Happy agency-client relations are all alike; every unhappy one is unhappy in its own way. In order to be happy, both sides must be committed to a range of criteria – openness, communication, results, and so on. Failure on just one of these counts can lead to conflict. Thus there are more ways for a relationship to be unhappy than happy.
But with reputations and budgets at stake, we can’t blame either party for being a little… cautious. Add to this the pressure that comes with operating in a ferociously competitive market, and we’re left with the damning reality that many client-side marketers see their work as too important to be left to a third party. In order to address this false dichotomy, we need to hear from both sides.
An industry in flux
The proliferation of niche specialist agencies is causing their larger counterparts to struggle to bring in the required talent, leaving the entire industry in a state of flux. “We’re finding agencies that know about data but don’t understand the marketing mix, while the ones that know about content and editorial don’t understand the brand in a sufficiently compelling way,” says Alex Naylor, Barclaycard’s director of marketing communications.
Promisingly, though, agencies are under no illusion about this shortfall. When we asked those that took part in our annual B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report to share their thoughts on the changing relationship, the answers reflected Alex’s concerns. “Agencies now need to be sector experts and highly skilled marketers,” said one. “No longer can they get away with being generalists – they have to know how to add value and measure marketing success in relation to business objectives and growth.”
Taking a demonstrable interest in campaign performance is one way agencies are remedying the problem. To illustrate this, Brian Macreadie, head of brand and campaign marketing at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), outlines an example from the PR world: “Those focusing solely on column inches, follows and likes are being left behind by those who are ROI-literate and measure leads, revenues and hard brand metrics.”
Perhaps this should come as little surprise: performance metrics are hard-wired into every marketer, so agencies that show real ability to assist here will always curry favour.
What clients want
Beyond metrics, the devil’s in the detail for Stephen Yeo, marketing director at Panasonic. “I want people who truly understand the B2B world: the specifics of EU data laws, how to address mail to other countries, and how to operate the essential channels. I always look for an agency that will consider us one of their most important customers.”
Every client wants the best results and to feel valued regardless of whether they’re number one or 41 on an agency’s account priority list – this is where agencies should be versatile. A global multi-discipline agency, for example, might lack the niche talent for a certain job, while a smaller specialist agency would simply be too stretched to take on the whole thing. Rather than compromising with one or the other, many client-side marketers now want to combine the two.
This à la carte approach involves forming a number of strategic partners and exploiting their individual expertise. “I find it really attractive when agencies are willing to work in a more networked way,” Alex explains. “It’s great when they understand their own key competencies and are willing to partner with others to bring incremental value.”
Should an agency lean both ways?
Much debate surrounds whether or not an agency should be market partisan. Surely having a B2C arm demonstrates richer experience? Or is it the case that those operating solely within B2B are more committed to the cause? The answer depends as much on the individual client’s modus operandi as it does the campaign itself.
Brian, for example, only goes for agencies with B2C credentials. “To stand out you need to do new things – bolder and better things – and I believe this demands fresh thinking and new inspiration. I would never hire a design or web agency that has only worked in my patch.”
Stephen, on the other hand, is more cautious: “I’ve often found that B2C operators don’t have the necessary expertise to know how to operate some of the infrastructure you need in a B2B environment. For example, we were able to collaborate with our agency Proctor + Stevenson to build one of the biggest B2B sites in Europe. Because it’s Drupal-based and we used specialist software like PHP, Minus QL and Lynx, we pay no licence fees. I’m not convinced a B2C agency could do the same.”
With consumer agencies often needing to roll their sleeves up to get up-to-speed on the technical specifics, Alex is optimistic for their B2B counterparts. “As the industry produces more exciting and compelling work, the creative opportunities in B2B will become more apparent. This, in turn, will pull in the creative talent and the problem will go away.”
Areas of conflict
According to the industry adage, pitches are won at the top and contracts lost at the bottom. In other words, clients are aware of the agency tactic of sending their most impressive staff to pitches only to replace them with juniors further down the line.
“I avoid pretentious accents and beautiful women,” says Stephen. “Agencies often roll out the A-team to take you out for dinner. But frankly, I’m not interested in that. I want an agency with good, genuine people.”
This aversion to facade is echoed by Alex, who shuns the ‘them and us’ mindset. “Clients are operating in a much more agile way now and we need agency partners to do the same. They need to be much more partnered, communicative, collaborative and iterative than in previous years.”
When agencies were probed to describe the troubles they face when working with their opposite numbers, many of their complaints surrounded clients’ internal bureaucracy, unclear briefs and fragmented leadership. As one said: “You can get 75% of a project complete and then a senior spod can engage in seagull management – fly in, make a lot of noise, shit on everything and then fuck off – they derail a project having no clue as to its objectives or the quality of thought and planning.”
This won’t be the last time the agency-client relationship is likened to that of a marriage – the parallel being that the fewer times you part ways, the happier you’ll be in the long run. Despite foibles admitted on both sides, though, the epilogue is one of resounding positivity and a shared eagerness to produce outstanding work; not just for themselves, but for the B2B industry as a whole.
