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1
Introduction
This survey was commissioned by RSW/US. RSW/US is an outsourced agency new business firm. We work
with over 60 agencies of various types/sizes, operating as their outsourced sales team. RSW/US was
founded in 2005.
In 2010, RSW created RSW/AgencySearch. To-date, RSW/Agency search has managed over 30 searches for brands across a variety of industries. Exposure to both the agency and marketer worlds presents unmatched perspective to RSW on the advertising and marketing industry. Insights in this survey report are enriched by the benefits of this unique perspective. To learn more about RSW/US, visit www.rswus.com. To learn more about RSW/AgencySearch, visit www.rswagencysearch.com.
The Agency New Business Survey has been fielded every other year since 2010, making this report the fourth in a series. This report presents comparable data that is available across all four surveys, providing insight on trends in key areas over the past seven years. Over 5,000 Agency executives nationwide had the opportunity to participate in the 2016 RSW/US Agency – Client survey. On the Marketer side, over 10,000 marketing decision makers were enlisted. In fielding this survey, we wanted to discern how the challenges and dynamics of agency new business efforts have evolved with the relentless pace of rapidly developing media channels and marketing technologies, as well as BOTH the content consumption habits AND creation activity of target audiences. Included in the survey were several questions Adweek asked RSW to include for input from both Agencies and Marketers. Our hope is the key findings and implications of the study presented in this report provide value to you as you develop your plans for 2017. If you would like to reproduce any of our findings in any format whatsoever, please contact either Mark Sneider or Lee McKnight Jr.: Mark Sneider Lee McKnight Jr. 513-559-3101 513-559-3111 [email protected] [email protected]
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Agency Type & Size PAGE 3
About New Business Directors PAGE 5
New Business Challenges PAGE 11
New Business Opportunities PAGE 15
AOR/Project Work PAGE 18
Tools & Resources PAGE 21
Adweek Questions PAGE 23
3
Respondent Profile
Agencies across the United States responded to the survey. All types and sizes of agencies participated:
Primary area of agency expertise
52%
9%
2%
2%
2%
0%
13%
0%
8%
1%
1%
0%
2%
9%
Full Service Advertising Agency
Public Relations Firm
Marketing Technology Firm
Design Firm
Media Buying/Planning Firm
Research Firm
Digital Agency
Promotions Agency
Marketing Consultancy
Ideation Firm
Social Media Firm
Mobile Marketing Agency
Content Marketing
Other Marketing Services Firm…
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
What best describes your agency/firm?
4
Agency Profile Continued
Agency size (# of employees)
In the first part of the survey, questions focus on the agency new business environment. This section provides insight about how agencies are deploying their new business programs and the challenges they experience in agency new business. The second part of the survey features four questions Adweek asked us to include in the survey. These questions were presented to both Agencies and Marketers. The second part of the survey shares the perspectives of both segments on topics including:
existing and evolving marketing technology
views about the areas in which agencies offer the greatest value
an assessment of various social media channels as marketing channels
24%
45%
13%
8%
10%
How many employees are in your organization?
< 10 11 - 50 51 - 100 101 - 200 201+
5
New Business Directors
The first set of questions centers on how agencies staff for new business development and the success of their current
programs.
ON-STAFF NEW BUSINESS DIRECTORS More than half the agencies surveyed report they have not appointed a New Business Director to their staff full time:
Of those agencies with a New Business Director on staff, just 21% have had tenure of three (3) years or more. Turnover in this position is fast, with one-third (33%) on staff just a year or less, and another 46% holding the position only two years.
46% 54%
Have you hired a full-time new business hunter/director/manager (as part of your staff) to prospect for leads for your agency in the past three years?
Yes No
6
New Business Director Tenure
33%
46%
8%
13%
< 1 year
1-2 years
3-4 years
5+ years
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
How long was your most recent New Business Director employed at your agency?
< 1 year 1-2 years 3-4 years 5+ years
7
Looking back at the 2014 RSW/US Agency-Marketer Business report, New Business Director tenure
appears fairly constant.
Implications
Agency new business development is a process rather than an event. For New Business Directors to be successful on staff, they need to apply methodology that enables them to nurture relationships with prospective clients. They also need resources available to them to support the methodology. These needs range from well-crafted, differentiated agency positioning to collateral and thought leader assets, and the means to deliver this information in an impactful way. The needs also include a compensation model that motivates closing new business, while sustaining the New Business Director through the process. We hear anecdotally of on-staff New Business Directors working entirely on commission. While this can
motivate closing, it also often fosters a frantic new business process that ultimately is apt to fall short
ultimately in delivering results.
33%
47%
3%
10%
33%
46%
8% 13%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
< 1 year 1-2 years 3-4 years 5+ years
New Business Director Tenure 2016 vs. 2014
2014 2016
8
New Business Director Impact
Despite the generally brief tenure, over half of respondents, 57%, indicated their new business hire was either somewhat successful or very successful:
Of the 43% indicating the NBD new hire was less than somewhat successful, reasons offered follow:
18%
39% 13%
11%
20%
Thinking about your last new business hire, how successful or not successful would you say the new business hire was/is?
Very successful Somewhat successful
Neither successful or not successful Somewhat unsuccessful
9
Since 2010, our Agency New Business Surveys have asked agency executives about factors that impede
success of their new business programs.
Although the lack of new business development methodology is a leading factor identified for
unsuccessful programs in this year’s survey, the percentage of respondents reporting this reason is down
significantly versus the two prior surveys. In fact, as shown in the data below, only in the 2010 survey, was
this reason given by fewer respondents.
Factors hindering success for New Business Directors 2010 through 2016
2010 2012 2014 2016
Set up useless meetings 36% 33% 19% 20%
Was too aggressive 7% 11% 9% 4%
Got too distracted with other agency things 36% 44% 38% 28%
Wasn't tenured or was too green n/a n/a 22% 28%
Didn't have solid methodology for prospecting 43% 56% 66% 48%
Didn't understand marketing 29% 28% 16% 16%
Didn't understand agency business 36% 39% 19% 24%
Didn't understand our agency 71% 44% 25% 16%
Other (please specify) 43% 28% 28% 40%
20%
4%
28%
28%
48%
16%
24%
16%
40%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Set up useless meetings
Was too aggressive
Got too distracted with other agency things
Wasn't tenured or was too green
Didn't have solid methodology for prospecting
Didn't understand marketing
Didn't understand agency business
Didn't understand our agency
Other (please specify)
Please select all the reasons why you think the new business hire was not that successful. (Select all that apply.)
10
A reason that jumps out is “Didn’t understand agency business”. Over the course of the four surveys, the response rates for this reason seem irrationally high. They bear questions about the hiring process for New Business Directors.
Finally, in the 2016 survey, “Other” reasons given for under-performance by on-staff New Business
Directors were plentiful. Among them were several respondents indicating “it is too soon to tell.”
Additional reasons given for less than “somewhat successful” ratings were:
“Didn’t have the right contacts”
Incorrect fit with “agency background and philosophy”
“too senior…wanted to think, tell us how they did it in the last agency; all talk-no results”
“ran through her rolodex”
“unable to break through to prospects via email and phone calls
“couldn’t close”
“Hiring a new biz person just never works. I’ve been in this business 30 years and have seen
maybe 3 people actually work in that role.”
New Business Development Methodology
Across four separate surveys, “didn’t have solid methodology for prospecting” has surfaced as the number one reason identified as a hindrance to success for a firm’s New Business Development Director. While it is satisfying to see a drop in responses citing this reason 2016 versus 2014, this reason has been cited with disturbingly high frequency across all four surveys. Good agencies that see their clients go to market without a clear methodology – without strategy – are quick to counsel their clients about the risk for failure. Marketing strategy and methodical implementation of it are central to the success of their clients’ businesses. So it is with a new business development program. It is an integral part of an agency marketing strategy, and deserves all the same effort as client marketing strategies. If your new business director does not have a solid methodology for prospecting, make it an organizational priority to integrate it with your firm’s marketing strategy. Ensure positioning and communications for new business is aligned with the firm’s marketing strategy. Also, make certain a plan is in place to deliver messaging consistently and methodically through the right channels to targeted prospects. It would be so satisfying to see the response rate to “didn’t have solid methodology for prospecting” drop into the teens in the next survey!
11
New Business Environment: Harder or Easier?
With or without a dedicated New Business Director on staff, only 15% of agencies surveyed indicate obtaining new business has been easier in 2016 versus last year.
Forty-two percent (43%) report it is harder or a lot harder in 2016 versus 2015. Another 42% says the challenge in obtaining new business in 2016 is about the same as last year.
11%
32%
42%
14%
2%
Is obtaining new business harder or easier than it was last year?
A lot harder Harder The same Easier A lot easier
12
New Business Environment
Again, looking to a comparison over time of the difficulty in obtaining new business, in 2012 and 2014, 35% of agencies indicated it was getting “harder” or a “lot harder” than the prior year. 2016 is the first time over 40% of agencies responded this way since 2010 as we exited the recession.
The increase in reported difficulty in 2016 versus the two prior reports is interesting. In 2010, Marketing Budgets were still quite tight as Marketers maintained a cautious stance following the recession. Correspondingly, almost half (48%) of agencies reported that obtaining new business was more difficult than the prior year. Budget pressures eased 2012-2014. Notably, in our 2016 New Year Outlook Survey of the advertising and marketing industry, for the first time in the history of that annual survey, Marketer expectations exceeded those of Agencies for budget increases. In that survey:
62% of Marketers responding forecasted marketing spending would increase somewhat or significantly in 2016.
Only 49% expected marketing budgets and spending to increase in 2016.
Yet here in the 2016 Agency New Business Survey, in greater numbers seen since 2010, Agencies are reporting 2016 has been more difficult for obtaining new business than the prior year. Budgets may be stronger, but other factors are at play. A look at a range of reasons follows.
15%7% 8% 11%
33%
28% 27%32%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
2010 2012 2014 2016
Difficulty in Obtaining New Business
A lot harder Harder The same Easier A lot easier
48% 43%
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Why is the New Business Environment Tougher?
We asked Agencies who indicated they feel it is harder or a lot harder to obtain new business than last year to identify factors behind that difficulty. We offered options that were included in our 2014 survey, along with one new one: “Developments in technology impact our offerings”. As in 2014, breaking through to prospects remains the top cited reason for more difficulty in obtaining new business. However, in 2014, 71% of agencies identified breaking through to prospects as the largest hurdle, compared with 63% of respondents identifying this reason in 2016.
14.8%
46.3%
9.3%
63.0%
16.7%
29.6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Less time to doit
Feweropportunities
out there
Developmentsin technology
impact ourofferings
Harder tobreak throughto prospects
Can't make theinvestment in anew business
program
Other (pleasespecify)
Why it is harder to obtain new business? (Select all that apply.)
14
Interestingly, more agencies in 2014 cited time limitations as a factor. The only other area of significant variation was in “other” responses.
So, fewer respondents are citing time as a restraining factor, and while it’s still “harder” to break through to prospects, fewer respondents also cite it in 2016 versus 2014. Although “developments in technology impact our offerings” was just asked for the first time in 2016, the response rate is notable, particularly in conjunction with reasons offered in the larger “other” response. Some of the “Other” reasons that agencies gave as making it harder to obtain new business include:
Increase in project work - multiple mentions
Involvement of procurement – multiple mentions
Greater competition – multiple mentions
Expansion of in-house marketing staff
Let’s think about all this in the context of a bigger picture: consider at the beginning of this report that over half of the respondents identified themselves as full-service agencies. Regardless of area(s) of expertise, it is critical that an agency defines itself and positions itself well and with strong differentiation.
Two facts in particular highlight the importance of this:
Competition IS more intense.
Marketers ARE increasingly awarding business as project work rather than AOR assignments.
We would not suggest that a firm discontinue full-service offerings for the sake of general positioning, of course, especially if your firm is genuinely delivering excellence to current clients as a full-service agency. Absolutely, continue that!
However, you should consider the service or services that truly set your firm apart from others and leverage those specifically in your new business development strategy:
With laser precision, zero in on the prospects who can benefit from those services.
Articulate clearly how those services will specifically benefit your prospects.
Our 2016 Thought Leader panel offered a wealth of insight on the benefits of this approach, and practical advice on implementing it.
2014 2016
Less time 21% 15%
Fewer opportunities 45% 46%
Impact of Technology on Offerings n/a 9%
Harder to break through 71% 63%
Can't invest in new business program 16% 17%
Other 11% 30%
15
The Changing Nature of New Business
Opportunities
As we turn to look at OPPORTUNITIES, however, a bit of a paradox emerges. Although agencies indicate their experience is that it is getting harder to obtain new business, less than a third (29.8%) say new business opportunities have decreased compared to a year ago.
Moreover, in comparison to 2014 survey results, significantly more agencies indicate in this year’s report that new business opportunities have increased compared to a year ago. At the same time, far fewer agencies express that new business opportunities have declined:
30%
39%
32%
Decrease
Remain the same
Increase
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Relative to last year, have you seen the number of opportunities for new business decrease, increase, or remain the same?
Decrease Remain the same Increase
2014 2016
Increase 19% 31%
Remain the Same 35% 39%
Decrease 46% 30%
16
2017 Expectations
Furthermore, despite respondents indicating it is harder to obtain new business in 2016 versus 2015, their outlook for 2017 is very bright, with 60% anticipating opportunities will increase, and just 8% anticipating opportunities will decrease.
This outlook is considerably more optimistic than it was in 2014:
Implications
The paradox is this. Agencies see it as more difficult in obtaining new business with a growing reason being that more work is awarded as project-based assignments now. Yet, they report seeing “more opportunity” and expect that to grow in 2017.
8%
31%
60%
Decrease
Remain same
Increase
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0%
As you look to the close of 2016 and on into 2017, do you expect new business opportunities to decrease, increase, or remain the same relative to the same time
period last year?
Decrease Remain same Increase
2014 2016
Increase 42% 60%
Remain the Same 44% 31%
Decrease 14% 8%
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The growth Agencies are experiencing in project work versus AOR assignments is something we see with our clients at RSW/US. Although it should be obvious, the increase in project work in fact does present opportunity. Several of our clients have initiated relationships with Marketers we introduce them to on a project basis, and have built the relationships into AOR appointments. Although it can take as much effort to obtain new business through a project as it does to secure appointment as AOR, give consideration to project work as opportunities with further potential that can often be significant. All the reasons given for greater difficulty in obtaining new business reflect the rapidly expanding media channels and technology and the vetting for expertise in them. It all makes for more competition. Gear your team up for it in agency new business! The following page provides perspective on the current mix of project work, as well as perspective of AOR/project work balance over the past three years.
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AOR/Project Work Balance
In 2016, over 40% of agencies are reporting that 51% or more of their work is project based versus AOR work.
While nearly half of respondents see project work increasing, over a third report no change over the past three years.
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0%
0%
1%-25%
26%-50%
51%-75%
76%-100%
% Agencies
% o
f W
ork
What percent of your work this year has been project versus retainer?
45.8%
17.5%
36.7%
How has that percentage split between project and retainer changed over the past 3 years?
Increased (more project work) Decreased (less project work) No change
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Additional Factors? Procurement
Considering the multiple mentions of working with procurement in the new business development process, the percentage of agencies indicating procurement has a role has actually dropped since 2014:
With 91% of respondents in 2015 citing the need to work with procurement at less than 50%, procurement involvement is not a legitimate hindrance to obtaining new business.
4%
14%
28%
58%
3% 6%
27%
64%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
76%+ 51%-75% 26%-50% 0-25%
Thinking about the new business you have won over the past couple of years, what percent of the time did you have to work with procurement?
2014 2016
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Additional Challenges? In-House Agencies
New to this year’s survey is the need for collaboration with in-house agencies:
A majority of respondents are indicating that collaboration with in-house agencies is a factor, and in general, comments about their experience with them were positive:
“We welcome that.”
“…We are still winning our share of AOR accounts, but often when that’s not the case we collaborate (quite successfully) with other agencies.”
“Sometimes it does, but often the internal staff just coordinates projects and assists the agency in formation gathering and approvals.
The growth of in-house agencies recently is attributable to several factors identified in our 2016 Industry New Year Outlook Report.
What’s important to keep in mind is the importance of continuously adding value to your client. Being “outside” your clients’ organization gives you an opportunity to study things about their firm and their industry and gather observations that can be unique only from an outside vantage point. Commit yourself and your firm to be more than students of your clients’ businesses; commit to be experts in their industries. This extra effort brings benefit and value to your client and to your firm.
61%
39%
Thinking about the new business you have won over the past couple of years, does it involve collaboration with in-house agencies?
Yes No
21
New Business Resources & Tools
With survey respondents indicating it is harder to obtain new business than it was last year, it is worthwhile to consider the marketing and communications avenues available for new business programs. The top three named by respondents were:
1. Referrals 2. Business from existing clients 3. Networking
These are the same top three as 2014, with “business from existing clients” edging past “networking” slightly. Although these means of generating new business historically have been good resources, we hear from agencies every day that the opportunities they present to generate new business are not nearly as strong as they used to be.
9%
14%
60%
12%
59%
8%
12%
5%
74%
12%
2%
8%
3%
3%
1%
7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Emails
Presentations or speaking engagements
Business from existing clients
Conferences
Networking
Phone calls
Organic search
Paid search
Referrals
Social Media
Paid online marketing
Inbound marketing programs (like HubSpot or…
Publications (books, whitepapers, guest blogging,…
Traditional mailings
Marketing intelligence resources (like Access…
Other, please specify
What 3 marketing tools have been most effective at generating new business? (Select up to 3)
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With marketing ranks thinning and companies consolidating, are fewer and fewer opportunities appear for referral and networking opportunities. Moreover, with so many more agencies popping up in the market today, many more are competing for the same business. So while the other platforms (phone, email, mail, social) don’t rank as high, we know through our work here at RSW/US that they can be very effective ones when delivered in one integrated plan. Amongst “other” responses, several had the same meaning as some of the listed options, such as “relationships”, “LinkedIn outreach” and “content marketing”. Additional “other” responses included very important tools:
“Walk-ins”, by way of our website
Blogs
Implications It is terrific to build business through existing clients; your firm will almost always benefit by nurturing that bird in the hand. Still protect your organization from having too many eggs in one basket. This by no means is to say walk away from new business with existing clients. Rather, it IS to say, keep outreach going to more organizations. The respondents calling out the website and their blog as a highly effective new business development tool are absolutely correct. We can hope this industry will never become this impersonal, but Gartner Research maintains that by 2020, 85% of customer relationships will be managed without customers and vendors every meeting in person. Whether or not this comes to pass in our industry, your website increasingly is becoming the face of your agency and the first impression that prospective new clients obtain of your firm. It’s simple: make certain it is current in both content and technology. As for blogs, our research indicates that 89% of Marketers read agency blogs. If you do not have a sustained presence by way of a blog or other thought leader content, your competition has a built-in advantage. Use a blog and other content consistently to support your agency positioning and differentiation. When you set your new business development strategy and create your messaging strategy within it, set the plan for every touch point to add value to your prospect. Identify the trigger that can make your message – whether it’s delivered “live” in a phone call, or by voicemail or email – break through to the prospect. Just as you recommend integrated media and messaging frequency for your clients, so should you plan for your own well-integrated new business development program.
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As in past years, we invited Adweek to submit some questions to include on our survey. The questions they submitted certainly have bearing on agency new business strategies, but go beyond the process itself. With a broader look to the marketing and advertising industry, we asked Marketers as well as Agencies to respond to the questions in this section.
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Question 1
In a June 20, 2016 article in BloombergTechnology, Ola Bjorling, global head of virtual reality at ad agency
MediaMonks, was quoted: “Virtual reality right now isn’t going to sell ketchup, but if you’re Lamborghini,
people will seek it out.’’
In our survey, Adweek asked:
Is Virtual Reality…
A revolutionary technology
A passing fad
Other
43%
20%
37%
63%
18% 18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
A revolutionary technology? A passing fad? Other (please specify)
Is Virtual Reality...
Agency Marketer
25
Marketers currently seem more bullish about the potential for Virtual Reality than Agencies, as seen in the numbers and in the comments they offered. Agencies certainly seem to be looking at Virtual Reality from a “wait-and-see” position. Comments:
Agencies Marketers
Many “I don’t know” responses An under-developed opportunity
A mind-blowing tool for select applications VR is experiencing a generational evolution
A tool in the arsenal, but not a critical component for everyone
A way of the future
Another tactic in the strategy bucket A niche technology
Near-term, just another tool; long-term, it will be game changing.
I don’t believe it’s evolved enough to say…
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Question 2
In November 2013, Harvard Business Review predicted five ways the advertising industry was about to
transform. While some of the predictions are still unfolding, the question remains: is the industry
adapting to the new world it serves?
45.8%
67.3%
54.2%
32.7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Agency Marketer
Is the Advertising Industry adapting well to the modern world?
Yes No
27
Again, Marketers seem relatively impressed about the industry’s ability to adapt to its own
transformation.
Comments from both Agencies and Marketers relate expectations for the industry as well as supplemental
insight about its progress in adapting:
Comments:
Agencies Marketers
Advertising is an OLD industry…what keeps us going is …being able to work with and consider “what’s next”
Digital is still a separate entity for traditional agencies
Lagging the Consumer AND technology. Advertising must lead, not follow social trends. About 25% of the industry gets it.
Complexity of consumer behavior and channel proliferation is changing faster than agencies can adapt.
Yes and no; some of the tech is cutting edge and some of the vehicles are slowly going the way of the dodo.
Almost all agencies are dancing in the dark in regard to what the future will bring.
…way too many options… not one agency has the expertise in all the different areas… cannot provide a holistic channel plan and integrated campaign.
Marketers are stretched super-thin and staying abreast of technology-based marketing options is very challenging to them.
It is shifting the way we advertise.
Don’t have to be on the “bleeding edge”. Just ahead of clients.*
Lack of transparency and data skew media spend to technology, not engagement.
One agency commented most forcefully:
“I don't think this a put-down of the ad industry, but I think it is floundering trying to figure out what the
exact role is in today's world. Attitudes about advertising are changing and this is driven in part by
technology. The industry hasn't figured it out yet.”
* ”Bleeding edge”: this could have been an auto-corrected comment with the author intending “leading edge”. It’s
actually more compelling as “bleeding edge”, but conveys a marginal grasp of the evolution at best.
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Question 3
As media and audiences fragment and as technology evolves, complexity grows in the industry. It’s interesting to measure how Marketers and Agencies are aligned on priority of services.
Although Marketers and Agencies are pretty well aligned on the top priorities, Marketers significantly reinforce the importance of the creative expertise they get from agencies, with 96% of them identifying it as the #1 benefit.
Benefits Ranking
Marketer Agency
Creative Expertise 1 3
Strategy Tied for #2 1
Innovative Ideas Tied for #2 2
Digital Insight 4 5
Consumer Insight 5 (tied with “Experience”) 4 (tied with “Experience”)
76%
88%
77%
96%
79% 79%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
What are the primary benefits a good ad agency brings to its clients (select all that apply).
Agencies Marketers
29
Implications It is encouraging to see Marketers and Agencies in a strong degree of alignment. The importance of Creative Expertise and Strategy that Marketers express reinforces the results of very similar question posted to both Marketers and Agencies in the 2016 RSW/US New Year Outlook Survey. Just as the results here show, Marketers participating in the 2016 RSW/US New Year Outlook Survey also indicated that the number one service they need most from Agencies is Creative, followed in close second by Strategy. The emergence of new marketing technologies and analytical tools is important. However, don’t let them become a distraction from what your clients consistently express is your most valuable service: Outstanding Creative and smart thinking Strategy.
30
Question 4
Adweek’s final question looked at these social media channels:
Facebook Twitter Snapchat Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Pinterest Google+
Then, Adweek asked which of the following attributes apply to each channel: Growing Declining Stagnant Old Young Pointless Useful Friendly Hostile Humorous Boring Convenient
Top picks for each attribute by Agencies and by Marketers follow:
Attribute Agencies pick Marketers pick
Growing Snapchat Snapchat
Declining Google+ Google+
Stagnant Facebook LinkedIn
Old Facebook Facebook
Young Snapchat Snapchat
Pointless Google+ Google+
Useful LinkedIn LinkedIn
Friendly Facebook Facebook/Instagram Tied
Hostile Twitter* Twitter*
Humorous YouTube Snapchat
Boring Google+ Google+
Convenient Facebook Facebook
“Growing” and “young’ notably describes Snapchat. Google+ collects descriptions such as “declining”, “pointless” and “boring”. Implication: All of us see the trend: mobile is booming and some predictions foretell of mobile usage exceeding desktop by 2018.
Social media strategies need to accommodate this, and DO set a social strategy for new business development!
Research by MarketingCharts earlier this year described the effectiveness of various social channels in B2B marketing;
this has implications for agency new business development too! Leverage the impact of social media by making it work
effectively on mobile. Make it highly visual; deliver your message for impact at a glance.
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IN CLOSING
To see success in agency new business, your firm needs to have a plan in place. Some industry resources put the
percentage of advertising agencies without a new business plan at 66%.
A new year is fast approaching. Don’t let your business fall into that 66%. Establish the plan. Also, recall that 48% of firms responding to this survey indicate that the leading factor inhibiting new business director success is absence of a solid prospecting methodology. So, make sure your new business plan details a solid and effective prospecting methodology. If your new business director is internal on-staff, devote the time to collaborating on the methodology, and jointly set goals. Schedule time at least monthly to evaluate how the plan is working. Adjust early, where weaknesses appear; it will help your new business director and your firm establish the path to success early in the year. Importantly, enable your new business director to focus entirely on new business. Being “too distracted with other agency things” tied as the number two reason inhibiting new business director success. Also, ensure they have the appropriate resources in tools and in collaborating management. Often, new business directors are expected to cover the whole funnel-from initial meetings to pitching to RFP responses. While they need to lead your business development program, greater success (and longer tenure!) will be achieved with team support. Certainly, the rigors of new business development can bring demands that go beyond the ability of many agencies to manage in-house. Still, out-sourcing new business development does not mean foregoing the discipline described above. Whether internal and on-staff or outsourced, your new business development program will generate the most success for your firm with a strong strategic plan, solid prospecting methodology and collaboration between the new business director and agency management. Here’s to a prosperous 2017!
