Relationship(ping) forecast
We have been thinking about agency-client relationships this week, with a request from procurement to build a multiagency-relationship-measurement thing. That is, something that gives visibility to the relationship status between the agency and the brand team.
It’s typical for an agency to be measured primarily by its output. But if you agree that a brand’s health is the key to organisational profit and the quality of your agency-client relationship is a major driver of brand health, then the health of that relationship becomes a key driver of your profitability.
I did some truffling around and found a great article written by Douglas T. Moore from General Mills which just seems to hit home. (More than that actually- I think I would really like the guy.) We plan to use his ideas for our relationship measurement tool. Doug has given us seven areas to work with:
Top-to-top trust – Trust between decision makers enables everyone to take bigger risks and grab bigger opportunities. It does this by speeding up problem-solving.
Agency talent – The best minds in the agency create brand ideas, never letting process, politics, or even budgets get in the way of great work.
Focusing on talent doesn’t just mean recruiting the best. It means finding them, developing them and above all giving them great reasons to stay. Stability is critical, rapid change at an agency can create problems.
Client talent – The great ones realise they shouldn’t ‘manage’ the relationship. Instead, their role is to inspire with the sense that anything is possible; make sure the strategy is insightful and simple; recognise talent and shape it; sell it through client personalities, fears, and politics.
Ideas atmosphere – Cohesion, openness, trust, sharing, and a willingness to dream. The key is creating a collaborative, ideas-driven atmosphere at the core of your partnership. Act like a start-up (easy for us to say). All ideas are welcome. Success is rewarded. Team is sacred. Speed and strategy is fundamental.
Money as a positive force – Passion gets business going… cash keeps it flowing. If your deal is too good to be true, it probably is. Top talent needs to be compensated as such. Equally the agency needs to work with what the business can afford. Consider incentives at an appropriate scale. Try a pilot, put ’significant’ money into an incentive pot, tie specific, quantifiable objectives to it, and track performance changes.
Lots of conversations about what matters – Agreement on the path to brand success is crucial for all – and I mean we must really, really agree, not ‘meeting nice’ agree. Relationships can drag all kinds of ’silent’ issues around for months, sometimes years. Senior leaders on both sides must keep talking about where the brand needs to go and potential worries around trust or ideas.
Shared disciplines – Semantics and language can hinder or enable progress. No matter how many agencies businesses may work with, it’s essential to embrace each unique culture. But having a common framework for discussing brands, strategies, projects, and simple things like clarifying roles and responsibilities, makes a huge impact in success rates and speed.
I love Doug’s list and everyone in the agency is excited by his points. Soon we hope not only to put them into practice, but have ourselves measured against them.