From Mirren’s Ad Agency New Business Conference, here’s a parsing of my top nuggets and trends vital to agency growth.
1. Agencies must do a mind shift from ‘ad agency’ to problem-solver
2. Organic growth is the new lifeblood of the agency
3. Prospects/clients are looking for category specialists versus generalists
4. Agency team must learn to be category specialists and package themselves as such
5. Category KPIs is the new language for growth and client/prospect connection and retention
Among the many powerful insights, there was a heavy focus on Organic Growth.
Organic growth is the new lifeblood of an agency. It’s easier and much less costly to farm and nurture existing clients than to hunt for new clients. The results can be easier and the return on the investment much larger. For organic growth, the client door is wide-open and the opportunities are there if you explore, discover, educate and collaborate.
Organic growth is much more than communicating to your clients the marketing functions they may not know you can do.
Running an effective organic growth program in your agency takes the same discipline and planning that new business takes. In some cases, it may benefit the agency to appoint an O/G Director who, if nothing else, keeps organic growth at the forefront of the agency’s mind and brings together a team for problem solving and collaboration.
It wouldn’t be surprising to expect a 10-15% increase in revenues with a successful organic growth program. The extra business, like low hanging fruit, is there for the picking, but can be extremely elusive if you don’t develop a disciplined plan to become a knowledgeable ‘insider’ of the client’s business category.
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