Winning Against Fierce Agency Competition

The most recent figures from the U.S. NAICS database show 63,500 companies in advertising, PR, and related services. Within that very large number are some really outstanding agencies.

Agency competition is tough, both in sheer number and the quality of capability. Compound that challenge with these three rising tides:

1. Client expectations are getting higher when it comes to agency capability, with the growing threat of in-housing if they can’t find what they want externally
2. Clients are trimming the roster of agencies, forcing service consolidation for more integrated and streamlined approaches
3. Big agencies are deploying new tools and tech to tackle smaller and smaller client assignments; i.e. now the big sharks are feasting in your pond

For your agency to compete now and into the future, you need to at least be at parity in several core areas just to survive. To win, and grow, you also need to find a way to meaningfully stand out to prospects.

Our team has competed at the highest level as agency insiders. We’ve also helped several other agencies improve their capabilities and biz dev efforts. We know what it takes to win and have driven over $74 Million in incremental agency revenue as a direct result of our work.

Here are some key areas to think about to see how your agency’s planning, media, and analytics capabilities stack up today. Where are you at parity with expectations? Anywhere below parity? Anywhere you can work to stand out?

Requirements for Agency Capability

Agency Overall

• Effective positioning and biz dev approach. A battle-tested machine with go-to RFI/RFP answers and a process for prospect customization.
• Consistent thought leadership. In the advertising vertical, but also in your clients’ verticals.
• Thumb-stopping POVs. Can some of your ideas get prospects to stop and think?
• Industry recognition/validation. This is RTB. The specific recognition doesn’t matter as much as having any at all.

Planning

• Process for actionable audience definition. How do you find the best prospects and size the opportunities for investment?
• Data-driven view of the customer journey. The consumer/customer journey is a critical capability requirement. Can’t stop at audience definition and definitely can’t be ethereal. Do you have something you can point to that underscores your POV on journey?
• Performance-driven view of marketing mix. Need to be able to answer the question, “Are these investments going to drive my business objective?”
• Business forecasting tools. Related to above, but on the obvious follow-up question of, “And by how much?”
• AI and Automation. What data sets and algorithms have you put in place to cut down on manual Planning time and improve client recommendations based on past performance?

Activation

• 1^st party data proficiency. Realize that a client’s customer data is a currency for the future. Chops on using it to drive value.
• Orchestration across teams and channels. Consolidation is real. They don’t want point solutions and siloed teams. Break them down and put them back together.
• Process for high-quality execution. Checklists, QA, and sound stewardship practices, using AI and automation tools to cut billable hours while improving quality of work.
• Engrained, databased test and learn approach. Clients want to feel progress through learning, both from their efforts and your other clients’ efforts as applicable.

Measurement

• Near real-time dashboards. A time-saver for both internal teams and clients.
• Performance benchmarks. How do I stack up on these metrics?
• Incremental lift tools. Across the full spectrum of client objectives, and likely fueling the Planning requirement.
• Integrated optimization approach. The decisions need to make sense for the business, not just for each individual platform.

Note: great people, great partners, great culture, and great case studies are all par for the course as well. Every agency can claim the same.

At Mostly Human, our job is to help our agency clients win and retain more business. If you’d like to go deeper or get better in one or more of the areas above, we focus on planning, media, data, advanced analytics, and measurement.