Search Results for: business development

How to Build A Winning Advertising Agency Business Development Program

Peter · May 13, 2024 · 6 Comments

How To Build An Effective, High-ROI Advertising Agency Business Development Program

Start Here. Ask Yourself: How Is Your Marketing, Digital, and Advertising Agency Business Development Program Going?

What do I mean? Are you getting the leads you want? Are these clients high margin? Do they want great thinking, media planning and creativity from you? Might they be long-term? Do they look cool on your client list?

#1: Tough News From the 2024 RSW/US Agency New Business Report

RSW/US asked agencies: “How Difficult Is Obtaining New Business, Compared to Last Year?”

58% of agencies found it harder to obtain new business in 2023, and 38% of ad agencies reported a decrease in new business opportunities in 2023, up from 26% in 2022.

#2: My Second Book On How To Run And Grow A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency Is being bought by your competitor down the street.

If you want to run a kick-ass advertising, digital, or whatever you call your agency business development program that stands out, makes more money, and is happy, then buy my new book. Its 27 chapters cover every aspect of agency management (including staffing issues), business development, and building critical personal branding. Go here: “How To Build A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency.”

Advertising Agency Business Development Strategies and Tactics

This is an update to “How to Build A Winning Advertising Agency New Business Program.” Your competitors have read it over 50,000 times.

Advertising agency business development is a 24/7 operation that requires the right agency positioning, strategies, action, and efficiency. I help my agency clients get there faster by building them a custom, efficient business development plan. A plan that they will run 24/7.

The post’s popularity is due to three key factors:

1. It directly addresses a major marketing pain point: how to build a winning and efficient advertising agency business growth plan.

2. The post is well optimized for search engines, delivers high value, and, therefore…

3. Google loves it. FYI, my number two trafficked post is, “How To Name Your Advertising Agency – Part One” at 30,000 + views. While always rethinking their website, advertising agencies also obsess about their name. By the way, the How to Name post is also a very good cheat sheet on naming that you can steal if a client ever needs a new brand name.

Your Competiton Is Growing – Be Unignorable

Your potential clients have over 4,000 marketing communications ‘agency’ options (other agencies, new consultancies, freelancers, even your ex-creative director…).

Therefore, any form of business development passivity on your part – sucks. If you think you are doing everything right, you probably are not. How can I say this? I never thought that all was well whilst running business development at Saatchi & Saatchi and when I owned my own west coast agency.

A critical message about not being unignorable… Watch this. I built it for my friends at AAR Partners, the leading ad agency search consultant. By the way, I read this thinking about consultants, “34 Advertising Agency Search Consultants“.

OK, Let’s Go… The 24/7 Business Development Plan

I moved from New York to Bend, Oregon, in 2002 to buy a very successful advertising agency (and raise a family 20 minutes from a ski lift).

Citrus grew to add a Portland office and national accounts including Dr. Martens, Harrah’s, Leagalzoom, Nike, Providence Health & Services, the Montana Lottery, and the UN.

I woke up every day as if a client like Nike would walk out the back door along with its revenues. I bet as an ad agency owner or manager you have rough nights too. One of the things I knew I could and should do was to manage this back-door issue was to have an active, I stress active, new business plan in place.

Here are some (I stress some) of the elements of my marketing plan. They helped me grow Saatchi & Saatchi and my agency Citrus. I hope my insights help you grow your agency.

Execution Rules.

When I set out to write this advertising agency new business post I didn’t think that it would be this long – a warning to the ADHD types. However, advertising agencies’ new business planning is complex and becoming more complex every day due to the rapid changes in our industry and technology. That said, the devil in business development, you know what’s coming, is in the detail. Success is all about execution.

For example, running a successful inbound biz dev program that attracts market attention must be based on a sound strategy and smart agency process if you want to run a 24/7 sales program. Staying the course is critical.

OK. OK. Help Me ChatGPT. Here is a quick FAQ that my buddy Chat created to help you understand the core elements of this missive.

What are the key elements of a successful advertising agency new business program?

Strategic Positioning: Define clear business and sales objectives, including your agency’s unique value propositions like media expertise or demographic specializations (e.g., mobile advertising, Gen X marketing).
Proactive Business Development: Employ a dedicated Business Development Director to lead client acquisition efforts, ensuring alignment with agency goals and maintaining regular prospect engagement.
Inbound and Outbound Marketing: Implement a balanced strategy with targeted content marketing (blogs, white papers) and smart use of social media platforms to generate inbound leads. Complement this with aggressive outbound tactics like cold calling, personalized emails, and strategic ad placements.
Client Acquisition and Retention: Focus on acquiring clients through thoughtful qualification of leads, engaging pitches, and effective management of proposals and pitches. Post-acquisition, ensure smooth transitions and high client satisfaction to foster long-term relationships.
Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Regularly update the business development plan to reflect market changes and internal growth goals. Utilize tools like CRM systems to track progress and optimize strategies based on data-driven insights.

How can an agency maintain continuous new business growth?

Consistency in Marketing Efforts: Regular updates and interactions via high-value emails and social media posts ensure continuous engagement with potential clients.
Leveraging Thought Leadership: Establish your agency as a thought leader by narrowing your focus to specific niches or industries, thus standing out from the competition.
Utilizing Advanced Tools and Analytics: Keep track of all marketing and pitch efforts through detailed analytics to understand what strategies work best and adjust accordingly.

What are common mistakes to avoid in agency new business development?

Overextending Without Focus: Avoid trying to be everything to everyone. Specialize in certain areas to differentiate your agency from others.
Neglecting Business Development Culture: Ensure that business development is ingrained in the agency’s culture, with all team members actively participating in growth activities.
Inefficient Use of Resources: Focus on quality over quantity in marketing efforts to avoid wasting resources on unqualified leads or ineffective strategies.

Back To Me: The Advertising Agency Business Development Plan. First Things First.

I have never been able to construct an effective business development program without first having an agency business plan.

The business plan should include (at least):

Your agency’s business and business development objectives
An assessment of your current strengths and weakness (I have all of my clients do an internal SWOT analysis)
A competitive agency positioning (specialization is a good thing)
An analysis of your space in the world – as in, why would a client hire you?
Clear target market objectives and target market personas
A service plan (it might mean adding new services)
Your inbound and outbound (think Account-Based Marketing) plan
The very important objective of running unignorable messaging
A dedication to being consistent and efficient – as in having a process

Your business plan should also help you plan for your future in the evolving world of marketing communications. I think that client confusion with the evolving state of advertising and marketing – this includes big and small clients – makes today a great time to be an agency. Winning agencies are resolving their business challenges, crafting the right services and guidance, and, importantly, are willing to modify their business model to avoid disruption to achieve success.

It is also imperative that you develop a roadmap for how to grow your current agency to become the agency of the future. The market, communication platforms, and client expectations are changing rapidly. Assess your current strengths, weaknesses, and how your agency expertise and personnel are going to stay ahead of change (do an annual SWOT analysis).

Change can be very profitable. What if you could restart your agency using a blank sheet of paper? Would you build a replica of your current agency or would it look dramatically different? If you think that change is in order, you better get started. Here is a powerful mantra from General Eric Shinseki.

“If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more.”

The Agency New Business Program – Join The 34%

Armed with your business plan you can get ahead of your competitors by having a comprehensive new business plan. Most agencies do not have a plan. Get this industry research…

66% Of Advertising Agencies Report That They Do Not Have a Business Development Plan. This Is Lunacy!

Your plan should include most, if not all of the following: [Read more…] about How to Build A Winning Advertising Agency Business Development Program

Claude AI Prompt For Marketing Agency Business Development

Peter · April 25, 2024 · 1 Comment

A Sweet Claude AI Prompt For Marketing Agency Business Development

Yikes, so many prompts. This AI prompt for marketing agency business development works hard.

I asked Claude AI to build me a persona for a future pharmaceutical client. This is an example of how to get to “Know” your future marketing client. Use it to build out your business development path.

The Claude AI Prompt

“Build me a persona of a marketing director of a midsized global pharmaceutical company who is responsible for breaking through the clutter of healthcare marketing in the digital marketing world. List their hopes and dreams and concerns plus emotional triggers that help them and decision-making criteria for their choosing a marketing services company.”

Claude AI’s Marketing Director Response

Here is a persona for a marketing director of a midsized global pharmaceutical company responsible for breaking through the digital marketing clutter in healthcare:

Name: Jessica Anderson Age: 42 Job Title: Global Digital Marketing Director

Background: Jessica has been in the healthcare/pharma marketing world for over 15 years. She started out in product marketing roles at major pharmaceutical companies before transitioning to digital marketing leadership positions at midsized firms. Her current company is a $2 billion global pharmaceutical company that develops treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and rare disorders.

Responsibilities: Overseeing all digital marketing initiatives globally including website, social media, digital advertising, virtual events/webinars, email marketing and marketing automation. Her team is responsible for generating leads, nurturing prospects, and supporting product launches through digital channels.

Hopes & Dreams:

Make her company’s brand a recognized leader in certain therapeutic areas through breakthrough digital marketing
Drive substantial lead generation and revenue growth through innovative digital campaigns
Advance her career to the VP/CMO level by demonstrating clear digital marketing ROI

Concerns:

Breaking through the immense clutter and noise in the digital healthcare marketing landscape
Overcoming challenges with regulations, compliance, and privacy restrictions
Gaining enough budget and resources to execute digital marketing at a high level
Having the right talent, skills and expertise on her team

Emotional Triggers:

Frustration with agencies that don’t truly understand healthcare’s unique challenges
Excitement when seeing creative, bold and cutting-edge digital campaigns
Motivation to beat the competition and be seen as a marketing innovator
Anxiety about making costly mistakes that could risk brand reputation

Decision Criteria for Choosing a Marketing Services Company:

Specialization and deep expertise in healthcare/pharma digital marketing
A track record of developing highly creative and effective digital campaigns
Robust capabilities across all key digital channels (web, social, advertising, etc.)
Strong competencies in data/analytics to measure and optimize performance
Stellar client service, responsiveness and commitment to her business success
Reasonable pricing/costs with demonstrated ROI

Jessica is looking for a digital marketing partner that can truly understand her company’s challenges and deliver breakthrough, results-driven digital campaigns that elevate brand awareness and drive revenue growth.

I like this one. Pass it on. LOL. Yup, I’ve got other ideas just for you. Right here…

Grow Advertising Agency Business Development

Peter · October 22, 2023 · Leave a Comment

A Faster Way To Grow Advertising Agency Business Development

Your marketing agency must have a need for speed. According to RSW/US’s 2023 advertising agency business development report, you better learn how to stand out fast if you want to grow and should not ignore Peter Levitan’s kick-ass advertising agency business development actions.

This year (2023) 58% of agencies report obtaining new business has been harder, or a lot harder, compared to the previous year. As seen in our graph, that’s creeping closer to 2020 levels at 67%, when we faced lockdowns, budget freezes, and overall extreme uncertainty.

The Way Forward Is… Leveraging FUD To Grab Attention

Think Purple Cow. Think Seth Godin. Think about being unignorable. Don’t be shy. I advise all of my advertising agency business development clients that they need to capture the attention of their future clients. Leverage business pain points and even FUD – Fear + Uncertainty + Doubt. A way to do that is to do some easy to do custom research. Call me to find out how.

For Now… Here Is My Take On Godin’s Super 2003 Best Seller “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable” and, YUP…. Grow Advertising Agency Business Development Success

“Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable” by Seth Godin presented a groundbreaking perspective on modern marketing. Here’s a brief summary of the book’s key points:

The Purple Cow Analogy: In a field of brown cows (think about your 4,000 competitors), a purple cow stands out. Similarly, in a market flooded with products and services, being “remarkable” (like a purple cow) is the only way to truly stand out.
The Old Marketing Paradigm is Broken: Advertising methods (like TV commercials – today even SEO) are becoming less effective due to over-saturation. People are good at ignoring ordinary products and boring ads.
The New P’s of Marketing: Godin suggested a revised set of P’s for marketing: Purple Cow, Permission, Peer Pressure, Paranoia, Persistence, Placebo, Personalization, People like us, and Perceived Value.
Safety is Risky: Playing it safe and creating average products and messaging for average people is a risky strategy. It’s better to take calculated risks to create something truly unique and remarkable.
Target the Innovators and Early Adopters: Rather than trying to market to everyone, focus on the audience segment that’s most likely to try new things and spread the word – i.e., the clients you want.
Word of Mouth is Powerful: Remarkable products and services get talked about. Creating something worth talking about can lead to exponential growth via word of mouth.
Create and Spread Ideas: The goal should be to create ideas that spread. If an idea spreads, it’s because people like it, believe in it, and share it. your custom research will help.
Be Genuine: Consumers and client types can detect inauthenticity. It’s essential to genuinely be remarkable and not just create a facade.
Embrace Criticism: Remarkable ideas often get criticized. Instead of fearing criticism, see it as evidence that you’re breaking norms and standing out.
The Lifecycle of a Purple Cow: Once a service and a product becomes popular and mainstream, it loses its “remarkableness.” Brands need to keep innovating to stay relevant and remarkable.

In essence, GO: “Purple Cow” Buy it now! …Challenges businesses to stop focusing solely on standard B2B marketing. In a cluttered marketplace, only the remarkable advertising, digital, etc. agencies stand out, get talked about, and succeed in the long run.

Oh, Yeah: BUY My Books. Stand Out. They Will Tell You: How To Grow Advertising Agency Business Development

A Sad Advertising Agency Business Development Story

Peter · December 4, 2022 · Leave a Comment

A Very Sad Advertising Agency Story From Keurig Dr Pepper.

Start here: By now, most people in advertising know that Kuerig Dr Pepper’s marketing team (and I must assume their procurement department) are assholes. Why AHOLES? Here is their advertising agency business development story. This from the UK’s IPA, its leader Paul Bainsfair…

“UK agencies react in horror to the bizarre Keurig Dr Pepper 360-day payment terms”

“Global consumer products giant Keurig Dr Pepper is currently running a PR agency search in the United States, where part of the ask is for agencies tendering to accept 360-day payment terms. Those that cannot are being offered the option of financing, at their own cost, through Atlanta-based, Prime Revenue.”

Are you fucking kidding me?

Why Is This Important? Cause An Advertising Agency Pitch Can Hep Your Agency Go Out Of Business

OK, yes you know that this kind of lame client shit is important to pay attention to. But, playing along with this stuff can put your agency out of business…

The cost and effectiveness of agency business development can make or break an agency. Let me give you a – real-world – worst-case example.

A few years ago a Pacific Northwest agency was one of a set of agencies trying to land a major digital account. The client’s pitch team wanted to see each agency’s strategic approach to the client’s marketing goals and the northwest agency built a comprehensive plan that included performing some market research and even the leasing of related technology. The pitch dragged on forever and the agency was racking up staff and hard costs.

The good news… the agency won the account.

Bad news… the pitch became so expensive that the agency almost went out of business – in this case, after winning the account. The agency’s costs included the cost of the initial RFP response and a four-month pitch. Add in the agency’s actual client work plus the client’s 90-day payment schedule. Yikes. The RFP response, managing and crafting the pitch itself (mega labor hours), and the actual work, once won, all added to have the agency essentially working for free for more than six months.

Could the agency have managed this insane scenario? Not sure. Every pitch and client engagement is unique. That said, the agency could have had a better handle on what was coming when they initially interviewed the client. However, I’m not sure that the client was actually forthcoming. Or worse, really knew what they needed in the first place. Or skilled in running a pitch. or skilled in working with an agency.

The takeaway is that agencies should not pitch everything. Period. Spend the time to understand the client’s needs and motivations, its past agency history, know why you should be the winner, and what the search/pitch details are – including payment terms (yes, often hard to gauge) but if anything does not feel right or professional, then bail.

Always keep in mind the cost of pitching and that, at best, an agency will only win 30% of the time.

Now ask yourself, why would an advertising agency pitch that Keurig Dr Pepper account?

Is your agency pitching too much? Read this…

One more point: Buy this book and win more pitches… I mean it.

Minimalist Business Development Plan

Peter · December 25, 2020 · 1 Comment

How To Build Your Minimalist Business Development Plan

When I write what I call a minimalist business development plan for an advertising, digital agency client I split the plan’s deliverables into two documents. One is a comprehensive 360-degree look at my client’s business objectives, current market position, brand positioning and attributes, target market pain-points, existing biz dev plan, and a range of tailored inbound and outbound, i.e. account-based marketing approaches.

After we review the master plan document, I create a more simplified two-phase plan that is designed so that it actually gets implemented. I say actually gets implemented because many, too many, marketing communications companies do not run the business development plan they have. I have seen this at mega agencies and two-person shops. My two-phase plan, yes a minimalist business development plan, is designed to focus on a small set of marketing programs, to be highly efficient, and to be built on a clear process.

My minimalist business development mantra is KISS (keep it simple stupid) + focus on a small number of core marketing programs + be efficient + make sure that whatever you say (an agency’s positioning, sales proposition, and marketing messages) is UNIGORABLE.

OK, one more. Agency management must be dedicated to running the business development program. 24/7. Dedication to agency growth must come from the top.