This guide will help you seize understand client’s demands on agencies and avenues to: • Maximise Client Revenues • Improve Client Retention • Grow Your Agency • Create an Agile Working Environment • Improve Your Internal Processes

1. A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE
How to grow your
marketing agency
- delight clients and boost
profits in tough times
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE If it’s collaborative, it’s in Kahootz
1

2. Contents
Can you shine in a crowded market? 3
What do your clients want from you? 4
What do the clients say? 5
Communication that keeps clients keen 6
Seeing project management through your clients’ eyes 7
Offering your clients something extra… 11
Get efficient, work smarter, profit more 13
Attracting new clients 15
What do I do next? 17
A last word 20
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 2

3. Can you shine in a
crowded market?
No matter which niche your marketing With more agencies out there, clients But it’s not all doom and gloom. With a
agency is in, you’ll be up against fresh have more choice than ever. And with a growing market comes opportunity —
competitors almost every week. huge choice of full service agencies and if your agency is willing to seize it.
those specialising in digital, advertising, This guide is here to help you do that
It’s not just a feeling, it’s a fact. Take
social media or other areas — there’s no by:
a look at some of these figures from
denying we’re in a buyer’s market.
the 2011 DCMS Creative Industries • Maximising client revenues
Economic Estimates. That means good new clients are harder • Improving client retention
to come by, and current ones are harder • Growing your agency
• n 2011, there were 106,700
I
to retain. • Creating an agile working environment
creative enterprises in the UK
• Improving your internal processes
• etween 2009 and 2011, advertising
B
enterprises grew in number from
13,930 to 16,010
• In 2010, 268,254 people were
employed in advertising alone.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 3

4. What do your clients
want from you?
Don’t wait for your clients to tell you If you’ve been in the agency world long Good communication helps you give
what you’re doing wrong — get in enough, you’ll know there’s a thread clients the service they want and
there first and ask them what you that connects all three of these factors. helps you achieve the results they need.
can do better. And that, in turn, encourages them to
Communication stay with you — and recommend you
Why? to others.
• It’s communication that helps clients
Because your clients want you to. understand your approach, what
But how do you go about it?
is happening with their project and
A study of major agencies by Reardon when – thanks to clear reporting and
Smith Whittaker asked clients what transparent working processes
pushed them into searching for a “Given the challenges
new agency. • It’s communication that helps them
clients are facing in light of
understand your creative direction the economy, they need
The top three reasons were: and allows them to get involved in agencies that can get up to
1) nhappiness with their
U
shaping it speed quickly, add smart
agency’s approach value-added thinking and
• And it’s communication that’s at
the heart of being proactive, are a trustworthy lot.”
2) issatisfaction with creative work
D
allowing you to create a full picture Mark Sneider,
3) Not being proactive enough of their requirements before any MD, Reardon Smith Whittaker
competitor does.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 4

5. What do the clients say?
A recent study by an American That’s a wake up call if project • etter project management (60%)
B
company specialising in collaboration management and client communications
• aster project completion (53%)
F
found that 38% of clients have decided aren’t your agency’s strongest assets.
not to give business to an agency • isibility of progress results (44%)
V
But what is it that clients value
because it didn’t have good enough
from good management and Interestingly, when agencies got their
tools for managing the account’s work
communications? If we know the systems and processes right, they not
and communications.
answers to those questions, they only improved their project lead times
can help us focus our efforts in the — but improved client satisfaction.
right place.
A CMO Council survey So, the message is clear — improve
recently found that only The answer comes from the same study. your project management and
36% of marketers are Where respondents worked with an communications and you and your
committed to staying with agency that had effective systems and clients will achieve more together,
their current agency this processes in place, clients said they strengthen your working relationship
year. What are you doing to valued the following things: and make it last longer.
retain the 64% who might
start looking elsewhere?
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 5

6. Communication that
keeps clients keen
Clients want better project Help! What can I do about it? So how can we give
management and communications — clients what they want?
and few are committed to staying with Doing nothing isn’t an option. As we all
their agency, especially if they feel it’s know, it costs you five times more to The first step is to overcome the
not being proactive enough. recruit a new client than it does to keep obstacles that prevent you delivering
a current one. the project management they’re asking
for — and then to find ways of delivering
the proactive relationship they’re
looking for.
That means seeing project management
through your clients’ eyes. Turn the
page to get started.
“It’s five times cheaper
to keep a client than to
get a new one”
US Office of Consumer Affairs
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 6

7. Seeing project management
through your clients’ eyes
Good communication is the essence Sticking point 1: • egular contact to assure you the
R
of effective project management. Clients feel out of the loop project is going well
Clients also expect it. When • n opportunity to collaborate in
A
It’s easy to get wrapped up in a project
communication is clear and open, it the creative development
and forget that your client doesn’t know
builds trust, helps both parties manage as much about it as you do. • ccasional requests for
O
expectations and makes it easier for
additional information
you to coordinate project work with For example, you might allocate your
your colleagues. team 10 days for creative development Even when there’s nothing to
and plan to show your client the results communicate, most clients appreciate
But where many agencies go wrong at the end of that time. the reassurance of regular contact.
is by failing to see their project Keep them in the loop and you can spot
management processes through the You may not think there’s anything
and address their concerns
eyes of their clients. to update your client with during that
as they occur.
period. But what if you were in the
Asking the client is always the best firstclient’s position?
step, but in our experience these are the “Projects are executed
main communication sticking points you If you take the client’s view in this way, by humans. And humans
need to address if you want to develop you might conclude that you’d like: must interact.”
Alistair Cockburn Jim Highsmith, 2004
lasting, loyal client relationships.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 7

8. The only problem is that, even with a Sticking point 2: You’ll probably find that your agency
dedicated client manager, giving clients Clients don’t understand team and your clients need to see files
daily updates can be time consuming at different stages of development, but
how you work
and expensive — and you won’t be that you still need a common repository
popular if these add significantly to the One of the biggest challenges modern for them. If that’s the case you need
cost of the project. marketing agencies face is one of to ensure you have a shared system
working transparently with clients. that has different access or visibility
The key is to find out from the outset
preferences, depending on the user.
how often your client expects to be Transparency throughout the project
updated, and then find the most process has benefits for both your That way, you can keep your working
appropriate way of doing it, whether agency and your clients — clients notes invisible to your client, but make
by phone, email or a shared project appreciate the insight into the way you sure they have full access to all drafts
management system. work, and it can improve both project and resources. This will allow them to
performance and productivity. revisit different stages of the project for
ideas and inspiration, but won’t burden
The question you need to ask is
them with unnecessary detail.
Stong client relationships what information you need to share
are characterised by with clients, and what you need to
regular communication, keep private.
transparency, clarity
and directness
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 8

9. Sticking point 3: The drawback is that the more This also helps you manage fluid
Communications breakdowns points of contact you have, the working teams, where new team
more opportunities there are for members on your or the client’s side
and client misunderstandings
communications to go awry or break may get introduced half-way through
The larger and more fluid your project down. People can end up working from the project. All information is up to date
team and the more members of your different versions of the same files, and can be found in one place.
client’s team, the greater the chance updates can land in spam folders, calls
But whatever system you do choose
for communications breakdowns. can get missed and not acted on.
or develop, make sure your clients
On the positive side, giving clients direct And once problems start, they can understand how it works or you can
access to team members can stimulate quickly proliferate. The way to solve quickly find yourself back at square one.
greater creativity and ensure the client them is to make sure that your project
can refine work in close conjunction with and client management systems log
the relevant people. details of all communication, updates,
and edits and changes to files —
giving you a full audit trail of work.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 9

10. Sticking point 4: Meeting While many companies use agency
and beating client deadlines software to keep tasks on track, this is
Beware! Client usually for internal use. If you want to
relationship flashpoints Poor communications not only make it avoid problems, keep your client
more likely you’ll miss deadlines, they informed and onside — find a way of
• Unclear project
deliver a worse problem. giving them access to project progress,
objectives
milestones and setbacks.
• Misunderstood briefs When clients don’t know that a project
is running into trouble, the missed
• Insufficient deadline can catch them unaware —
communication and can cause resentment, or even
• No audit trail damage to their business.
of documents
• ack of transparency -
L
clients kept in the dark
• Email overload
• Missed deadlines
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 10

11. Offering your clients
something extra…
We’ve looked at ways of managing Idea 1: Tap into a new If you develop the right project
your relationships with your clients. pool of resources management and communications
Working well together is what stops systems, you can find ways of allowing
them leaving, right? You’ve got some seriously talented your freelancers to work alongside your
people on your team, but your client is in-house team, whether they’re sitting
Yes. And no. starting to complain that that your work at a desk in another town or
While it’s vital to have relationships that doesn’t have the same power to delight even continent.
are based on clear communications and or surprise that it used to.
With the right technology you can fully
transparent project management, you Yes. The curse of familiarity is rearing integrate them into the project process,
need to be thinking about these as a its ugly head. and your clients will benefit from an
baseline service.
even greater pool of talent that you have
The simple solution is to bring in
The real benefits are using the new in-house, giving them additional reasons
freelance talent to add new fizz into the
systems you develop to offer extra to stay with you.
resource mix. The problem is doing it
value to your clients. That’s what in a way that doesn’t make your client
turns customer satisfaction into think you lack that talent in-house.
customer loyalty.
These are some of the ways you
can do it.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 11

12. Idea 2: Work as an By acting as an extension to your You’ve also created the perfect
‘extension’ to your client’s client’s marketing department, you can conditions to run ideas for new
quickly find your agency being entrusted campaigns past them, and to
marketing department
with additional projects — driving up collaborate together on
Your new systems have been your profitability. their development.
designed to make it easier to work
Working in this way is also a great offer Stronger relationships result in stronger
with your clients when they come to
for prospective clients. It gives them trust. And because clients are more
you for a project.
access to an expanded marketing likely to back ideas they’ve helped to
So why not do the logical thing and take team as and when they need it, without develop, your enlightened approach
the systems to your clients? having to hire new, full-time staff. to communications and project
management can result in a steady
If you do, it not only means you can Idea 3: Develop new project stream of new campaigns and
work more closely and productively ideas with your clients client requirements.
with your own team — but you can
work just as productively with your You’ve developed two-way
clients’ marketing departments as and communications with your clients, and
when they need you. Importantly, if they’re more closely involved at every
you are embedded into your client’s step of the project.
working practices in this way, it makes
it much more difficult for your rivals to
supplant you.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 12

13. Get efficient, work
smarter, profit more
When you improve the way you Idea 1: Joined up working Use the systems and technology
communicate and work with your you have developed to work more
clients, you also improve the way your No matter how large or small your effectively with your clients to work
team members work with each other. agency, it can be hard to manage more effectively with team members
your creative teams. You may have in different locations.
Use this to your advantage — make copywriters in one place, designers
your internal working practices more in another and digital experts working
efficient too. away in the place they seem to like best
— a dark and rather poky basement.
This is crucial at a time when marketing In 2011, the profitability
agency profits are at a record low and At the other end of the scale, if you’re of UK marketing
many are looking for smarter working a small agency you probably have agencies hit a record low.
practices that can deliver better team members who work part-time, at Average profits halved
margins. home or on a freelance basis. Getting to just 5.43%, down
them round the same table can be a from 11.63% in 2010
Here are two more ideas to help you
major challenge, and not one for the
streamline your processes and enjoy Kingston Smith
faint hearted!
greater efficiencies
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 13

14. Once you do that, you can gain an Idea 2: Reduced Other ideas
organisation-wide view on the progress turnaround and billing time
of all projects, collaborate to develop These are some of the innovations
internal policies, work together on your You’ve seen how both clients and agencies have adopted to improve their
own marketing and much more. agencies find that transparent, working practices and profit margins.
collaborative working makes project
Joined up working gives your agency • hared asset libraries for images,
S
completion quicker.
a clearer direction, and the productivity designs and copy
benefits can be quite outstanding. Your clients have access to project
• gency-wide ‘swipe files’ — online
A
milestones and progress, and problems
collections of great work for inspiration
are identified early on — ensuring you
can get things back on track quickly. • anaging freelancers’ availability
M
and progress
This allows you to turn projects round
faster, resulting in better margins for • olicies and procedures
P
you and more satisfied clients. And as — shared libraries of company
you grow, you need fewer teams to policies and documents.
service more clients — giving you profit-
boosting economies of scale.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 14

15. Attracting new clients
It might be cheaper to retain clients Idea 1: Working
than it is to win them, but the secret to across borders
agency growth is attracting the right The average business
kind of account. We’re in a global market and English loses 50% of its clients
is the business lingua franca. over 5 years.
As the size and reputation of your Harvard Business Review
clients increase, the easier it becomes Whether you’re a large agency or a
to attract accounts — people like to be small one, you can draw on the best
associated with your success. talent in your home country or
overseas — creating the most gifted
But how do you position yourself to teams from in-house and freelance
start winning that next tier of business? creatives as needed.
The quality of your work is the clincher,
of course. But in a competitive market,
it also matters what added value you
can bring to the client relationship.
These are our three top ideas for
bringing that bit extra to the table.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 15

16. Use technology to work effectively It’s an approach that also reassures
with clients in any country, regardless potential clients that you’re used to
Better communications of location of time zone. With the working internationally — and that
and project management right systems and approach to you’ve found a way of making the
allow you to build your communications, there’s nothing to stop agency/client relationship as smooth
service around your you targeting a client with a head office and productive as possible.
client, in a way that in the US, a marketing team in Germany
makes them feel valued and a sales department in London. Idea 2: Targeting new clients
and using methods that
As you’ve read through this
get significant results.
guide, you’ve probably been
If you can’t sell that, struck by one major advantage
you’re in the wrong with online collaboration.
business.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 16

17. What do I do next?
If you want your agency to grow, retain Action 1: Put your Important!
clients and deliver better margins, clients in the loop — Staff and client support is
the key lies in addressing two related
and keep them there essential if you want to make
factors — client communications and
sure your adoption of online
transparent project management. Clients love to feel included at all stages collaboration is successful.
of a project. Even when there’s little to
You’ve seen some of the ways you can Avoid collaboration software that
communicate, a simple email, call or
improve both, but how do you effect forces you to completely change
request for additional information can
change across the whole agency? the way you do things. Instead,
keep your relationship strong and allay opt for an agile solution that
Every agency is different, but there are any worries before they grow or fester. adapts to the way you work —
five steps you can take to get results. look for software that allows you
So find ways to make regular contact to create template workspaces
We’ve put together this simple checklist with clients, give them as much visibility for common collaborative
to guide you through them. as you can of the project’s progress and situations, and which lets you
ensure they’re updated whenever work match the tools you need to any
is done— even if it’s a note to tell them chosen context.
a creative session went well and they Or to put it more simply: choose
can expect visuals in a few days. software that simplifies your
workflow, not a solution that gets
in the way of it!
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 17

18. Action 2: Offer a clear Action 3: Review Get members of your team involved in
approach to project working your processes this review. It will help you uncover many
different working processes that need
Projects have a habit of spiralling off Agencies quickly get in the habit changing — and others that can serve
in different creative directions, which of doing things in certain ways. as models of good practice.
is great fun for any agency but can be The processes that grow out of these
worrying for clients. habits tend to suit the agency better Action 4: Look
than the client, though it’s not always to new markets
Be sure to agree a project scope easy to spot this.
with clients at the outset and, if When you have refined your processes
possible, give them access to any Conduct a review of all your major and communications, look towards
project management tools you use. processes, both internal and external, other markets. Do your new working
Stick to deliverable dates, and if and review them by asking two practices make it easier to work
possible beat them. When clients know main questions. with overseas clients, or to act as
what to expect from you (and when) an extension to their marketing
1) an we make this process deliver
C
it takes much of the stress out of the departments?
something extra for our clients?
process and keeps them on side.
Also, are you now in a position to
It also makes your working relationship 2) an we make this process more
C
manage additional creative talent,
more enjoyable — which is a major efficient without diluting the quality of
drawing on a wider pool of freelancers?
reason to come back to your agency service we’re offering?
Or could you improve your margins
time after time.
by decentralising some core skills —
without jeopardising client service?
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 18

19. Action 5: Research systems However, before you invest in systems,
that support your efforts be sure to compile an agency-wide
checklist of the processes you need
Every time you change processes, look help with. If you match systems to those
to see whether there are systems that wider needs, you will avoid investing in
can support your efforts. Ask yourself many different systems with overlapping
whether there are technical solutions functions.
that will help you share files, collaborate
on projects, set milestones and Finally, if you expect your clients to
measure progress, work more closely use any system, be sure to trial it first
with clients and freelancers, systematise — it’ll help you avoid potentially
better communications or more. expensive mistakes.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 19

20. a last word
According to the CMO Council, only a Find out more…
quarter of major client marketers have
developed formal guidelines for client/ The advice in this guide is based on the
agency relationship management. real-world challenges faced by modern
marketing agencies.
That means you can not only beat your
competition to drawing up better service It is brought to you by Kahootz, the UK
levels for you clients — you can beat online collaboration software experts
them to providing it. who have been offering collaboration
solutions to organisations since 2002.
Good luck!
Find out more about our work.
Visit www.kahootz.com today.
A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE 20

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A MARKETING AGENCY GUIDE If it’s collaborative, it’s in Kahootz
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