We tackled real world agency growth challenges and worked through them to give attendees suggestions to implement in their business. It was great to bring people together into a physical space again, something we have all missed hugely over the last 2 years!

Ending with a glass of wine and an opportunity to network with fellow attendees, the session was a massive success. We plan to keep this momentum going throughout the year with more physical workshops for agencies.

We are currently running an ongoing workshop called ‘Rapid Growth for Creative Agencies’. This is a free to attend digital workshop tailored to your business, providing you with practical tools to implement into your own agency.

Interested in finding out more? Get in contact with us, we’d love to hear from you…

#ANewWayForNewBusiness

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This presents many challenges, and opportunities, for agencies. How can creative companies gain an advantage to succeed in this changing landscape? Is there now a way for your agency to grow more effectively?

A New Way, for New Business is an approach to consistently win you new work, more effectively, at a time when clients seemingly hold much of the power.

Here are some of the key elements for you to consider at the start of 2022.

What is your Brand Value?
What do you want to be famous for and how can you stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive marketplace? Have you asked your audience what they are looking for and what problems they need solving? Then ask yourself, do you address this? What is your true value as an agency?

Have you carried out a Client Audit?
What is the profile of your current client base? It is important to understand your client, or potential clients, so you can focus on the ones that are right for you. Think about their target demographic and the solutions and services they deliver. What are the challenges they are facing right now and how might you help to address them?

How do you Engage with potential clients?
With so many routes to market and options to engage clients it is essential to find out what works best for them and your agency. Think about what marketing and social channels they use so you can understand your client more. Who are your lapsed clients and how might you go about re-engaging with them? Don’t forget to position you and your business as thought leaders and always demonstrate your expertise!

How to approach client Acquisition?
Client acquisition is perhaps the most challenging part so make sure you are prepared, rehearsed and in the right mindset. Understand both the companies and personal buying motives. Set the scene at the set of any meeting and don’t leave without getting a follow up date in the diary. And make sure you listen twice as much as you talk!

Don’t forget to Listen and Learn
Repeating a successful formula is one of the best ways to win business! Understanding where you have been successful and replicating that behaviour is essential. Also remember that sales is a team sport and you need to build, evolve and listen to your clients and your team.

The way that agencies grow their business is changing all of the time. A New Way, for New Business is a proven model for the rapid growth of creative businesses.

Get in touch to find out more and set 2022 off to the best start possible!

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Yes there are some short term challenges in terms of Covid restrictions but they won’t be there forever.

The barriers to entry are lower than ever before and agencies can open in new markets with minimal costs and time investment. In this article we are going to look at some of the ways we can support your agency internationally, helping you establish new clients and setting up offices in international locations.  

Understanding your market: Picking the right market is critical. There is no point trying to be in several locations at the same time, unless you have the size and scale to make this a reality. It is better to understand and focus on one market first. 

Focus on the Mega Projects: There are a huge number of mega projects in the world that drive business for creative agencies. Whether it’s sporting events such as The World Cup or cultural events such as Expo 2020. I visited Expo last week for a client and the sheer scale of creativity is incredible. Many of our clients have won business in the preceding years running up to these events. The next World Cup and Expo are already being planned. What could your agency do to target business in these (and other) mega projects? 

Cultural Differences: Each market has it’s own specific differences and nuances that must be understood. Winning business in New York or North America is a very different process to doing it in Dubai or The Gulf! Spending time getting up to speed on the sensitivities and cultural details will stand you in good stead. Things don’t happen overnight either. A long term and patient approach is required, which takes a committed board or agency owner(s) to see things through. 

Growth plan: When going into any new market you will need a clear plan for growth. What are the steps you need to take to secure business? How can you do it in an effective and lean way? Most SME creative agencies do not have FTSE 100 budgets when it comes to international expansion! I have watched many agencies burn through 2 years worth of business class travel, to China for example, with precisely zero to show for it at the end. Getting bang for your buck and spending carefully is essential. 

Foundation clients: Ideally, having 2-3 foundation clients can help provide a springboard into new markets. Those can usually be won from base camp – before you take the plunge and invest significant sums in travel and a new office. This is a very effective strategy that has worked for lots of our agencies. 

On the ground network: Build your on the ground network as quickly as you can. Get to know the key players and major prospects in a specific city you may be targeting. There are lots of resources via British Embassy teams and the DIT (Department for International Trade). There is a well developed infrastructure on the ground, all over the world, to help you. Tap into those services and get to know people locally. 

Office: This will probably be the final stage in the process, taking the plunge and opening an office. It may take a while to get to this point, if you build up business and your client roster beforehand. Being able to say “we have an office here” or “we’re about to open an office here” is a very powerful signal to prospective clients and it goes down very well. A satellite office with a simple presence can often be enough to start with.   

In summary, there has never been a better time for SME’s and agencies to expand abroad. The technology is there to support you and there are less barriers to overcome. The political and economic link between many countries and the UK are a major focus on government agendas. Markets such as North America, The Middle East and The Far East are all very hot for creative companies.  

The UK creative sector is revered around the globe. Whether in music, arts, fashion, film, events or createtech it’s one of the things we do best. Now is the time to take your creativity out there to the world!  

Rob King – The Client key: A new way, for new business 

The post Agencies Going Global: Now is the time. appeared first on The Client Key.

1) The digital pitch era

Pitching isn’t an ideal situation. It’s costly, risky and you will know there’s usually a front runner before you even enter the room – or at the moment the Zoom! That being said, it’s often a small agency’s best chance to step up and showcase your creativity.

In a recent survey from Creativebrief, three quarters of clients said they were uncomfortable with the digital pitch process. People buy people. So, how do you create pitch chemistry without accidentally interrupting your new client on zoom? We’ve adapted our pitch strategy for the digital era.

Research – Our number one rule of pitching is NEVER respond without researching the brief and asking questions of the client. Most briefs are rubbish and need more exploration. Create a list of questions and research to get your answers.

Chemistry – There’s a reason chemistry meetings exist, and it’s not just so you and the client can get on. It’s about the wider chemistry in your team. Organise multiple fact finding sessions with different team members. Let the client see the wider team get involved and share their experience. Keep 10 minutes of each research meeting set aside for informal coffee at the end. You’ll feel like you’re annoying them, but remember, they’re about to commit large amounts of revenue with you and need to see you’re committed.

Interrogation – By now you’ll have realised the brief they’ve written isn’t really the brief. Without being rude show them you’ve interrogated their problem. You told us X but following insights from this conversation and this research we actually think the problem is Y.

Response – This one is down to you. If you’ve done step 1,2,3 then you should have the foundations to create a truly different and impactful response.

Pitch Chemistry – You’ll be introduced to the decision makers of the client at the pitch. You’ve met the team, they’ve met yours. Now is your time to shine. Having won over the wider team, be prepared for who else is in the room. Ask key questions to understand and align to your value drivers. Use these in your arsenal when you’re under the spotlight.

2) Engaging new clients

A large proportion of new clients come from various meetings, often over a coffee or a beer. So how do you engage new clients now? Would you commit £200k of spend without seeing ‘the whites’ of your new partners eyes? Has zoom fatigue (you heard it hear first!) ruined the opportunity to engage new clients?

We’re supporting our clients in new business with a clear strategy and a proven process that works for creative businesses. Now is the time to increase your new business function, widen your net and start at the top of the funnel. Research and lead generation need to come first. Followed by an extensive phone and email engagement campaign. Now more than ever there is a need to widen your pipeline.

Some traditional formats of B2B marketing aren’t available with clients working from home. So consider what else you can do? Campaigns? LinkedIn promotion? Blogs? Events? Targeted case studies? It’s often not easy but with a strategic new business focus you can create effective campaigns to support you during difficult times. Credibility and relevance are the key drivers to leverage.

3) Unwinding the pivot

Many creative agencies have (through necessity!) pivoted their business into new areas during the last six months.

Suddenly clients have multiple options that were not available to them before. Many of them cost far less than previous services. The challenge for creative agencies is to wean clients off the cheaper alternatives and return to usual business and revenue levels. Demonstrating your true value is essential.

It’s fine to develop what you do but is it inline with the core of your business? Will it hold up over time? Can you articulate the elevator pitch? If the answer to these is no then you’re creating long-term vulnerability for when the world suddenly shifts again. Unwind the pivot or redress the balance before it’s too late.

If you don’t have a strong brand proposition, that you can clearly articulate, now is the time to get one!

Every agency is different and therefore needs a tailored approach. If you take anything away from this it should be about finding time to implement a clear process, and strategy for sales and growth. New business success doesn’t happen on a whim or overnight, but with experience, planning, relevance and clarity.

The Client Key operates ‘A new way, for new business’, removing the need for an ineffective (and expensive) new business director and instead a fully resourced, more effective solution, for agencies. Perhaps consider who could do this in your team? How could you implement some of these ideas in your agency? If you don’t have the resource, give us a call!

Rob & Amy

The Client Key ‘A new way, for new business’

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You might not know it yet (or be willing to face the reality?) but there is only one thing that is going to keep your business moving forward and that is Growth. In simple terms change or die. Or rather, in today’s hyper competitive landscape, grow or die.

So, just how do you grow creative businesses in the most efficient way? How do you really move the needle? And, crucially, how do you do it in the most efficient way and over what time frame?

There are many different ways to answer these questions but in my view there are only 5 main ways to grow creative agencies. So let’s have a look at them and evaluate each in a bit more detail:

1) Organically: Short to medium term

Organic growth. Has there ever been a nicer way of saying we’re lazy and haven’t bothered to do much? “Organic growth” sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Yet, when I hear people talk about organic growth I think lack of a plan, and disinterest in a clear new business strategy. I’m usually right! Yes you may attract new clients and pick up pieces of business but it is not going to deliver you long term sustainable growth.

2) Business Development campaigns: long term thinking

A well planned and strategic new business campaign can transform your business. Agencies who run effective sales and new business strategies, aligned with a clear and unique proposition, are the ones that really thrive. Taking in marketing and product strategies they are able to clearly connect with their client base, have higher pitch wins and as a result grow quickly, outperforming the competition. Now it’s getting interesting!

3) New Products & New Services: innovation

Launching a new product to steal a slice of the market is a brilliant way to grow. If you’ve spotted something that no one else has, congrats! But how fast can you move? How quickly can you get it out there to maintain first mover advantage? (hint, see number 2 for an effective plan!)

4) Major Investment: team & resources

With major investment comes the luxury of resource. The luxury to be able to spend your way to growth, should you so desire. But how best to spend such privileges? Use your riches wisely – do you have a plan and moreover can you implement it? Buyer beware!

5) Acquisitions & Strategic partnerships: fast track growth

Spending your way to growth can be a fast track way to add turnover (and hopefully profit), client base and capacity in a relatively short space of time. If you can find the right company at the right price (and have the required means) then this can be a very effective way to grow your agency. Acquisitions of course come with their own challenges but that’s down to your skill as an entrepreneur to effectively integrate and align the newly joined businesses. Partnerships and alliances can also work well but are rarely the golden ticket they’re often made out to be.

So, in conclusion you can try and shortcut your way to growth. You may have some been told about some new biz “hacks” that promise to deliver the client dollars. Perhaps you believe the ‘win without pitching’ hype which is, largely, something of a fallacy. Or maybe you’re just happy to wait for the phone to ring?

In reality new business has to be at the very core of your agency, the life blood from which it feeds. There needs to be a holistic approach to client engagement that understands how you succeed, add value through your work and grow alongside your clients. If there is not then you have a major problem.

Too many creatives make the mistake of only focussing on their product and creative output. The truly great agencies understand that clients (aka new business) and creative output go hand in hand. These are the ones that really thrive and excel. They focus on prioritising both things equally and don’t just focus on delivering great creative work.

This is the key to long term agency success and sustainable growth of your business.

The post The only five ways to grow your agency. appeared first on The Client Key.

I’ve attended a lot of events in the last few months and I’ve been very surprised at the varying degrees of success to social or classic ‘elevator’ pitches. “What do you do? Or… What kind of business are you in?” is a golden opportunity to make a great first impression.

I’ve heard some fairly confusing answers to that question recently. Some of them, in fact, have been downright terrible. Along the lines of…

“So, what do you do?”

“I run a B2B/B2C, geo locator app plug-in that increases proximity marketing for geo tagging and meta data tracking for large scale consumer brands and IP rights holders”

That was an actual pitch that someone said to me, I kid you not. Instead of saying something like this…

“I’ve built an app that helps big brands understand where their customers are and what they’re doing in different locations. Our technology gives brands information that increases their sales conversions and ultimately helps grow my clients businesses.”

A great first pitch should leave the person feeling enlightened, engaged and intrigued to find out more about you and your business. The opposite emotional responses are confused, bored and disengaged but most people are way too polite to ever tell you that’s how they’re feeling!

So I thought I would share my suggestions on how to make a great first pitch in a social or business networking environment and leave the person you’re talking to excited and ready to talk. Not totally baffled and ready to move on!

1. Start with Why – tell the person WHY you do what you do, what gets you excited? Why does your business exist? What gets you out of bed in the morning? Why are you passionate about it?

2. Have confidence – be bold, be confident. This is your chance to shine and make an impact! Don’t blow it by mumbling, looking at the floor (or far worse, over the persons shoulder) and speaking incoherently. If you struggle with these things, practice and try it out on people until your confidence improves. (See rehearse, rehearse, rehearse below)

3. Tell a story – try and put some emotive storytelling into your pitch. We all love a good story so think about your own personal experiences. Cold hard logic and facts about why your business is brilliant are not enough on their own. Remember: Logic makes people think, emotion makes people act

4. Be passionate – delivering your elevator or social pitch should get you excited. Your face should light up when asked what you do! If you are not excited by it then why should the person you are talking to be?

5. Jargon buster – Avoid. Avoid. Avoid jargon. There is already too much of it in business today. If you really want to speak technically and dazzle them with your business brilliance then keep it for later. At a time when you have more time with a client or prospect and, first and foremost, they already have a sense of what you do and how you can help them.

6. Keep it simple – we usually like to get things straight away so keep it very, very simple! At least initially. Don’t make it any harder than it needs to be for the person you’re talking to understand what you do. A good test is would your granny or 10 year old child understand what you do if you told them? That might sound too simplistic but trust me that’s a better place to start than confusing the hell out of someone and then trying to clarify it.

7. Add value – you’ve covered why you do what you do. Now think value. What’s in it for your clients? How do you deliver value and help them or their business. Think value, impact and results. Which aspects of your pitch will they relate to and where’s the value for them?

8. Practice makes perfect – rehearse, rehearse and rehearse again. Change if needed. There is, of course, no such thing as perfection but there is certainly no harm in trying!

9. Enjoy it – pitching is a great way to share experiences, tell people about your business and get feedback on what you’re doing. Keep an open mind and most of all, have fun and enjoy it. It’s all part of the big game we play called business. The more you enjoy any game, the more you enjoy it.

10. Learn & improve – once you’ve done all of these things, practiced your new communication skills and begun to make consistently good pitches understand whats working and what isn’t.  Are there specific aspects of your business you need to focus more or less on? Have you noticed people respond better to certain phrases you’re using? Now it’s time to observe, listen and improve.

The Client Key runs regular pitching workshops and training programs. If you’d like to know more about how a pitching workshop could help your business or engage your team then drop us a line – we’d love to hear from you… use@theclientkey.com

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