Perspective: Thrills & Spills In The Hunt For New Business

(MENAFN- PRovoke) Ah yes, the thrill of the hunt and the excitement that comes with landing that big account. While new business is the lifeblood of successful agencies, it's more difficult than ever to win in today's challenging environment.

The cost of developing proposals, presentations and responding to RFP's is extremely high when you consider the resources required that take time away from client service and other strategic initiatives. Then, you need to balance it with the competitive nature of the process and chances of winning when you're one of three or five or even 10 agencies invited to the pitch.

According to Forrester, the struggle is real in winning new business: 17% in total agency revenue is spent on new business pitches; the average client-agency tenure is declining (2.5 years now vs. 5.6 years in 1997); 40% decrease in media and creative pitch value; and spending more time pitching more clients that are worth half of what they used to be.

What's Working in New Business Today

Determine who your ideal client is. Build your team beyond the new business lead – research, strategy, creative, PR, project management, and data analysis. Then, put a clearly defined, step-by-step plan in place that builds momentum throughout the process... from prospecting and lead generation... to inbound/outbound marketing... to discovery meetings and plan development... to managing the pitch and negotiating the contract... to client onboarding, retention, and growth.

Brett Colbert, president of CultureKey, a group of on-demand business and agency experts, advises clients to start with a simple framework to define your unique expertise.“What do you know that other agencies don't? What insights do clients pay to access? What problems do you solve faster, better, or more strategically than anyone else?”

Katie Newman, chief marketing officer of Mischief @ No Fixed Address, suggests building your brand, not your pipeline.“Be true to who you are. We're not for everyone but we are for someone. Find the real problem and try to remove 'pitch' from the process through collaboration, relationships, ideas, stories, chemistry, and get to work quicker.”

Newman added that making earned media your edge by leveraging PR for growth through thought leadership, social, content, and SEO to generate inbound inquiries, and getting good at saying NO have been key to her agency's success.

Agency Audit research listed three areas that successful agencies get right: 1) they embrace a niche; 2) they invest in thought leadership; 3) they prioritize client loyalty through specific programs to inform, engage, and reassure clients of the agency's value.

Better, Faster, Easier

Pitch processes are becoming longer, more onerous and consequently lead to agencies being far more selective, according to Media Senses: 86% of agency respondents find pitching time and cost exhaustive; 64% of agency respondents find pitching damaging to agency culture; and 54% of agency respondents find pitching is increasingly affecting staff mental health.

There's an added concern about whether to include spec creative, which I've always felt is risky. In addition to giving away“free work,” agencies can stub their toe if the creative doesn't resonate or isn't aligned with the potential client's target audience or messaging.

RSW/US, a leading outsourced business development firm, stresses the importance of consistent business development efforts. Nearly half of the agencies they surveyed still report difficulties winning new clients, emphasizing the need to refine approaches, deepen client relationships, and adopt more proactive development tools.“Your prospects have less time and even less tolerance for wasting time. You must make the discovery process better, faster, and easier.”

All this requires careful consideration in deciding whether to participate. Typically, these factors include timing and budget parameters, incumbent agency status, who is making the final decision, and determining if the potential client is a fit based on agency skills and experience.

Focus on Building Relationships, Not Just Sales

When agencies ask me how to compete in this challenging environment and differentiate themselves in a sea of sameness, I'm surprised that many have no growth & development plans in place, no dedicated resources, or only committed to one or two tactics. Instead, I suggest building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with an eye toward customer retention, satisfaction, and lifetime value versus one-time, transactional methods.

Key drivers for future growth, according to Agency Analytics, include diversified revenue streams. Agencies are tapping into new sectors, pioneering marketing strategies, and leveraging emerging technologies. Marketing channels with the most promise include influencer marketing, social media, and CTV.

The harsh reality is that prospects are slower than ever in deciding which agencies are the best fit for their needs, project-based work is increasing, thereby requiring agencies to prove their value before taking on AOR assignments, and often times, we're competing as much against internal marketing teams as we are against other agencies.

Successful agencies today have a clear understanding of not only who they are and what they do but they excel at communicating and reinforcing their value to current and prospective clients through consistent, systematic business development, client growth and marketing.

David Nobs is chief growth officer at CultureKey and an adjunct professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

Note: This article reflects the views of the author and is published as part of PRovoke Media's opinion section. It does not necessarily represent the views of PRovoke Media or its editorial team. We welcome a range of perspectives and invite readers to submit thoughtful responses or counterpoints for consideration to [email protected] .

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