The process of pursuing and closing ad agency new business currently takes place at a time of vast change-coming out of the recession and with tools agencies didn't have access to even five years ago. In many ways, it's recently gotten easier-agencies tell us that budgets are opening up and projects are more numerous. The recent trend of agencies turning business away that's not right for them is one I hope continues to thrive. But for these very reasons, agency new business is about to get harder, if it hasn't already.
Why? As budgets open up, and as agencies become, rightfully, more selective in what they take, competition becomes that much greater and the need to differentiate becomes more critical than ever. So why, specifically, will agency new business get harder? Agencies aren't very good at differentiating themselves.
We recently interviewed Tom Martin of Converse Digital and as he put it, 'Agencies get concerned about giving away their "secret sauce" for fear that prospective clients or other agencies will pilfer it, but the fact is, the majority of the secret sauce across agencies is pretty much the same.
The crux of the problem is agencies either don't like to admit it, won't admit it or are too close to see it.
You can also factor in that "penetration of in-house agencies has increased 16 percentage points, to 58%, from a similar survey conducted in 2008."
So while we're seeing ad agency new business in a better place today, certainly relative to several years ago, now is the time to ensure you have a strategy in place-on e that remains consistent, provides value to your prospects and is actually targeted to those prospects.
We conduct quarterly surveys every year around agency new business, and in our survey result reports, we include sections of open-ended comments from marketers.
So below are 7 crucial comments taken directly from Marketers to agencies, the majority of which they wouldn't tell you directly (and in most cases shouldn't have to) and which will ideally serve as reminders and inspiration to make sure you get in the door and stay there.
Lee is the Director of Business Development at RSW/US, a full-service outsourced new business development firm that works solely with marketing services firms to help them meet with right-fit prospects and ultimately close business. Lee also handles marketing and social media for RSW/US. You can find him on Google+ (plus.google.com/+LeeMcKnightJr/) or Twitter (@leemcknightjr).
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