The official blog of Ignition Consulting Group
If every agency in America is a “full-service, integrated marketing communications firm” (like they say they are), why do clients chronically complain about the lack of integration from their agencies? Unfortunately, just because agencies have a long list of disciplines doesn’t mean they have the discipline to make them all work together. It’s more likely they have sewn together a Frankenstein that is less, not more, than the sum of its parts …
What are the key criteria you use when looking for prospective clients? More importantly, what criteria are your key prospects using when they’re looking for you? All too often, agencies default to the same criteria almost all other (unfocused) agencies use, which is usually some combination of “Do they have money?,” “Do we like these guys?,” and “Will they let us do good work?” All fine, but this is a woefully unfocused definition of a target client …
What exactly constitutes success in context of a professional services business like an advertising agency? Should success be defined exclusively in financial terms? Is it more about reputation and recognition? This topic actually produces some heated debates in the hallways of agencies across the globe. Creatives insist that being recognized for brilliant work is by far the most important metric of success. Account types counter that while awards are good and desirable, they don’t pay the bills. Both arguments are right, of course, but determining a winner requires viewing the question through a different lens …
Answer this simple question: What is the value of three hours of your time spent on a client’s business? You can probably tell me what the cost of your time is (salary plus overhead), but assigning a value to the time is a much more subjective question …
Despite decades of books and literature supporting the importance and value of a clear, well-defined focus, most business firms persist in trying to be a little bit of everything to everyone. These organizations not only lack an understanding of strategy (deciding what you are not), but actively resist the idea of focusing on a select number of competencies or markets …
Since every agency on the planet is now apparently in the business of “brand storytelling,” perhaps it’s time for agencies to spend some time making their own stories more interesting and compelling. Storytelling has catapulted onto the business stage because we’ve learned that stories are inherently more interesting to people than bullet-point lists of facts that populate so many agency websites …
The vast majority of agencies are focused on delivering “overdeveloped services” – services that are widely available, offered by many providers. By definition, if you’re offering the same type of services that thousands of other agencies do, all across the world, you’ll be living in the world of low margins and intense price competition …
Imagine you’ve just received a notice from the IRS that they’re going to audit your most recent tax return. You’ve never been through an audit before, and because you’re in the habit of preparing your own tax returns, you decide it’s time to get some professional help …
Has your billable time ever been scrutinized? If you work for an advertising agency or other type of professional services firm, chances are you have been subject to a battery of billable time evaluations, all designed to achieve one thing in the mind of the agency owner: maximize productivity …
I once heard the ECD of one of America’s most respected agencies say, “If you get the structure right, everything else will take care of itself.” The more I think about it, the more I think he’s right.
Does this look like a familiar list of criteria for new business prospects: Do we see good revenue potential? Do they have a history of being a good client? Do we feel passionate about this brand or category? Do we think we can do good work for this client? Do we think we would enjoy working on this business? But are there better questions you should be asking?
When you think about the concept of positioning your firm, what comes to mind? A tag line you can put on your business card? A headline for you the home page of your website? A theme you can give to a new business presentation? While all of these things may become eventual manifestations of your positioning, at its core a positioning strategy is really a business strategy, not just a communications strategy …
The latest iteration of the disintermediation of the agency industry is the unbundling of ideation from execution. Or, in client-speak, “decoupling.” When a marketer hires TBWA/Chiat/Day for creative development and Tag Worldwide for production and distribution, that’s decoupling in action …
Are you “Agency of Record” for most of your clients? Some of your clients? Any of your clients? You might have answered this question differently a few years ago, but today the vast majority of agencies today provide just a few types of service for their clients. They may have a “full service” offering but they don’t have the “full service” clients to match …
Most businesses start out with a fairly simple business model. As time goes on, they add new services and capabilities and extend out to new markets. Some of this diversification is strategic and deliberate, but most of the time companies start sprawling in ways they never intended …
