company, their industry, and their competitors.

Who’s talking about your client right now? Are their ears burning?

And for that matter, who's talking about your agency right now? Are your ears burning?

Creating a Point of Difference to Grow Your Business

The two biggest complaints I have heard most often over the years from clients are that "all agencies are pretty much the same" and "agencies don't understand what we really need". They don't see much differentiation because (a) there isn't much, and (b) our points of difference aren't relevant to client needs. The March, 2010 issue of Fast Company profiles two agencies that have taken very different avenues to build relevant differences in their agencies that are paying off with big-time success.

Grey New York won 17 of 19 new business pitches in 2009, and operating profits were up 44%. Those are astounding numbers at a time when ad spending was down 11%, and industry insiders and media observers were chanting a collective "woe is me" mantra for our industry.

So how did they do it? Well, certainly their creative output was no slouch, with highly touted campaigns for E-Trade, BMW, DirecTV, Ketel One vodka and the NFL, among others. But two moves strike me as much more significant from a positioning point of view in new business.

First, the new chief creative officer, Tor Myhren, moved his entire creative team from elaborate, posh offices into a plain brown cubicles, signaling a dramatic change in how Grey would approach business both internally and externally. Second, Grey expanded their in-house production department, allowing it to produce TV and Web spots quickly and cheaply, rather than outsourcing.

These two changes in business philosophy aren't earth-shattering from an innovation standpoint (almost any agency could make similar changes tomorrow), but they are significant from a client's perspective. They demonstrate to clients that Grey understands their need for less fluff and more meat. Not to mention that clients want things faster and cheaper than ever, and if their current agency isn't listening to that cry for help, someone else will.

Partners & Napier, a mid-size shop headquartered in Rochester, NY, with offices in Atlanta and San Francisco has seen billings grow by 300% in the past five years. Several factors have contributed to this impressive growth pattern, but their most innovative move was to adapt their business model to their client's needs for cost control and demonstrated ROI rather than fighting it.

While the rest of the industry was bemoaning the rising influence of procurement departments at clients, and predicting the death of creativity in a business driven by costs, Partners & Napier responded to a client request by applying for and earning ISO 9000 certification. Through an intensive six-month study and documentation of all steps in the creative development process, they have adopted a Six Sigma-type approach to reduce inefficiencies in the creative development process.

The result has been a reduction in wasted time in all steps of the creative development process. A job that might have taken eight weeks can now be completed in three weeks, while saving the client approximately 40% and increasing productivity for the agency.

Chief creative officer Jeff Gabel says he likes the new system because it has given his team more time to create big ideas by reducing the important but "ancillary grunt work" leading to ideation. And CEO Sharon Napier likes it because they now have an innovative point of difference that is being used in win more new business.

Two approaches - one relatively simple to execute, the other more difficult but still doable with the right commitment and funding. Importantly, both demonstrate an understanding and willingness to respond to changing client demands.

And from a new business perspective, two new ways to create a point of difference for your agency that is relevant to current and potential clients! After all, we are in a service business, aren't we?

Three Ways to Build Trust and Service in Business Development

Last week, I worked on a branding project for a very successful retail furniture store in Atlanta, and I was struck by how important trust and a real commitment to service have become in today's world. To kick off the project, I conducted one-on-one Discovery Interviews with management, retail floor staff, a few customers and even one of their suppliers. Later during competitive store checks, I saw firsthand how the wrong approach to service can backfire and negate what might have been a sales opportunity. These two facts were driven home time and again - trust is in short short supply these days and a true commitment to helping your customers/clients can be the "secret sauce" for success.

In today's business environment, almost every conversation seems to begin with skepticism. "What's your agenda and why are you really being nice to me?" seem to be the first reaction to any interaction between staff and customers.

My interviews with the staff confirmed that a large part of their success is built on how they approach and treat the customers. Unlike many furniture stores, they don't wait at the front door to pounce on you. They do ask if they can help, but if you want to browse you are welcome to do so alone. Almost all shoppers immediately reply "no, thanks", and when asked why, most admitted that they didn't want to be "sold on something I don't want or need". Think about the hard-sell approach you may have experienced in visits to retail stores (and car dealerships) where the commission-driven salesperson hovers nearby, even when you ask them not to do so.

I wasn't surprised at this fact, but was blown away by how successful this small furniture store has been by using these three simple principles when dealing with customers:
1. Ask and listen.
2. Take time with the customers, even if they aren't buying today.
3. Be a resource.

Listening has become a lost art.
Too often, our listening is really an opportunity to think about and plan our next response, even before you have heard everything. Too many companies (especially ad agencies) are on "Send" and not "Receive".

Even when you are trying to listen, you must be careful how you respond. Years ago as a junior account manager, I would try to anticipate potential questions or objections before making a recommendation to my client. I would discuss those questions and potential answers with the art director/copywriter/account planner, or whomever I was working with at the time. When my client raised a question, I was there with a ready response.

One day, my client erupted and said "Dammit Don, why do you always have a quick answer to every question I ask?" My dumbfounded and innocent response was that "I thought you might ask that, so I discussed it with the art director/writer/planner/etc. and this is why we are recommending this particular action". I learned a valuable lesson that day. You must not only listen, you must make sure they understand that you are listening.

Spending time with a customer/client sends a positive message.
In the case of my furniture store client, they not only listened, they encouraged the customer to understand all of the pros and cons of each brand and item they were shopping for by spending time with them to field questions and offer suggestions. Even when they didn't purchase, or intend to purchase that day. As the owner explained to me, "the average customer makes 2-3 visits before they purchase. If we treat them this way, and they visit a competitor who doesn't, we've won a customer and potentially everyone they come in contact with from now on".

I saw how smart that approach was firsthand, when I visited his two biggest competitors and was basically ignored (even though no other customers were in either store at the time and I had acknowledged that I didn't know a lot about the brands or their benefits). In one of those stores, I asked some specific questions about two brands and asked for some information to take home to my wife. Her response was a pre-collated handout of materials for brands and products I had not asked about.

Be a resource, and not just a commodity they buy.
One staff member said to me in our interview "I feel great when a customer says "thank you" and I know they really mean it because I helped them make a smart decision". There is no question that it takes more time to listen to your customers and spend the time needed to understand their needs so that you can help them understand how your product or service can meet those needs. But if you build a relationship that they trust, they will reward you with their business. And by telling their friends.

Maybe to many of you, this is nothing more than a BGO (blinding glimpse of the obvious). To me, it was a strong reminder of how important trust and service have become in a world where both are in short supply.

Digital Technology Requires Changing Your Mindset and Model For Business Development

As the Web continues to impact the consumer decision journey and create a permanently altered landscape of empowered consumers and 24/7 brand interaction, some agencies have accepted this new reality and adjusted their approach to new business development. Others haven’t, and apparently need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into today’s world.

I continue to be amazed at the number of agencies who treat digital communication tools, especially social media, as a secondary, or even tertiary, consideration for their clients and prospects. Even though their clients have moved beyond them and are increasingly seeking ways to engage their customers at every step of their interaction in the brand decision process.

Agencies have traditionally focused their efforts on push-driven brand marketing to woo consumers when they first consider products and on promotional efforts at the point-of-sale to influence them as they are about to make a purchase. That approach assumes that customers move through a traditional decision process (commonly viewed as a funnel) that starts with evaluating alternatives through input from past experiences, brand messages and word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family, then narrowing their choices and making a purchase decision.

Digital technology is changing all that. Consumers now read online reviews, compare features and prices on multiple web sites, and discuss options with total strangers on social networking sites. This information flow creates a new decision process where the evaluation of purchase options can grow exponentially as new input is accessed. Recent studies have indicated that while consumers enjoy this new empowerment for the most part, many are simply overwhelmed and want marketers to help them make smart decisions. They just don’t want to feel subjected to a hard sell. They demand a two-way relationship that is divorced from a one-way, company-driven sales mentality.

Agencies must development a new mindset about what their clients need and build a new model to meet that need.

This doesn’t mean that agencies should abandon traditional media. Despite the numerous predictions of the death of television, it is still the most pervasive and powerful communication tool a marketer can use. What it does mean is that agencies must begin to treat digital media tools, and especially social media, as something equal in importance to traditional media.

Too many agencies have stood by and watched their role and value decline with their clients as specialty digital suppliers have grabbed this turf and diminished their importance in the marketing hierarchy. It’s time for agencies re-evaluate their organizational structure and compensation models. It’s time for agencies to invest in social media through blogs and other digital tools. It’s time for agencies to re-define their role with clients and prospects as more than a creative and production vendor.

Clients need ideas that will transform their business like never before, and now is the time for agencies to step in as a partner in setting business strategy, designing products and services to meet changing customer needs and wants, and creating new revenue models for their client and for themselves. Clients need help in keeping up with the increasing availability of new digital tools and how to use them to their advantage.

Clients need more than new ads and a new web site; they need to know the best ways to build a bridge between their brand and their customers. But that need is not just how to effectively use email, blogs, Twitter, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay etc., but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact and build brand advocates.

It’s time for agencies to develop a mindset and model that truly meets these new client needs. If we don’t, the agency business is doomed to becoming a second-class citizen in the marketing community. And that would be a shame for an industry that grew up with heroes like Leo Burnett, David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach.

Understanding Your Client's Mindset Is Essential To New Business

Every good salesman knows that you must understand your customer's needs in order to make a sale. The same holds true for ad agencies looking for new business growth -- you must understand the mindset and needs of your clients and prospects if you are going to be successful.

RSW/US has just released their 2010 New Business Report, titled A Client's Perspective on Agencies www.rswus.com/surveys. While many of the findings are not new, they offer a good reminder for the key elements to keep in mind as you plan and execute your new business program:

1. Clients want leadership, not partnership.
The pace and magnitude of change in marketing today has many clients confused and somewhat frightened. They don't need a friend to hold their hand, they need solid guidance and recommendations on how to take their products and services to an empowered consumer in a rapidly changing media environment.

When asked in the RSW survey why the respondents decided to change agencies, their top answers were: "Not happy with strategy or thinking" (44%), "not happy with creative" (42%), "wanted lots of ideas for a new project" (29%).
If you want to win (and keep) clients, you need to be proactive in leading your clients to explore new ways to market. If you don't, someone else will.

2. Clients want to know that you understand their company and their category.
Before you make any recommendation, you must give your client or prospect permission to believe that your ideas are based a sound strategy developed from your understanding of their company and customers. When RSW researchers asked about the factors that were most critical in helping to decide which agency to choose, the top two answers were: "Understanding your company direction" (69%) and "understanding of your market" (68%).

If you want to win (and keep) clients, you need to ask questions, stay on top of competitor's activities, and read and report on every new piece of consumer information you find. Remember that it is important to make sure your client knows how hard you are working to stay on top of things. Don't assume they will know. Send them articles from trade pubs and links to new studies, along with your summary of key insights and how it will/might affect your client. They will appreciate your efforts, and be more receptive to your recommendations.

3. Clients want reassurance. Show them a defined planning process and back it up with case studies that prove it works.
There's no need to invent a magic buzzword to define your methodology (the good ones have already been taken, anyway). The important thing is for your agency to have a planning approach that has proven successful for other clients.

Having a defined process works on two levels. It gives the CMO confidence that the agency will build its recommendations from a formula that worked for other marketers. And, it gives the CMO a rationale for his management to understand and accept his decision to choose a particular agency (keep in mind that every CMO has someone looking over his shoulder and will often make the most defensible decision, whether it is the best one or not).

The RSW study found that 45% of respondents listed "Agency's planning process" as a key factor in choosing an agency. The study also reinforced the power of case studies and testimonials for reassurance. "Recommendation from a colleague" (38%) and "recommendation from a marketer in another company" (37%) were also ranked highly as specific factors which most influenced their choice.

The RSW study has many other excellent insights, especially if you read the verbatim comments from respondents. My key takeaway from the study is something I have said in other posts -- clients aren't looking for a new ad or a new website, they are looking for a way to build a bridge between their brand and their customers.

How much you understand about their company, their customer, and their mindset will determine how successful you are at convincing them your agency is their best choice to build that bridge.

Give your prospects "permission to believe" to win new business

An ad agency exec recently asked me "what is the most important ingredient for a successful new business program?" Obviously, there are many things that contribute to new business success. First of all, you must have a defined and relevant positioning for your agency that differentiates your company in some way from the competition. If you have direct and successful experience in their business category or against their target audience you increase your odds of winning. As do case studies and testimonials that are relevant to the prospect.

In the fast-changing world of digital media and social media marketing, the ability to help a client navigate these new and challenging waters is an increasingly important element in new business success. Many clients are simply overwhelmed by the complexity and pace of change and need guidance on how to take advantage of these new technology tools. For many clients, it is important to keep in mind that the ultimate need is not just how to use email, blogs, podcasts, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, user-generated content, Twitter, etc. but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact.

There are many other ingredients for new business success, but all are based on the idea that you must give your prospect "permission to believe" to win their trust . . . and their business.

Regardless of how you approach new business for your company, unless you can give your prospect "permission to believe" that you are the best resource for their specific needs, you will have difficulty winning the account.

"Permission to believe" is critical for ad agencies because the natural tendency for clients and prospects is not to believe us. For years, our business model was based on a compensation system that promoted mistrust as to our motives for media recommendations. We compounded this error by looking down our noses at "below the line" activities and clients who didn't "get it" when we showed them new and different creative ideas (that may or may not have been consistent with their brand personality). Many agencies had an arrogant "we're the experts, not you" attitude with their clients, so why are you questioning our expertise?

Not all agencies were guilty of these practices, but we are all tainted by them. Most studies still list advertising and used-car salesmen as the lowest on the hierarchy of trusted professions.

Take a look around your local agency scene. Who is winning and who is not? I'll bet it's the agencies that have built a reputation for honesty and integrity. The ones who are known to work hard for their clients. The ones who go out of their way to find new ways to help their clients grow their business.

The agencies who give their clients "permission to believe" every day.

White Papers Can Be A Great Tool For Ad Agency New Business

If there has been one constant in the fast-changing world of Internet marketing, it has been that "content" is the key ingredient for success. The same is true for white papers. A well-written white paper generates awareness about a product, service or organization, and is especially valuable as it is most often read while a company or individual is in the evaluation stage for a new purchase. There is a wealth of hard evidence through published case studies to support the value of white papers as a marketing tool, but perhaps one of the more impressive pieces of evidence is the $40 million paid by TechTarget to acquire white paper aggregator, BitPipe.

White papers have been in use as government position papers for almost 100 years, and during the past decade we have seen an explosion of business white papers as B2B marketing and sales tools. But surprisingly, many ad agencies have failed to take advantage of white papers as a marketing tool.

White papers can be used in several ways by ad agencies:

• As an awareness and lead-generation tool for new business;
• As a thought-leadership and CRM tool for current clients;
• As a training tool for employees and clients.

Why should your agency use white papers? That's simple, they work. Several studies have documented the importance of white papers in evaluation and decision-making. A recent study by MarketingSherpa on technology marketing reported that 44% of respondents said they like reviewing white papers. Even more importantly, 70% said they visited the vendor website and 45% contacted the vendor for further information.

According to Information Week, 93% of white papers are passed on to at least one other reader and 86% say they are moderately or highly influential. Case studies have reported that white papers can significantly outperform banner ads and email as a lead generation tool for many businesses.

White papers can establish your agency as an important thought leader. White papers provide a platform for an agency to demonstrate their expertise and the quality of their thinking. Whether the topic is general (e.g. branding), industry-specific (e.g. trends in healthcare marketing), or topic-specific (e.g. how to use social media), a well-written white paper can establish your agency as an authority on the subject. Importantly, studies have shown that executives read white papers, so a white paper can be that foot-in-the-door that you've been trying to establish but can't seem to get past the voicemail and spam blocker screens.

Some of the more popular ways to use white papers are:

• Discuss trends (can establish the need for a change from the reader).
• Identify problems (can build a rapport and affinity with the reader).
• Provide solutions (can confirm your expertise, but must be seen as objective and not a sales message to have credibility with the reader).
• Suggest what to look for (can also confirm your expertise, but again must not be seen as an overt sales message).

A good white paper must be reader-focused, not self-focused. It is critically important to write white papers from an objective viewpoint so that they are seen as educational, not sales-focused. Too many marketers make the mistake of treating their white paper as a multi-page text ad for their product or service. That approach is a recipe for disaster. And rejection.

A well-written white paper becomes persuasive when the reader is presented with facts and charts to support the writer's viewpoint and avoids any claims about the company or its products and services. Most white papers tend to be 6 - 12 pages in length, which will allow you to present a thorough case without too much effort on the part of the reader. In many cases, a white paper can be a stimulus to drive traffic to an agency's website for more information (or more confirmation of the agency's expertise).

Michael Stelzner (http://www.whitepapersource.com/) , seen by many as the foremost authority on writing white papers, gave this illustration of a reader-focused vs. a self-focused white paper in a recent webinar:

Self-Focused: Groundbreaking TechWidget by XYZ Company Solves Time Management Dilemma.

Reader-Focused: Solving the Time Management Dilemma with Technology.

A white paper can carry more authority than other agency marketing collateral. It is important to remember that a white paper carries a cachet of authenticity that other marketing collateral for your agency doesn't possess. To some readers, there is a perception (rightly or wrongly) that white papers are completely objective and factual, almost like a scientific paper that has been peer-reviewed. So be careful that you don't mis-use or abuse the white paper as a marketing tool. But it can, and should, be used by more agencies.

Changes in Consumer Behavior Can Affect Ad Agency New Business.

Understanding your prospect's mindset is essential to developing new business for an ad agency. Clients want leadership and new ideas from their agency, as many are simply overwhelmed by the onslaught of new media options and the need for a strategy that marries new technology options with traditional media. Agencies that thrive today aren't just making good ads, they are helping their clients build a bridge between their brand and their customers, and a new report from Interpublic Group's Initiative offers new insights on how the recession is affecting consumer behavior that have implications for marketers that every agency should understand.


"The Game Changer" report concludes that the recession, in combination with the Internet, has created some permanent changes in consumer behavior. This isn't necessarily new information, but the specifics of how much these changes will affect marketers can be a tool for new business prospecting.
Here are three of the main conclusions from this study. I highly recommend that you download and review the complete study. A link is shown at the bottom of this post.

Internet content now seen as more reliable than traditional media.
While consumers still rely on television and newspapers for information, a growing number cite the Internet as their primary source, with 35% now saying that Internet content is more reliable and detailed than TV. This can have major implications for marketers who continue to place a substantial portion of their advertising dollars in traditional media. Brands must be prepared to engage with their customers on the customer's terms, not the marketers, and smart agencies can use this to offers prospects strategic alternatives to transition from a "push" strategy to a "pull" strategy.

"Reliability" and "honesty" are more important than brand heritage.
One of the most significant implications for marketers is that the recession has accelerated the decline in trust of institutions (and concomitantly brand advertising), and created an opening for social platforms and online consumer content to be seen as more trustworthy. The report calls for brand communications that are transparent and authentic, and that brands need to display values that are consistent with the personal beliefs of their customers to be respected and supported. This calls for a totally new approach to communication and offers yet another reason for marketers to consider a new agency.

The Internet and mobile phone have become essential "tools for life".
Perhaps the most far-reaching conclusion from the study is that 75% of respondents see the Internet as an indispensable resource for entertainment, information, communication and shopping. Over half (56%) consider the mobile phone the second most essential form of technology. Importantly, the study concludes that consumers now have an emotional connection with the online world and activities like shopping will never be the same. The opportunity for an agency to help a client develop a more complete and holistic social strategy that complements traditional communication vehicles has never been greater.

There are several other important conclusions, but the overall takeaway from this study is that the economic crisis is a game changer for consumers. And that makes it a game changer for marketers. Any agency looking for new business would be wise to determine how it changes the game for your biz dev efforts.

View the complete study and accompanying article at: http://tr.im/pnqa.
And thanks to @briannewberry for the alert!

What do you think? Do you agree that these changes in consumer behavior affect how you can approach new business prospects?

7 Steps for Building Stronger Client Relationships.

Many business development strategies focus on tactics for prospecting and gaining new business from outside sources, but often neglect to stress the importance of maintaining and building your relationship with current clients. Keeping a strong and healthy relationship with your current base is particularly important in a recession when budget cuts and loss leader offers from competitive suppliers make your agency more vulnerable.

Another point to keep in mind is that when looking to gain new business, you should not forget that the low-hanging fruit if often already on your client list. A recent study for the CMO Council found that 92% of respondents did not feel they had maximized the potential of their current client list. So here are seven important steps you should take to build your relationship with your current clients.

Step #1 - Identify your most important clients to prioritize your efforts.
You have limited time and resources, so it is important for you to focus your efforts where they will be most valuable to your agency. As a general rule, your largest client(s) should head this list, but not always. A detailed cost accounting analysis may reveal that our number two or number three clients are more profitable based on work load requirements and the type/quality of work you do for them. You should also make an objective evaluation of the strength of your relationship and the potential for growth. You may find some surprising insights on where and how to focus your client nurture efforts.

Step #2 - Develop a marketing plan for each client.
How many times do we stress the importance of developing a plan to our clients but fail to write one for ourselves. Take the time to develop customized objectives and strategies for each client and share the responsibility by giving specific assignments to senior members of your organization. Strengthening and growing your current clients is too important a task to rely solely on lower level account managers to do the job.

Step #3 - Get visible at multiple layers of client management.
If your primary contact and exposure is limited to only one level of line management, you are much more exposed than if you have a working relationship at the EVP or C-level. Most budget directives and hire-fire decisions are top-down, not bottom-up. We all know this, but the lackadaisical approach many agency heads take to keeping a high top-of-mind awareness and appreciation with client senior executives never ceases to amaze me. Many times the direct client contact discourages multiple contacts, but this is something you must not allow to happen. Don't go over your direct contact's head without his knowledge, but find ways to get others involved or face the consequences.

Step #4 - Promote yourself to your clients to reinforce your value and ROI.
Don't assume that the client recognizes and acknowledges your value just because the program is working. Do you think the marketing director is giving your agency all the credit? You should regularly look for ways to promote the quality of your agency and how your programs are adding value to the client's business and marketing goals. In today's soft economy, a focus on how your work is helping your client weather the recession is a good place to start.

One strategy that is helpful to many agencies is to generate a regular flow of program analyses, competitive and category updates, relevant articles and white papers on current or future areas of interest for the company. I always encouraged my account managers to read and search industry publications and websites for articles to forward to the clients, and to regularly screen competitor websites for new items that the client may have missed. This simple act can often make your direct contact a hero in the organization by keeping him informed and demonstrates the commitment you have to their business.

I also recommend that agencies develop two versions of press releases -- one to distribute to the media and a second version for clients and friends. The clients and friends version can go beyond the "just the facts" approach desired by reporters to include more acknowledgment and praise for the agency.

Step #5 - Conduct a Client Satisfaction Survey to identify opportunity areas and uncover potential problem areas.
If you aren't asking your clients regularly and formally if you are meeting or exceeding their expectations, now is the time to begin that process. Client needs are constantly changing, and a formal survey provides a platform for the agency to make changes and recommendations to meet those needs. Take the opportunity to talk about the economy and ask if there is any more you can do to help them in these difficult economic circumstances. Become part of the solution to the recession in their mind, not part of the problem. This is also an excellent way to build your knowledge and relationship with multiple levels of client management.

In some cases, it may help to outsource the survey to an independent party in order to gain the most candid feedback. But even if you take that route, there is an opportunity for senior management to meet with the client to confirm what you heard and how you plan to respond to that information.

Step #6 - Take your client to lunch.
As simple as that sounds, I see too many agencies that fail to appreciate the value of face-to-face contact in building a professional and personal relationship. As business has evolved in our 24/7, on demand world, many business relationships have become too impersonal. While voice mail, e-mail and text messaging are certainly more time efficient, they can never replace the value of reading the client's body language and visceral reaction to a recommendation. And you should never forget that it is more difficult to fire a friend than a vendor.

Step #7 - Offer a steady stream of insights and recommendations on ways to grow their business or improve their profitability.
The need for proactive thought-leadership as a relationship tool cannot be stressed enough. Your agency must be seen as more than a vendor of ads to have a long-term client relationship.

An obvious area to explore is the fact that many clients are simply overwhelmed by the complexity and pace of change and need guidance on how to take advantage of new media alternatives and technology tools. But keep in mind that the ultimate need is not just how to effectively use email, blogs, podcasts, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, user-generated content, Twitter, etc., but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact.

Clients also need help in understanding how their target audience attitudes, needs and motivations are changing as they adapt to new economic and social conditions. The Internet doesn't just change how we communicate with each other. It is having a profound impact on our shopping and buying habits, as well as our understanding of the world around us and how we relate to each other. The more real insight and information you can provide the client for his unique business situation and needs, the better your chances to be seen as an invaluable asset to their business.

In a recent post, I referenced a study by Rain Today that found only 42% of clients said they were "very satisfied" with their marketing/advertising/PR agency. Only 42%! That means that over half are not satisfied and are vulnerable to leaving their agency. The time to act is now! Building a stronger relationship with your current clients may be your best chance to avoid becoming a casualty of the recession.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree that building current client relationships is just as important, if not more so, than gaining new clients? I would love your feedback to this post.

7 Ways To Piss Off A Client

In a recent study by Rain Today, 42% of clients said they were "very satisfied" with their marketing/advertising/PR agency. Only 42%! That means that more than half are not satisfied, and are vulnerable to leaving their agency. Most of the talk about how to survive this recession has focused on gaining new clients, but it is just as important to keep your current clients (and income).

A few years ago, I gave a speech to an AAF regional meeting on "7 Ways To Piss Off A Client". My talk was based on actual quotes from clients on why they had recently fired their agency. Word about the speech spread, and I eventually gave that same talk to over 30 local ad clubs and business organizations. When I read the report referenced above, it reminded me of that speech and a quick review convinced me it is still valid today.

All of these "seven ways" are what I call BGO's (i.e. blinding glimpses of the obvious). But the sad fact is that even though agencies know these actions break down the relationship, many still commit these basic relationship mistakes every day. I could have titled my speech "7 Ways To Keep A Client Happy", but doing everything right doesn't always translate into keeping a client happy and loyal. I gave my audience the assurance that following my advice was guaranteed to upset their client-agency relationship. Here are my key points, followed by actual quotes on why that made them angry enough to look for a new agency supplier.

1. Don't listen.
"Agencies have all the answers. They think they know more about my business than I do. Or worse, they are only thinking about winning awards and not what sells."
2. Miss deadlines without warning the client.
"Agencies will tell you anything to get you to approve a job, but when the pressure's on, they're always late."
3. Be over-budget.
"All agency people are overpaid and under-worked. No wonder they're so careless with my money."
4. Be intractable. Argue about everything.
"Agencies argue about periods versus exclamation points. They try so hard to be right all the time, they lose sight of what they should be doing."
5. Be greedy.
"Agencies think that advertising is the only way to sell products are are always recommending ways to increase their billings, not increase my sales."
6. Don't support your client's products.
"Agencies are whores. They don't really have a commitment to my business."
7. Be preoccupied with new business or other business.
"After the honeymoon, the agency just didn't give me the service they had promised. They never seemed to be there when I called."

Do any of these seven ways sound familiar? If they do, maybe you should re-think your business development strategy.

Agencies must kick the can if they want to win new business

In previous posts, I've talked about the new rules of ad agency business development and the futility of continuing to prospect and pitch for new business the way it has been done in the past. Marketing has changed. Marketers have changed. Agencies must understand and accept that in today's challenging marketplace, clients are not asking, "How can you help us make ads or a new web site," they're saying, "how much do you understand about our business in order to help us build a bridge between our brand and our customers."

Clients need help in understanding how their business can take advantage of new media alternatives. But the question is not just how to effectively use email, blogs, podcasts, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, user-generated content, Twitter, etc., but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact.

Clients need help in understanding how their target audience attitudes, needs and motivations are changing as they adapt to new economic and social conditions. The Internet doesn't just change how we communicate with each other. It is having a profound impact on our shopping and buying habits, as well as our understanding of the world around us and how we relate to each other.

The more real insight and information you can provide the prospect for his unique business situation and needs, the better your chances to secure a new client assignment. The key words here are "insight" and "unique". Clients don't just need to know how to start writing and maintaining a blog; they need to know if a blog can really have an impact in building preference and advocacy for their specific products and services. To win their trust, and their business, agencies need to take their general sales materials and customize them to speak specifically and directly to one prospect at a time.

Too many agencies try to develop a generic selling story that can be used for all prospects. They try to sell their process, without selling how their process works for a specific client. They assume that the client will automatically see the connection and appreciate its value for their own business. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Most clients don't have the time or the inclination to make that intuitive leap. We've got to make it for them.

This means that agencies need to research each prospect, search for some unique aspect of their business situation and give them some insight and direction on how they can grow their business by hiring your agency. If all you have to give them is a generic statement about your agency, you will have a tough time winning their trust and reduce the uncertainty every prospect faces when hiring a professional service.

In other words, kick the canned pitch if you want to win new business.

Beyond Advertising - A New Direction for Ad Agencies?

In 2007, the IBM Institute for Business Value issued an insightful report titled The End of Advertising As We Know It in which they predicted that the next five years will hold more change for the advertising industry than the previous 50. Their study concluded that the accelerating shift of media experience and control to consumers and more self-reliant advertisers who are seeking more interactive, measurable formats will redefine how advertising is sold, created, consumed and tracked. As a result, traditional agencies run the risk of becoming irrelevant without a major shift in their approach and services offering.

The IBM study asks us to imagine and consider the consequences to traditional agencies in an advertising world where:

• Interactive advertising surpasses traditional mass media vehicles as the preferred advertising format.
• Ad space is sold through auctions and exchanges.
• An advertiser can know who viewed and acted on an ad, and pay based on real impact rather than estimated "impressions."
• Consumers self-select which ads they watch and share preferred ads with peers.
• User-generated advertising is as prevalent (and appealing) as agency-created spots.

Last month, IBM issued a follow-up report based on their conclusion that major advertising trends identified in the previous study are happening at a faster rate than anticipated, while agencies, content owners and distributors have not responded sufficiently to these changes. This 2008 study, titled Beyond Advertising. Choosing a Strategic Path to the Digital Consumer, addresses these changes in more depth and from a very pragmatic perspective. Importantly, this report offers some practical advice to agencies on how to leverage their strengths in the creative area in the near term while they look for ways to adapt their business model and services offering to address the new environment.

Some of their suggested areas for immediate focus are:

• Look for ways to broaden capabilities that can be integrated with traditional services offered by the agency as a way to diversify revenue and build a stronger client relationship at the strategic level.
• Begin to proactively experiment with new tools and services that can deliver and automate ways to analyze ROI.
• Restructure the organization to promote more collaboration by breaking down self-created silos across disciplines.
• Consider partnerships to complement services and expertise that may be lacking today.
• Look for ways to operate more efficiently through workflow automation, automated creative development tools and alternative media buying scenarios or partnerships.

One of their more intriguing suggestions is to redefine the agency role to be that of an "insights broker" that can analyze and integrate cross-platform sets of data to generate actionable solutions that better profile, target and measure ad campaigns. This represents a dramatic change from the traditional mass-oriented approach to analysis and measurement based on reach and impressions-based measures like cost-per-thousand.

The overall conclusion of the study is that agencies will need to adapt to this new environment in order to survive. Even while we must navigate the current economic environment that suggests a limitation on investment, agencies must start to experiment with and build these new capabilities now. The future will not just be the "end of advertising as we know it", it will be the end of the advertising agency as we know it.

To read the complete IBM study, go to this link:

http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/index.wss/ibvstudy/gbs/a1031045?cntxt=a1000062

A Look at the Ad Agency of Tomorrow

If you do nothing else today, read the lead article in the newly released Razorfish Digital Outlook Report titled "A New Role for Agencies. From Breaking Campaigns to Building Client Businesses". Follow this link to the complete report http://digitaloutlook.razorfish.com/publication/xml/4837/13617/13617.pdf
This year's DOR is filled with many excellent articles, but for anyone involved with new business, the most thought-provoking is the introductory one by CEO Clark Kokich.

Clark explains that his primary role as an agency head used to focus on talking to clients about how to say the right things, e.g. what do we need to say to persuade people to buy our product or service? He says that today he spends more time talking to clients about how to build relationships with their customers -- what do customers need to know to make smart decisions? how do we reach customers on the go? how do we help customers share their experiences with their peers?

This is not a new message from a digital agency. Every advertising conference for the past few years has predicted that the future is in building customer experiences, not just in producing great advertising. Clark takes this message a step further by pointing out the impact this change is having on the role all advertising agencies can, and should, play within client organizations.

As I have noted in previous posts, many clients are simply overwhelmed by the plethora of new digital tools and how to use them to their advantage. In today's challenging marketplace, clients are not saying to their agencies, "How can you help us make ads or a new web site," they're saying, "how much do you understand about our business in order to help us build a bridge between our brand and our customers." The question is not just how to effectively use email, blogs, podcasts, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, user-generated content, Twitter, etc., but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact.

There is no question that the new digital environment opens opportunities to redefine and expand the role agencies can play with their clients. Clients are dealing with a laundry list of challenges – a struggling economy, competition from companies and places that they never dreamed would impact their business, a continued drive for lower costs, and perhaps, most frightening of all, a growing realization of the power that a connected consumer has over their business strategy and success.

Clark's essay concludes that clients need ideas that will transform their business and that now is the time for agencies to step in as a partner in setting business strategy, designing products and services to meet changing customer needs and wants, and creating new revenue models for their client and for themselves.

This is, indeed, a new role for agencies. It will not only require new skills, it will demand that agencies expand their definition of what it takes to be a great agency. The agency of tomorrow will truly understand how to help their clients find the ideal marketing mix of "creative, technology, media, user experience and analytics."

It's a new role for agencies. Frightening to some. A great opportunity for all who embrace it to its fullest extent.

New Rules for New Business - Part 3 of 3

In Parts One and Two of this series on New Rules for Pitching and Winning New Business , I focused on how to approach new business today and how to build a sales story for your agency. To recap, the first six rules for a successful new business program are:

Rule #1 - Project work is the name of the game. Most clients don’t want or feel they need an Agency of Record (AOR) relationship.
Rule #2 - In today’s world of fragmented media and extreme audience segmentation, you must own a niche, or even a niche within a niche to differentiate your agency.
Rule #3 - Creative expertise is yesterday’s discriminator. It’s still important, but ROI is the most desirable characteristic today.
Rule #4 - Agencies need to build an ROI story into every case study.
Rule #5 - Your website is the “front door to your brand”. Make sure it is tells a powerful brand story or prospects won’t even bother to knock.
Rule #6 - Give them a new insight on their business that will grow their sales and profits.

In today's post, we will focus on a couple of practical strategies to be more efficient in your new business program and finish off with the one thing every agency must be doing to grow their business.

7. Be very specific in building a prospect target list. You can’t afford to waste time, effort and dollars on long shots.
New business has always been a numbers game. The more clients you can effectively network with, the more clients you can potentially gain. For many years, new business plans have organized prospects into three buckets – short term prospects (the proverbial low-hanging fruit that you have already built some level of relationship with), developmental prospects (those who need to be developed but are still well within the agency’s reach), and long shot prospects (the clients that can redefine an agency). As a new business consultant for several agencies, I used to promote this strategy in building a new business plan. Today, however, I counsel agencies to focus on short term prospects with some effort against developmental prospects and to be very cautious about investing in long shot prospects. This is especially true in today's cautious business environment or if the prospect’s business category or audience is outside the agencies’ general niche of expertise or size.

When building a prospect list, an agency should ask themselves how difficult it will be for the CMO to choose their agency for the assignment. Is your agency the right size for the client? Does your agency personality and style match, or closely resemble, that of the client? Do you have the right category experience? Does your agency have solid case histories that prove you have been successful for similar clients with similar needs?

If your answers are no or maybe, there may be too many hurdles to overcome for a client to choose your agency. In my experience, today CMO is not only looking for an agency that can do the job, but also for an agency that is defensible to their management.

I’m not putting client marketing directors down. I’m simply stating a fact. They can’t afford to make a mistake – their job depends on making a good choice in selecting an agency partner. So they are more likely to opt for the logical choice, whether that is the best one or not. The challenge for the agency is to pursue prospects that can more easily defend their selection as the best choice the CMO could make.

8. Look first at your current clients for new business opportunities and actively seek to build a more solid trust relationship.
Everyone in business knows that it is much more costly to attract a new client than it is to retain a current client. Yet too many agencies don’t devote enough time or effort to client retention even though the level and intensity of competitive activity in the agency community is mind-boggling. According to a 4-A’s study, the average client-agency relationship tenure in 1984 was 7.2 years. By 1997, that number had declined 25% to 5.3 years and today is thought to be less than three years.

That means that for most agencies, one-third of their business needs to be replaced each year. Now, more than ever, an agency needs to find a way to continue to build their relationship with their client. Performing at a high level on today’s assignment is no longer a guarantee of a successful, long-term relationship. The marketplace is changing too rapidly to expect next year’s marketing program to have the same marketing mix or line item budget than this year’s plan.

Agencies should be constantly looking for new ways to help their clients. And the key phrase here is “to help their clients”, not to help their agency. For too many years, agencies have failed to grasp the erosion in trust that comes from self-promoting recommendations to increase television spending or to use the super-expensive director or photographer. In a world that is increasingly dominated by specialists, virtual agencies and free-lancers with lower overhead, clients can be swayed by the genuineness of your efforts to control costs as much as the quality of your work product.

9. The confusion and uncertainty of how to use social media and other digital marketing tools are a great opportunity for new business growth.
To say that the Internet has changed the way people interact and communicate with each other is only half of the story. It has profoundly influenced how brands go to market, and the effect can be overwhelming to marketers. As noted earlier, clients are looking for ideas and insights. An agency that can give information, understanding and guidance on how to use the new marketing tools presents a great opportunity for agency new business efforts.

The question for many advertisers is not just how to effectively use email, blogs, podcasts, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, user-generated content, Twitter, etc., but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact. The concept of “above the line” and “below the line” is no longer valid, if in fact it ever was. It’s all important. It’s all potentially valuable. And, most importantly, it’s a great opportunity for an agency to attract new customers. Or build a stronger relationship with your current clients.

I'm a fan of David Meerman Scott and his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR. His ideas on the convergence of marketing and public relations on the web and on the futility of continuing to embrace the old rules of marketing in an online world make a lot of sense to me. When a buyer uses a search engine to research a company or category, it doesn't matter whether his first impression came from a television or magazine ad, a PR release, a hit on the client's web site, or a link from a Tweet. The only criteria is that a company has a consistent branding message across all access points. Clients are hungry for an agency partner that can help them utilize the new tools that are available.

So there you have it. Nine new rules to add to all the others. Understanding and adapting to these new rules can mean the difference between life and death for your new business efforts. And that can mean the difference in life and death for your agency!

Good hunting!

New Rules for New Business - Part 1 of 3

In his best-selling book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott exposes the futility of continuing to embrace the old rules of marketing in an online world. The same conclusion can be drawn for agencies who continue to execute their new business prospecting and pitching the way they always have. Marketing has changed. Marketers have changed. Understanding and adapting to these new rules can mean the difference between life and death for your new business efforts. And that can mean the difference in life and death for your agency!

In a previous post, I identified nine new rules for pitching and winning new business. In this series of posts, I will discuss these new rules in more detail. As always, you can do everything right and still not win the business, but I firmly believe that if you adapt your program to embrace these new rules, you will dramatically increase your chances for new business success.

Rule #1 - Project work is the name of the game. Most clients don’t want or feel they need an Agency of Record (AOR) relationship.
A few years ago, agencies tried to make a case for providing all marketing communications services under a single agency roof. Large conglomerates like Omnicom and WPP added media buying services, public relations, direct marketing, research, digital services, etc. but the true benefits for the client were hard to identify and justify. A recent survey by American Association of Advertising Agencies (4-A’s) confirms that unbundling is accelerating across the country. Marketing directors cite several reasons for this trend, ranging from lower costs to specialty expertise to an attempt to keep agencies “on their toes”. Regardless of the reasons, and no matter how much agency heads protest that fragmenting service providers can greatly reduce the singularity of the brand message and personality, the classic AOR relationship is a thing of the past.

There is a proliferation of small consulting firms that are making a comfortable living through one-off projects that help a client set up and use tools like search engine optimization, email, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Then they show the client how to run and maintain this on-line portfolio of communication and move on. They don't make a whole lot of money on a particular client assignment, but they have plenty of projects to work on. And without high overhead, this business strategy can be very profitable.

Importantly, they are creating an expectation and setting a precedent that traditional agencies cannot afford to ignore. Agencies must recognize and accept this new rule and identify the type of project your agency can use as an entry point for new clients. A careful evaluation of your prospect's current effort can usually identify a conversation starting point for a project that will grow or enhance their business. After you successfully complete that project, you can use the results and the relationship to garner additional projects. Hopefully, over time, you can build enough trust and relationship equity to warrant special, automatic consideration for new work, even if you never become agency of record.

Rule #2 - In today’s world of fragmented media and extreme audience segmentation, you must own a niche, or even a niche within a niche to differentiate your agency.
For many agencies, their new business focus has been to be seen as experts in a given category – e.g. healthcare, financial services, hospitality, digital marketing, etc. Or they have positioned themselves as having a unique understanding of a particular audience segment – teens, tweens, seniors, working women, etc.

Changing customer dynamics and new technology tools make it difficult for a generalist agency or category specialist to compete today. Understanding hospital customers and marketing strategies does not necessarily mean you know how to market local specialty clinics. And it certainly won't give you an inside track on how to help healthcare insurance providers optimize their marketing communication efforts.

Being a good website designer doesn’t automatically qualify you to be an expert in search engine optimization. And being an SEO expert doesn’t make you an SEM expert.

With the explosion in new media channels and digital marketing tools, clients need to be very precise in developing messaging to build small audience niches. Agencies can differentiate themselves by understanding and adapting their positioning strategy and new business efforts to take advantage of this trend.

Chris Anderson’s insightful book, The Long Tail, was about a new model for business in a world of near limitless choice for consumers. In many ways, that same “long tail” applies to the marketing communications environment. Simply being an expert in a general category or audience segment or media channel isn’t enough. The more specific you can build your expertise, the better story you will have to a client base that is increasingly hesitant to take a chance on an agency that hasn’t already proven its value in their market niche.

As marketers become more focused and precise in segmenting their audiences and media channels, agencies will need to become more targeted to be successful.

Rule #3 - Creative expertise is yesterday’s discriminator. It’s still important, but ROI is the most desirable characteristic today.
The power of a strong creative story in new business can never be discounted or eliminated. Creativity is the most exciting aspect of our business, and a well conceived idea that is presented in a unique and memorable way will always gather praise and admiration from clients.

But the most desirable characteristic an agency can offer to a prospect today is return on investment. Budget-strapped marketers are desperately seeking ways to break through the marketing clutter to reach new customers and sustain the attention of profitable customers through messages delivered at the right place, time and through the right channel. Agencies that demonstrate an understanding and a process for how to analyze and use customer information more effectively will have a much higher success rate than agencies who continue to market themselves as creative experts. Marketing analytics are not the cure-all for marketers’ woes, but they are the next big thing for agency new business prospecting.

The question for many advertisers is not just how to effectively use email, blogs, podcasts, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, user-generated content, Twitter, etc., but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact. The concept of “above the line” and “below the line” is no longer valid, if in fact it ever was.

It’s all important. It’s all potentially valuable. And metrics now give us the ability to support a recommendation beyond the traditional "trust us" concept of yesterday. The old saw that "half of my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half" is no longer accepted by CMO's who know that there is a better way.

Being able (and willing) to apply a sound evaluation of the return on the investment is a great opportunity for an agency to attract new customers. Or build a stronger relationship with your current clients.

Stay tuned for more!

9 New Rules for Pitching and Winning New Business

Winning new business has always been hard. Sometimes, you can do everything right and still not win the account. Anyone who has been involved in pursuing new business knows the feeling that your agency was perfect for the account and you just can’t imagine why you were not selected. Then there are those times that you think you blew it in some way yet still win the business.

It’s important to remember that those situations will still happen regardless of how well you plan or how well you execute your new business plan. But the one thing you can control is an understanding of your agency’s capabilities and the client’ needs. And in today’s digital world, the client’s needs have changed considerably. Hence the need to identify new rules for pitching and winning new business.

In a previous post and subsequent white paper, I identified the eight dumbest mistakes agencies make when planning and prospecting for new business. You can download a free copy of that white paper from my website at http://www.raindanceconsulting.com/ .

All of those mistakes can still ruin your chances of new business success, so they must be a part of your plan development process. But times have changed, and client attitudes and needs have changed. Here are nine new rules for new business success that take those changing attitudes and needs into account.

1. Project work is the name of the game. Most clients don’t want or feel they need an Agency of Record (AOR) relationship.
2. In today’s world of fragmented media and extreme audience segmentation, you must own a niche, or even a niche within a niche.
3. Creative expertise is yesterday’s discriminator. It’s still important, but ROI is the most desirable characteristic today.
4. Agencies need to build an ROI story into every case study.
5. Your website is the “front door to your brand”. Make sure it is tells a powerful brand story or prospects won’t even bother to knock.
6. Give them a new insight on their business that will grow their sales and profits.
7. Be very specific in building a prospect target list. You can’t afford to waste time, effort and dollars on long shots.
8. Look first at your current clients for new business opportunities and actively seek to build a more solid trust relationship.
9. The confusion and uncertainty of how to use social media and other digital marketing tools are a great opportunity for new business growth.

To say that the Internet has changed the way people interact and communicate with each other is only half of the story. It has profoundly influenced how brands go to market, and the effect can be overwhelming to marketers. As noted earlier, clients are looking for ideas and insights. An agency that can give information, understanding and guidance on how to use the new marketing tools presents a great opportunity for agency new business efforts.

The question for many advertisers is not just how to effectively use email, blogs, podcasts, mobile marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, user-generated content, Twitter, etc., but how to mix them with traditional media to create the most impact. The concept of “above the line” and “below the line” is no longer valid, if in fact it ever was. It’s all important. It’s all potentially valuable. And, most importantly, it’s a great opportunity for an agency to attract new customers. Or build a stronger relationship with your current clients.

In his best-selling book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott exposes the futility of continuing to embrace the old rules of marketing in an online world. The same conclusions can be drawn for agencies who want to survive and thrive in this new connected age we live in. Marketing has changed. Marketers have changed. Understand and adapting to these new rules can mean the difference between life and death for your new business efforts. And that can mean the difference in life and death for your agency!

Over the next nine days I will be posting an expanded discussion on each of these "new rules" and exploring how to use them most effectively. I hope you will join me for the ride.

Don

Branding in a Recession Economy

The Puget Sound Chapter of American Marketing Association held an interesting panel discusion this week on "How to Recession-Proof Your Brand". Despite this somewhat presumptuous title, there were several points that I found valuable nuggets of insight.

1. Now is the time to be authentic and consistent with your brand promise. There are two key points here. The first is to avoid the temptation to dilute or cheapen your brand image with promotional incentives that might damage the brand when the economy rebounds. The example cited was Macy's which has run 40% to 70% off on every item in their store for the past two months. The Macy's brand has always been about value, not low prices. Special sales are a retail mainstay, but I believe that they are approaching a point where many customers will be hesitant to pay regular price ever again. The second point is to avoid any overpromise as a way to entice new customers. As I have said in previous posts, today's consumers are unforgiving if they feel they have been duped, and the internet gives everyone a forum to express their disappointment.

2. Now is the time to focus on your unique market niche and deepen customer relationships with your brand. This doesn't mean you shouldn't explore new revenue streams, it simply means you should focus on what you do best and avoid trying to be something you are not really good at being. This is a good time to read Chris Anderson's book The Long Tail, if you haven't already. His hypothesis that the future of business is to develop and own small niches could never be more important than now. We live in an over-choiced world. It's best to stick with what you do well than venture too far afield.

3. Now is the time to make sure all of your brand communications are consistent with your brand image, and the first place to look is your web site. Joe LaPla made an excellent point when he said that "the web site is the front door to your brand." In today's wired marketplace, the internet is the first place most people will go to make decisions about your brand's benefits and quality. A poor web site can destroy customer confidence and potential sales. I continue to see too many companies (especially small ones) with an inadequate web presence. Last week, I interviewed a new CPA on the recommendation of someone I trust. My first step was to look for his web site to make my own evaluation and discovered that he didn't have one. When I met him, I asked why he didn't have a web site and he said that he does most of his business on referral. When I told him that I almost cancelled the meeting because he didn't have a web site despite the referral recommendation, he was shocked. But he also asked me to refer a web development company to build him a site.

4. Now is the time to be your promise on the inside and the outside. People will ultimately make the difference between success or failure regardless of economic conditions, but now is the time to arm everyone on your staff (in every department) of the importance of delivering the brand promise everytime they interact with customers, or anyone for that matter. As a new business consultant, I advise my clients that everyone on staff is part of the new business team. They must be armed with a knowledge of the company positioning strategy and brand promise. And they must be committed to living up to that promise any time and every time they have the opportunity.

One final thought was expressed by all panelists -- a recession is an opportunity to strengthen your brand and emerge in a better position than your competitors if you do the right things. One example cited by Ted Leonhardt is the case of Hornall Anderson, an excellent local design firm that continued to aggressively market themselves during the 2001 economic slowdown and now enjoy a strong leadership position.

As one panelist said, 2009 can be a time of opportunity or calamity. The choice is yours!

New Business Prospecting: Understanding Your Client's Business

In a new study published by Reardon Smith Whittaker titled "A Client's Perspective On Agencies", there are many good insights and suggestions on how to tap into a new business prospect. In that study, 81% of respondents cited "understanding of your market" as a critical factor in their agency selection. The quality of the creative product is still important (69% said so), but I strongly believe that if you don't understand the client's business, then the greatest creative in the world won't win the account. Here is a link to that study: http://www.rswus.com/documents/Final2008AgencyClientSurvey_000.pdf

Several years ago, I spoke with Stan Richards, founder of The Richards Group, on what he considered the key ingredient in a new business pitch. Without hesitation, he replied that the ability to give the prospective client a new insight on their company or category was the key factor in winning new business. His business development team worked hard to find that insight, and then spent the majority of their presentation supporting that insight and its potential to grow the client's business.

In today's challenging marketplace, I would add the ability to help a client expand their marketing efforts into new digital frontiers is also a key factor in choosing one agency over another.

Clients are not saying to their agencies, "how can you help us make ads or a new web site," they're saying, "how much do you understand about our business in order to help us build a bridge between our brand and our customers."