Does Your Agency Size Matter? It's Time to Challenge Your Assumptions

May 24, 2024 12:30 AM - 5 months ago 53989

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As a mini marketing agency, we precocious submitted a petition for accusation (RFI) for an relationship that was almost perfect for us. We had nan class experience, we had nan intelligence superior successful nan building, and we ticked each nan boxes isolated from for 1 point — size. Certainly, if you look astatine america connected paper, we are not nan correct size for this relationship because nan customer wanted america to person a section beingness successful each their awesome markets.

When we saw nan relationship profile, our first guidance was, "Oh my gosh, we're a mini fish." But we sounded anyhow because our halfway squad has a extent of knowledge and acquisition astatine a very precocious level. Whether aliases not we get to nan adjacent stage, it near america wondering really to get complete nan hump of size insecurity

It's not a caller question: Does size matter? If you are a brand marketer, fto maine situation your assumptions. Meeting a client's needs, sloppy of your size, is little astir nan number of bodies an agency has successful nan bullpen and much astir their expertise and flexibility. Here's really to judge if a mini agency fits your needs.

Related: 4 Things to Consider When Choosing a Marketing Agency

Keep strategical reasoning in-house

As we drafted our RFI, we were worried nan customer would deliberation they would swamp nan vessel if they put an relationship of that size and standard into our organization. But we person a ton of applicable knowledge, which gave america nan assurance to pitch, moreover if it looked for illustration a agelong shot. Staffing has besides evolved importantly since COVID-19, allowing for overmuch much flexibility. Small agencies pinch a web of distant staffing and contractors person arms and legs each complete nan place. Meaning they tin standard up very quickly, moreover if nan contractors are a span to full-time hires successful different location.

The astir captious constituent is what bully mini agencies don't outsource. Our org floor plan is very top-heavy because we person chosen to put successful nan intelligence superior and acquisition successful our location base. That allows america to capable roles and grow astatine nan little levels. When sending retired those RFIs, I counsel clients to see what they request from an agency.

Think of it for illustration nan quality betwixt buying a suit disconnected nan rack and 1 expertly tailored conscionable for you. Now, successful this analogy, nan tailor is ace smart and bully astatine their job. It whitethorn return a smidge much clip to customize, but you get precisely what you request — versus taking nan suit location and past uncovering personification other to fresh it properly. It makes consciousness to get nan suit correct successful nan first place.

Related: How to Choose nan Right Digital Marketing Agency for Your Business

Build a strong, nimble core

To clients pinch concerns astir an agency's size, look astatine nan halfway of nan group who will beryllium successful complaint of nan business. Assess their acquisition because they are nan ones who will make nan large decisions and lead nan imaginative strategy. Everything other is nan arms and legs — nan doing — and what clients request these days is nan thinking.

Compare that expertise's worth to an agency pinch each these folks sitting idle. Their leaders will past consciousness a batch of unit to return connected bigger and bigger pieces of business to capable their plates. They extremity up trading their capabilities to clients alternatively of building what is correct and bespoke. In different words, everything starts to look for illustration a nail erstwhile each you person is simply a hammer.

A mini agency pinch a really beardown halfway of strategical and imaginative thinkers offers a much nimble model. As a client, if you travel successful from nan broadside pinch a different need, look for an agency that tin build a bespoke staffing level alongside their resident knowledge. A nimble exemplary besides offers agencies unthinkable elasticity successful selecting what accounts to spell aft that are successful alignment pinch your values. Then, you won't request a mindset of trying to make money connected each azygous portion of business.

Embed elasticity into your model

If an agency is already afloat staffed and group up to activity pinch a customer 1 way, it is overmuch harder to accommodate erstwhile they pivot. Meanwhile, nimble agencies are capable to "turn on" and "turn off" capabilities and capable gaps according to need. For instance, our customer successful nan edifice manufacture needed thief managing nan backmost extremity of their website level and asked that we grip it. We took that connected moreover though that's not thing we ordinarily do.

We were very clear that we would negociate nan occupation done contractors, and nan customer could salary them done us. But arsenic quickly arsenic we turned that capacity connected erstwhile this customer brought nan activity backmost in-house, we turned it off. It made for a seamless transition.

Pivots are common, particularly erstwhile a customer changes its accepted and societal media trading mix. My proposal to mini agencies is to make money successful nan places wherever you person heavy expertise — and either walk done aliases present different players that champion meet nan client's needs wherever you don't. To clients, admit an agency's expertise to flex because that tin beryllium nan instauration of a existent partnership.

When mini is beautiful

We gave ourselves nan champion chance to onshore that large relationship because we cognize wherever our expertise lies. We were upfront successful our transportation that nan day-to-day doing — nan easy commoditized spot — tin beryllium readily found. In today's market, location are galore solutions for doing so, but location are acold less solutions for strategical thinking. Without entree to that intelligence capital, clients consequence an agency taking a generic attack and putting execution successful nan hands of mid-level folks. This is wherever mini agencies guidelines out. They tin standard up and down connected request while freeing their strategists to do what they do champion — trade bespoke solutions.

So, does size matter? Absolutely.

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