One of the most crucial aspects of maintaining revenue growth for your agency is to build thriving relationships with your current clients. From studying the brand’s industry, maintaining strong communication and having overall excellent business judgment, there is a lot that goes into establishing a secure and trusted client relationship. And in today’s world, these things are no longer “nice to have”; they are necessities.
Like every aspect of the current agency landscape, the way in which we manage our client relationships is in desperate need of innovation. However, this innovation comes with an excellent opportunity for revenue growth.
Here are four methods that your agency can adopt today to grow organic revenue while establishing long and successful partnerships in the future:
Embrace a culture that celebrates client relationships
At the 2018 Mirren CEO Summit, Tatia Torrey, the Chief Client Officer of Havas, discussed how each month the agency holds a “case study share out,” an event where the entire agency gets together and celebrates incredible work they created for their clients. In addition to being a celebration of hard work and creative freedom, it has the potential to grow revenue in numerous ways:
- Allows junior level employees to practice speaking in front of large crowds/agency executives, preparing them for growth within the agency
- Educates all employees on client trends, keeping them informed and up-to-date
- Provides first-hand insights on different products/offerings and how they are performing in the market
- Develops great content to utilize for agency outreach and advocacy
By giving your client teams a safe place to brag about the incredible work they’ve created for clients, you’re not only inspiring an environment that keeps the creative juices flowing, but you’re also developing a competitive nature that will help push your marketers to keep thinking bigger.
Demand that your account managers act like CEO’s
As the liaison between your agency and the client, it is crucial that your account managers treat their account as their own business. What I mean by this is that you should be holding them accountable for knowing all there is to know about their client’s business. This includes the brand’s history, the ownership structure, the brand’s market, the industry trends, etc. I suggest writing out a list of questions you expect your account managers to know about their clients and request that they take the time to answer each of them.
When your account managers understand everything about their client, they will have a unique opportunity to continually provide the client value, and never have to sell. Selling can be uncomfortable, but if your account managers are solving real problems that the company is facing, your agency will not only become a trusted advisor but also become invaluable.
Prioritize growth accounts
Evaluate the top 5 accounts you see the most growth potential with and prioritize them. This requires as much investment as new business, but you’ve already won their business, so you’ve already won half the battle.
Start by evaluating what your agency needs to do to keep the client’s current scope of work, what you need to do in order to grow other parts of the client’s business, and ensure that you have full visibility into what is happening in your client’s market. Find the problems your client is facing and start explaining how your agency has a solution.
These accounts don’t have to be chosen solely based on the opportunity for revenue growth. If an account has the chance to expand your knowledge, add to your portfolio or even diversify your skill set, it may be worth the investment so that your agency can round-out altogether.
Develop growth drivers
One sure way to organically drive new business is to develop service offerings in up and coming spaces. For example, Havas recently created The Annex, an extension of their services that is essentially market research on the millennial audience. Not only is Havas gathering data their clients will benefit from, but they are also attracting new client’s that want extreme cultural relevance. Additionally, by using this platform to host events that interest the millennial audience, (concerts, fashion shows, influencer networking events, etc.) Havas is also the first to know of upcoming artists, musicians, photographers and other talent that gives them an innovative advantage.
R/GA is driving growth through their newest service offering, Brand AI where they have begun building AI solutions that transform the consumer experience. Having a strong understanding of the impact voice and personalized data will have on the future of, well, everything, the agency is quickly growing this service offering by pitching the idea that “If you’re not thinking about AI, you’re going to get disrupted by someone else.” The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Nike, Uber and more have already jumped onto this service, and R/GA is getting way ahead of the competition as they develop and learn what will and won’t work for the future of AI marketing.
Whether your agency is evaluating where to allocate resources, how to find new clients, or how to retain existing clients, one thing is for sure, being innovative to achieve growth is not optional. From creating innovative services, attracting top talent and winning the best clients, the competitive nature of the industry is on fire. To master it all, you must start from the inside out and focus on growing organically.
If growth drivers for your agency include scaling outside your existing network, evaluating new assignment/comp structures or diversifying your client portfolio, check out how Catapult can help you grow sustainable and consistent revenue.
