Brand Central Station

The desire to seek something better is a natural human desire.  After all, who doesn’t want something better?  But humans are also naturally reluctant to change.  It’s the constant alure of something better pulling against the security of something we know that creates tension in the workplace (and, often in our personal lives as well).

Nowhere is that tension felt more than in the sometimes tempermental relationship between client and agency.

The way things used to be, it cost a lot to find an Agency of Record (AOR), especially if you measured cost in time, frustration and lost opportunities in addition to money.  Clients were historically reluctant to make a change, finding it easier to stick with “the devil they knew” rather than the one they didn’t.

But with the advent of agency directories like the Ad Agency Red Book and then agency search consultants, clients found a much deeper pool of potential candidates and a willing group of hired guns to vet them.

To be sure there were (and still are) problems with this system.  The cost of hiring a search consultant was prohibitively expensive meaning only clients with larger budgets could rationalize the expense.  Directories were good at providing basic contact information but not particularly reliable in allowing clients to do an objective “apples-to-apples” comparison of one agency against another.

Then along comes the internet and the ability to process significant data points almost instantly.  In the ad agency search and selection game, this technology manifested itself in the form of www.agencyfinder.com.

Now, just one disclaimer, I’ve worked with AgencyFinder before.  My agency has received work from AgencyFinder and I’ve run agency reviews through AgencyFinder as a consultant.  But Chuck Meyst and his crew have developed a fair and objective methodology and a rich database on agencies based in North America (and now the UK, too).  And the price is right for clients who decide to search (or the search consultants they hire to do the search).

It’s free.

Yep.  Clients search the database for free because the agencies who are listed there pay a fee every year to maintain a listing and participate in the searches conducted by the service.  Every agency pays the same fee no matter how big or small it is, so there are no “favorites” in the system.  Every agency also has to complete a long and detailed agency survey that helps clients pinpoint exactly the right service or experience they need.

And because the service is free, clients of all shapes and sizes use it. This past year, that was nearly 800 searches for agencies. Not every account went to a big agency – because not every account is a big account.

But enough about AgencyFinder.  Whether you use that service or another, as a client there are five things you need to do in order to make sure your search for a new marketing agency is efficient, fair and productive:

1. Make sure you have taken the time, up front, to clearly identify what your agency will need to accomplish in order to be successful.  Any agency worth their salt will want to know what they’re up against.  As you’ve seen in our piece on client briefs falling more than a little short, many clients don’t do this kind of thing very well.  If this happens with an existing agency, it may slow down a project or create redundant expenses.  If a client is unprepared going into an agency review (or selection process) the results could be disasterous.  Imagine NEVER being on the same page with your agency … yikes.
2. Identify the best agencies that do what you need to have done in the industry sectors in which you operate.  Starting there, broaden your candidate list out to agencies with similar experiences and/or capabilities.  Certainly, this is where a service like AgencyFinder has a tremendous advantage over something like an agency directory.  Just remember, developing your candidate list of potential agencies is significantly more involved than just typing a search term into Google and seeing what comes up.
3. Have some idea of what you’re willing to invest into your marketing program once the agency is hired.  It doesn’t have to be a firm number, but trust me – you’ll lose the good agencies if you can’t tell them what you’re prepared to spend if they come up with the great ideas and show an ability to work effeciently.  Telling an agency you don’t have a budget or you don’t know what your budget is; is the same as telling the agency you’re not serious about finding a new agency.
4. Have a schedule for your review in place, publish it and then stick with it.  Today, a full-on agency review shouldn’t take more than 8 weeks; 12 at the outside.  And at the pace of today’s economy, losing a quarter because you’re reviewing agencies can spell disaster.  Be prepared to move quickly, make decisions and get the job done.  As critical as the time is to you, it’s doubly critical to the agencies who will be participating in the review.
5. Finally, make sure you spend time with agency you DON’T select to thank them and tell them why you picked the agency you did.  As a search consultant, I can tell you this is the hardest part of the job – but it’s the part that has yielded the biggest dividends for me.  The agency’s appreciate the show of respect and, more importantly, they try to improve.  It raises everyone’s game and the profession, as a whole, is better off for it.

Just like a rising tide lifts all boats, I suppose a well-run review greens all the pastures in the future.

Thinking about switching agencies and want to learn more about how to conduct a review, feel free to email me and we can arrange an obligation-free phone consultation.