Agencies: Don’t Forget To Sell
Yesterday, I published a blog post at iMediaConnection’s blog and I hope you’ll check it out:
The Modern Agency Still Sells, Right?
I am particularly proud of this piece because it has the potential to jolt agency employees out of their social media fascination. I contend that some agencies are losing their focus in the web 2.0 world.
They’ve forgotten to work for the sale.
The initial idea for my post came from Phil Johnson’s Ad Age article, Agencies Should Be Defined by What They Know, Not What They Make. I was alarmed by the focus on marketing agency knowledge, rather than a focus on creating something (ads, copy, even social media opportunities) to fulfill a client’s business objectives.
From my post:
Clients aren’t comforted by what you know. They’d rather see how you turn that into sales.
Agencies that use social media, then foster loyalty and trust, and then turn that into sales – those agencies will triumph. But agencies that dabble in social media without even considering ROI or sales…think Pets.com 2.0.
Marketers and advertisers who consider sales not lofty enough of a goal would do well to remember David Ogilvy’s number one obiter dictum from Confessions of an Advertising Man:
“We sell – or else.”
What do you think? Am I off base to warn agencies about their potential social media amnesia? Has the role of the agency really moved from selling in a web 2.0 world?
Check out the the post and feel free to leave a comment below.
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Tags: advertising agencies, Marketing, Online marketing, Social Media, Web 2.0
“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” – David Ogilvy. I agree with you, DJ. Web 2.0, social media, etc. will make a lot of dough for many agencies… as a wheel spinning exercise. But, I think these types of efforts will get many agencies fired if they don’t produce measurable ROI. In many ways, 2.0 is a major distraction.. Just keep in mind, it’s about information/communication channels.. that’s it! Nothing else has changed (persuasion, prospecting, lead-gen, sales, closing, delivering value, customer service). “Business” is still what has to happen – not socializing for socializing’s sake. Value has to be added and profit has to be made.
[...] just read an interesting post on ad agency focus in the Web 2.0 world by DJ Francis of Online Marketer Blog. The article elaborates on what David Ogilvy said about creativity so many years ago. Year after [...]
I’m relatively new to this Web 2.0 thing. On a basic level, is it that we have been over sold to in the past using aggresive marketing techniques making us all a little more sceptical?
I guess then with the advent of forums and social websites it is now much easier to do your own research.
I think clients hire agencies to solve problems, not create kooky websites. “Agencies that use social media, then foster loyalty and trust, and then turn that into sales – those agencies will triumph.” It seems that you’re de-emphasizing the strategy that goes into creative work that will return a pleasing ROI. I think that’s why agencies need “intellectually curious people,” as Mr. Dunn said. These are people who see the bigger picture and won’t create a Twitter account because everyone else has one.
Of course you need to measure some sort of ROI to prove that your brilliant strategy worked but I was wondering, does it have to be sales? Is it worth investing money to get people to stop hating you? What exactly are agencies measuring?
Emily – Thanks for the great comment!
You’re totally correct that it doesn’t necessarily need to be sales; I should have said “conversions.” Sales are the most common, I guess, but you’re right – it could be a number of desired actions beyond the sales transaction.
I don’t think I’m de-emphasizing the strategy or intellectual curiosity that goes into it though. Sure, hire curious people who try things out – just don’t expect the client to PAY for that time.
I think what I was reacting to was Mr. Johnson’s apparent desire for curiosity to be billable time. I think it comes with the agency package. We don’t bill our time for writing blog posts or checking out the latest shiny new object. We do it because we love what we do. That’s why an agency should hire curious people – because it’s what they are, not just what they do from 9-5.
I think we agree on the larger issues. Sorry if I wasn’t as clear as I needed to be on my position.
You can totally charge a client for being curious, though maybe it’s easier for some roles at the agencies than others (I think a brand planner can get away with a lot of web surfing and Twitter reading in order to stay current on audience mind set, no?). Anyway, don’t art directors and copywriters bill the client for talking about movies and stuff? Why can’t I bill for daydreaming? Though I’m sure I’d feel differently on the client side!
[...] just read an interesting post on ad agency focus in the Web 2.0 world by DJ Francis of Online Marketer Blog. The article elaborates on what David Ogilvy said about creativity so many years ago. Year after [...]