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Dear Agency Owner – no one reads your agency blog because it sucks

There have been a lot of articles, blog posts, tweets and speeches of late that are all lamenting that many agencies are closing their blogs because no one reads them.  Most tiptoe around the "why" suggesting that people are getting more visual (so have a Pinterest board or have your agency get active on Instagram) or we don't read content online etc.  But what no one is saying is the actual truth: No one reads your blog because it sucks. Agencies are out there selling social media strategies to clients and embarrassing themselves back on their own website with blogs that are: Updated once or twice a month Usually about some award or client they won Breaking all of the blogging rules (no visuals, too long, badly written) Only using your own work as examples (again...beating your own drum) I think a lot of agencies jumped on the social media bandwagon (started a Twitter account, FB fan page, blog, etc.) just because it was expected but just like many of their clients -- because the barriers to entry were so low, they didn't bother to think it through or create a strategy.  And now, their Facebook page, blog or Twitter feed is like a ghost town. Here's why your agency blog isn't working: You have no strategy - you just write when you have time on whatever topic is top of mind You haven't allotted resources (time, money, staff) to sustain it You haven't built a community that will share your content You aren't looking at your blog as an opportunity to position yourself as a thought leader/expert You don't actually believe it can be a valuable asset to your business The sad thing is [...]

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Managing in a renewing economy (part two)

Agency management can be a challenge as the economy teeters back and forth between recovery and residual crud.  Things feel like they're getting better and according to all the agencies we're talking to -- they are.  But it's not all blue skies yet. I'm not trying to go all Eyeore on you...but let's stay careful. We've developed 25 helpful agency management steps you should consider as you move your agency through these turbulent waters.  Last week, we posted the first 13 steps and here are the final 12. Demonstrate to clients and suppliers that you are thorough, organized and committed to best business practices. Know where the agency's "breakeven" point is, and make sure you include the full salary and benefits of the owners. You'd best know where the worst case and best case scenarios are hidden. Continue to be aggressive and persistent in your Accounts Receivable. Call on all overdue invoices and let AEs help on collections that are coming up on 60 days old. If you have extra space created by a shrinking staff over the past year or so, think about renting the extra space out to a business partner, like your web coder or PR group. Tighten policies that were too casual, and don't get too liberal with your budgets for supplies or services. Keep costs under control. Economic hardship taught you to institute tight financial control over costs. Don't let up. If you are still going to pursue getting mark- ups on outside purchases, make sure they are spelled out in advance. If stated "up front" it rarely is a problem. Check your banking relationship. If you borrowed during these past tough times, go to the bank and review your performance, [...]

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Where do you get your intelligence?

One of the biggest challenges for agency leaders today is stay on top of the trends, shifts and ever-shifting landscape so they can help their clients stay plugged in.  It's tough to find reliable sources that aren't either so well known they don't provide an edge or are so far out there that they're too speculative. For many agencies, Ad-ology's Marketing Forecast is a key source that provides that edge.  If you're not familiar with them...check out this month's Marketing Forecast. [youtube]http://youtu.be/vQtCNZRGgkw   If you find that useful -- check out their YouTube channel with over 100 videos.

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Managing Your Agency in a Renewing Market (part one)

Don't get carried away with your enthusiasm about the increase in business activity. We are recovering from the Great Recession. You've survived it and have earned the right to celebrate.  A little. But now is not the time to take your eye off the prize.  In this recovery period, agency management can be tricky, because we're a little tired of fighting the fight and are looking forward to backing off a little. Don't do it. We've developed 25 helpful agency management steps you need to consider in managing the agency during this recovery period.  Here are the first half.... (and here's the 2nd half!) Make sure your strategic plan is in place, and that it focuses on some specialization with diversification. Now is the time to grow the agency, and within the context of your existing operations. New business programming is critical, but isn't the only source of profitability. Your managers and account staff need to understand what others do and why certain reporting requirements are needed to manage the agency effectively. Be a sponge. Get all the input you can from peers and suppliers about competition and how they are handling the recovery. Get into a network group to discuss operating techniques. If the network is an advertising agency network, that's better than a "business" network with people from other businesses. Always keep an eye on your profits. Don't assume that the bigger clients are the more profitable clients. They may pump in a lot of bucks, but they may be sucking the life out of the agency because they aren't profitable. Watch them all and know where your profits are coming from. Take another look at your fees and retainers. They should all be [...]

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Digital only agencies aren’t making the grade

According to the Q2 Pearlfinders Index, which is digital marketing research based on interviews with more than 4,000 marketing executives across all industries --  digital and social media services have become more sought-after disciplines, while consumer PR, though still popular, is becoming less of a consideration. However, agencies that only offer digital services are not getting the nod. Despite shifting their budgets towards digital and social media, 3 in 4 marketers aren’t using exclusively digital agencies for their social or digital needs, and the majority of those don’t foresee using them in the near future, according to June 2012 survey results from RSW/US. In fact, only about 2 in 5 think such agencies can survive, with the remainder believing that digital agencies need to offer more traditional services to maintain their relevancy. In Q2, among the times that marketing decision-makers advised that they were considering a particular service category, digital made up 19% of these demands, up from 13% a year earlier. Similarly, social media was mentioned 17.1% of the time, up from 14.1% in Q2 2011. Consumer PR, at 14%, was the third most-desirable discipline, though it fell from 18.6% a year earlier. Advertising and corporate PR rounded out the top 5 desirable agency disciplines for Q2 according to this digital marketing research, though both fell substantially from the previous quarter. Customer Acquisition the Dominant Marketing Objective In Q2 2012, companies’ primary customer marketing objective was acquisition (93.8%), compared to just 5% focusing on retention and 3.8% on development. A year earlier, 71.3% had focused on acquisition, with retention (17.1%) and development (11.6%) figuring more prominently into the equation. Other Findings: NPD/innovation was the strongest source of opportunity for agencies, accounting for 35% of new business opportunities [...]

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Letters To The Editor That Pull In Business

Awhile ago, we received a call from an agency in upstate New York. "I was looking through a back issues of Money Magazine," he said, "and I saw your letter to the editor mentioning that one of the things you do is work as an advertising agency consultant. You might be the kind of person I'm looking for to help me with my agency." So far AMR has helped him on several occasions. An unsolicited qualified prospect called us at the cost of one stamp on the letter to the magazine. (Today, it would be the cost of a mouse click!) If you think that letters to the editor only provide a place to sound-off on some issue of public issue you're wrong. They can also provide opportunities to spread the word about your services to an enormous audience. But for this strategy to pay off, you have to remain alert to opportunities during your regular reading, carefully construct an effectively subtle letter and promptly send it off. First, stay on the lookout for articles to relate advertising or marketing  issues. Then consider how you can agree, disagree or add to what was reported in the article. Start your letter with a reference to the name and date of the article you are responding to. Then present your comment using this formula: "As the principal of an advertising agency, I have found/feel/think ____." For instance: "As the owner of an advertising agency that specializes in the mining industries, I feel ... " "As the owner of a graphic design company that deals with high tech companies, I've found ..." For some excellent examples, take a look at the letters column in Entrepreneur Magazine. Almost every [...]

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Do you see a vendor when you look in the mirror?

Earlier this week, we kicked off a conversation about why agencies find themselves relegated to vendor status. If you remember, we identified 3 causes. The economy -- workforce reductions, budget cuts and overall fear (out of your control) Agencies willingness to behave like a vendor just to get the project (within your control) Agencies hiring "nice" account executives who are order takers rather than smart business people (within your control) In this post, we're going to look at what you can do to change your mindset (and choices) so you don't look like a vendor to prospects and clients. None of us like the word "vendor." Vendors sell stuff. They sell umbrellas on the beach, hot dogs on Time Square and truckloads of parts. But the truth is -- many agencies behave like a vendor. They: Charge by the hour rather than use value pricing They set their prices based on the "stuff they make" like brochures and websites They talk tactics, rather than strategies If you recognize yourself, even a little bit, in that description -- here are some things to consider as you wrestle with getting away from the vendor label. Take business with your prospects and clients: Don't limit your interest or your conversations to marketing or advertising. Talk about their pricing strategies, how they go to market with their product/service, sales goals and even operations. Your job is to stick your nose into their business and help ferret out solutions that can change the game. You want to identify and talk about the metrics that matter to your prospect or client. Price like an advisor, not a vendor: Vendors price by the pound, the item and by the hour. Advisors price by the [...]

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The economy is pushing agencies into vendor roles

Earlier this week, we kicked off a conversation about why agencies find themselves relegated to vendor status.  If you remember, we identified 3 causes. The economy -- workforce reductions, budget cuts and overall fear (out of your control) Agencies willingness to behave like a vendor just to get the project (within your control) Agencies hiring "nice" account executives who are order takers rather than smart business people (within your control) In this post, we're going to look at what you can do to work around the economy issue. In the current economic climate, ad and marketing managers on the client side are trying to keep their jobs and cut costs. They're seeing fellow employees being downsized are doing everything they can to make themselves look more indispensable to their bosses. One obvious way for them to do this is to bring a lot of the work they normally farmed out to agencies back  in house. Some marketing managers even go so far as to set up an in-house agency, not knowing or not heeding the fact that no in house agency has ever been proven to save money in the long run. (Don’t waste your time or your breath trying to argue them out of this dumb idea. It's one of those "you have to live it to believe it" deals.) It's tough to deal with someone who is operating from a place of fear but that's where a lot of our clients are right now.  They kept waiting for the economy to go back to normal and now they're realizing that this is the new normal.  Now, every dollar they spend is scrutinized and performance expectations are huge.  Human nature drives them to clutch [...]

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