Erosion Of Loyalty (Part 6 of 6): Avoid Eroding Partnerships
NEW, MORE EFFECTIVE WAYS TO WORK
The Decline of the Agency of Record (AOR) Model
More and more brands are choosing to give project-based work to smaller, specialized companies (in bite-sized portions) rather than large agencies, with an overall goal of lower cost. Certain agencies have the right kind of talent, who can do traditional or digital advertising whether it's long- or short-term work. According to a CMO Council survey of 276 marketers, 83% of clients surveyed look for unique & specialized skills.
Goodbye AOR Model, Hello Multi-Agency
Smaller agencies have a competitive advantage if they are more tech-savvy, have more concentrated or specialized skills, and they are flexible with the length of their projects. Marketing leadership likes to bring agencies on an as-needed basis to solve their specific marketing challenges.
Benefits of Multi-Agency Marketing
Multi-Talented, Multi Agencies
Multi-agency marketing allows us to tap into the skills and experience of an agency, and the creative ideas of a wide range of talented individuals, who are all specialists in their field.Expert Hive-Mind
Rather than just having one agency or in-house departments, with a multi-agency model you can get the benefit of the single disciplines of the experts to help deliver a successful marketing strategy.
NEW PERSPECTIVES
The Partner Perspective
Sometimes brands demand an array of services at a rock-bottom cost: what’s the true price of loyalty within a partnership?
68% of B2B executives say clients are less loyal than they used to be.
Brands make mistakes when they don’t trust an agency to look out for their blind spot, so it’s important to have partners to provide another POV.
It is harder to properly sell advertising concepts to clients especially without support from third-party vendors.
The Brand Perspective
Brands no longer have the long-standing partnerships with agencies they once did. Many agencies can be expensive, or their teams are unaligned because work cultures don’t mix. Partnering with agencies that have similar values as your brand will help generate trust over loyalty.
A multi-agency approach instead of AOR works better for task completion.
Specialized agency partners are big right now in tech, finance and health.
Be very careful in the kind of marketing work that gets outsourced versus what’s done in-house.
Managing Relationships Between Partners and Agencies
Step 1: Incorporate Partners Into Your Marketing Department
Continuous and ongoing internal communications are essential. You should work out set times to have regular inter-agency meetings and conference calls. This can be a bonus when partners can share insights, knowledge and best practices during these meetings.
Step 2: Teamwork & Accountability
Do not let your project/marketing manager lose track of what is going on - saving everything is vital. Regular reporting can play a huge part in keeping each team accountable during the entirety of the project. Consistent and transparent processes will ensure projects remain on track.
Step 3: Inter-Agency Designations
Organization is important. That's why it's incredibly helpful for there to be a single point of contact within your organization. This is someone who can coordinate activity with all your agencies and relay feedback between internal departments. In addition, having a place that tracks and records conversations is essential in keeping each team running efficiently. Consider technology that automates the reporting process and keeps everyone in the loop.
Additional Insights For Fostering Trust and Keeping Clients Loyal
Get feedback on a regular basis from clients (surveys, project retrospectives, etc.) to make sure you understand how you can keep the relationship strong.
Take advantage of face-to-face online meetings to connect and build relationships with clients in the new norm of WFH.
Useful content, like website copy, white papers, articles and blogs, helps build brand awareness and trust.
Pinpointing why a client left can help your agency develop client retention ideas.
Leverage your category experts to build credibility and trust in your agency, which can foster loyalty.
Take the time to understand your clients’ overall business needs as well as your contact’s individual/professional needs and motivations.
Account management is key in keeping clients organized, happy, informed and building trust within the agency.
This our sixth and FINAL installment on the Erosion of Loyalty. Thank you for eroding with us!
Have questions about keeping your marketing from eroding?
Talk to Mike Pocci, Executive Director/Connections at mpocci@teamaftermath.com.