The first quarter provides an excellent chance to assess progress and potential for change. Whether you end up doing small tweaks to teams or products or performing massive overhauls or reshuffling, it is crucial to have a solid idea of where improvement is needed in order to rectify weak points. As such, plans implemented in the early parts of the year are particularly important for setting the tone for the rest of the quarters.
So what kinds of advice should agencies be offering clients in order to help them take advantage of this opportunity to change and grow? Here is what members of Forbes Agency Council advise clients consider:
Members discuss approaches to help agency clients grow and improve.Photos courtesy of the individual members
1. Define Marketing Objectives And Metrics
Be crystal-clear on your marketing objectives and define the metrics that you’ll use to measure your progress. As you test different types of marketing, be adaptive in your approach but firm on your initial goals. Test new marketing channels and ideas: They’re often the most cost-effective opportunities. – Adam Guild, Placepull
2. Reconsider Target Audience Hypotheses
Have a hypothesis about your target audience and be open to reconsider that hypotheses. Behavioral data can change our view of customers and lead to more meaningful customer experiences with the brand. What customers actually do (third-party behavioral data) versus what they say they do (self-reported surveys) oftentimes differs, creating new and different opportunities. – Violet Aldaia, Daggerwing Health
3. Claim Your Business On Every Platform
Stop neglecting the basics. Google your business name and see how well you are ranked on all major social networks and search engines, then make sure all the information is accurate and add any missing information, photos or videos. Claim your business everywhere possible — by doing so, you will get direct access to crucial analytics to help you make better decisions, attract new clients and gain sales. – Gary Vela, Web Daytona, LLC
4. Set Aside Funds For Key Moments
Shifting consumer choice in a turbulent market is fluid, therefore, clients should seriously consider putting at least 50 percent of their budget into escrow and only utilize it for critical moments that matter. This “art of the pivot” is a new way of thinking that many agencies will hate, but it is the right advice. Think beyond yourselves. Brands need people more than people need brands. So engage them. – Alexei Orlov, mtm choice
5. Be Available And Trust Those You Hire
There are two key things which I think clients need to appreciate. First, be available: Marketing and web are all about collaboration. Second, let us do what you hired us to do. Trust who you work with. – George Arabian, nvision
6. Refine Purpose
Great brands come from great cultures and great cultures are built on core shared beliefs passionately communicated and practiced everywhere. Start your external branding by taking a close look at your internal brand organization. Is your belief system clear? Is there passion in your purpose? If not, don’t worry. It’s there somewhere. But it’s time to do some soul searching. – Mark Bubula, Friends & Neighbors
Read more in Internal Communications Should Be Considered Internal Branding: Four Principles For Success
7. Be Authentic
Strive for fresh, real and authentic thinking. This is exactly what is missing in the realm of advertising, media and communication industries, and why influencer marketing exists. – Maddie Raedts, IMA
8. Write For Humans
Feed the bots but write for humans. SEO is great for getting hits to your site, but your audience needs a reason to stay. Without brilliant, storied prose, you’ll have a hard time being remembered and shared, which is the point. Expect to pay a bit more for great content. As you plan your content strategy, don’t skimp on the writing budget. When the results come in, you’ll be glad you didn’t. – Kevin Lund, T3 Custom
