[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Influencer marketing isn’t new. Remember Joe Namath in pantyhose? (If you don’t Google it) […]
There’s a talent shortage in the agency business. I can’t remember a time in recent years when agencies were hiring as much as they are today and having as much trouble finding the right fit employees. You’ve heard the adages about the costs of a bad hire and, if anything, they underreport the costs. But today, those costs are even greater because not only does the bad employee do incredible damage to your shop — they also leave a gaping hole that’s tough to fill. Unfortunately, in most cases, our bad hires are our own fault. We’re horrible interviewers. We talk way too much and we spend more time trying to convince the candidate that our agency is a wonderful place to work than we do discerning if this candidate will serve us, our team and our clients. We also don’t test the candidates well. iMedia asked me to expand on that idea in an article about how to get interview tests right. I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts. If our hiring practices could use some work, our onboarding could absolutely use an overhaul! Once you get a team member who is dedicated, committed to your team and clients and is hungry to keep getting better — don’t just bury them in work. Our research talking to over 950+ agency employees showed us that the #1 factor your employees consider as they decide whether or not to stay with you is if you’ve offered them educational opportunities. At AMI, we’re always looking for ways to help you build the team you already have. Our Advanced AE bootcamp gets rave reviews so if you want to enhance the skills of your AE crew — it’s [...]
When an agency shows a profit, one of the first inclinations of the agency owner is to pay a bonus to the staff. I applaud that instinct. But I don’t think you should do it simply because you have a little extra money. I believe you should have a bonus program that serves your agency every single day, whether you pay out any money or not. I think there are several elements of a successful bonus program: They should not be an end of the year thing. They should influence the employees to behave in ways that serve the agency year-round It needs to be simple and explained over and over (every month/quarter) It should be used to teach employees to think like agency owners (focused on the same metrics you do) It should be based on one or two metrics that accurately measure the financial health of the agency The metrics should be measured/achieved or not every month The metrics should be set in a way that your team hits the goal more often than misses (should be a stretch but a reasonable stretch...ideally they’d hit the metrics at least 7 or 8 months of the year) Bonuses should be paid quarterly (with most of the $ accumulated for an end of the year payout) to keep everyone motivated/focused The owners should hold an all agency meeting every month to report on financials/success on bonus program for the month/YTD At AMI, we have a specific bonus program that we teach in our workshops, owner peer networks etc. It’s based on two metrics. The big number in our opinion in terms of an agency’s health is AGI (Adjusted gross income — Look here for more [...]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] The customer journey, UX, customer experience: buzzwords or actually points of value we can offer clients? I think in the hands of the under-informed and without good data, a process for gathering that data, and a genuine understanding of what the customer journey can tell us, it becomes a matter of hearsay and guesswork. […]
Robin is a co-founder of international management consulting firm Mercer Island Group. Mercer Island Group is a prominent global marketing management consulting firm, helping clients and agencies solve a broad range of business problems from building business in tough, competitive markets, creating strategic roadmaps, matching the right clients and agencies for productive relationships, launching new products and businesses, and enhancing organizational effectiveness. As the #5 market share firm in agency searches in the US, MIG has managed hundreds of agency searches for businesses of all sizes and types, like Starbucks, Microsoft, PetSmart, CommunityAmerica Credit Union, Sargento, Ulta Beauty, Continental Mills, Barre3, and dozens of other companies. She also has consulted to a wide array of agencies including Digitas, Starcom, Publicis, W&K, GS&P, Havas, Cactus, DNA, Brighton and many others. Robin’s unique ability to work with teams and help improve organizational productivity is the direct result of an eclectic background including her degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University, several years of experience in elementary education, plus training and team building experiences across a myriad of industries. Robin is active in her community and brings her leadership and strategy expertise to many nonprofit Boards and organizations. Robin has actively served on over two dozen local and national nonprofit Boards over the past 25 years. Robin’s volunteer work has been recognized with many accolades such as Cornell University’s “Outstanding Volunteerism Award”, being named a Wexner Heritage Foundation Scholar, receiving the Spitzer Young Leadership Award in Recognition and Appreciation of Outstanding Service from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, the Althea Stroum Woman of Distinction Award, and the Shirley Bridge Power of One award.
As the Founder of The Content Advisory, Robert has worked with more than 500 companies, including 15 of the Fortune 100. He’s provided strategic marketing advice and counsel for global brands such as Capital One, NASA, Dell, McCormick Spices, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Content Advisory, is the education and consulting group for The Content Marketing Institute. Robert’s third book – Killing Marketing, with co-author Joe Pulizzi has been called the “book that rewrites the rules of marketing”. His second book – Experiences: The Seventh Era of Marketing is a top seller and has been called a “treatise, and a call to arms for marketers to lead business innovation in the 21st century.” Robert’s first book, Managing Content Marketing, spent two weeks as a top ten marketing book on Amazon.com and is generally considered to be the “owners manual” of the Content Marketing process.
Matthew Kimberley helps small business owners enjoy more fun, freedom flow. He's the creator of Professional Persuasion, Delightful Emails and the Single Malt Mastermind and spent half a decade as the head of the Book Yourself Solid(r) School of Coach Training. He hosts the How To Get A Grip podcast and wrote a book of the same name. He lives in Malta with two dogs, one wife and one dog.
Paul Roetzer is founder and CEO of PR 20/20 and Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute; author of The Marketing Performance Blueprint (Wiley, 2014) and The Marketing Agency Blueprint (Wiley, 2012); and the creator of the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference (MAICON). As a speaker, he's focused on making artificial intelligence approachable and actionable, and helping change agents drive transformation through marketing talent, technology and strategy. A graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Roetzer has consulted for hundreds of organizations, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Joe Pulizzi is the Amazon bestselling author of Content Inc., Killing Marketing and Epic Content Marketing, which was named a “Must-Read Business Book” by Fortune Magazine. His novel, The Will to Die, was awarded "Best Suspense Book" of 2020 by the National Indie Excellence Awards. He has founded four companies including digital content news site The Tilt as well as Content Marketing Institute. In 2014, he received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Content Council. His podcast series, This Old Marketing with Robert Rose, has millions of downloads from over 150 countries. His Foundation, The Orange Effect, delivers speech therapy and technology services to children in over 35 states.
Jay Baer teaches businesspeople how to turn their customers into more customers. A founder of five, multi-million dollar companies, Jay delivers highly customized, engaging keynote presentations on word of mouth, marketing, customer experience, and customer service. His consulting firm, Convince & Convert, provides strategic counsel to the world’s most iconic brands like Caterpillar, Oracle, 3M, Adidas, and The United Nations. The best-selling author of six books, Jay was recently inducted into the Professional Speaker Hall of Fame and the Word of Mouth Marketing Hall of Fame. He is also the host of the award-winning Social Pros podcast.
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