Growing up, advertising had always been the love of my life -
the dress sense, spring in their steps, intelligently deciphering brands, you
would almost never expect the astuteness in brand communication spewing out the
mouth of these sets of “misfits” or “nonconformists” as they are fondly regarded.
Finding a crew padding business transforming ideas, blending strong cocktail of
insight, strategy and persuading unsuspecting consumersto desire a product or a
service through their creations - this lifestyle and career excited me.
In recent times, a glance at the current communications
landscape suggests a stiffness in the world of Nigerian advertising – a vast
mismatch between what clients’ expectations are versus what is served by
agencies. This in-evidently breeds distrust, and the questioning of creative
competence.
Yet clients’ problems are much sophisticated than this, as
problems are increasingly focused on what new technology and evolving consumer
behaviors mean to their businesses. Automobile companies are worried about what
electric cars and apps like Uber could mean for the long-term business of car
ownership. Supermarket chains are sucked into offering delivery of groceries
despite history showing that profits are elusive. Over-the-top message
companies like Whatsapp are undermining mobile operators’ ability to make money
from texts, but also reducing their role to dumb data pipes. Retailers face
threats from online shopping and showrooming, and media owners face
disappearing revenues as attention moves online. It’s no wonder todays client
demand more than creative designs but almost always catechize marketing
solutions presented by the agency.
Most ad agencies in Nigeria have avoided the analytics
business, Instead, they’re interested in creativity and enamored with winning
awards. Agencies continue to cling to the notion that clients want creativity
and service, but what (clients) really want is shareholder value. Creativity
still matters, but unless you can anchor the discussion in measurable data and
results, your creative idea is worth nothing. To survive and remain relevant in
the future, agencies must become Agencies of Return. To do that, you have to be
prepared to measure everything you do, and take an honest look at your own
results.
How did this happen? How did Nigeria’s darling Mad Men go
from rolling in it to barely holding on? For far too long, advertising agencies
have produced great Client Service Execs in the business with great market
intelligence, consumer insights and trend analyst. Some clients go as far as
poaching these Client Service Execs from agencies simply for sheer
understanding of their business. But in recent times, you have more “yes men” posing
as Client Service Execs smothering the business, creating an undulating effect
of skepticism within client and agency.
Creating More Yes Men
Agencies are quickly building out (or acquiring) the
traditional and digital capabilities needed to tackle every client need –
except the most important one: serving the client better than anyone else, only
a few do this exceptionally well. Apart from brand managers and marketing
managers, Client Service Execs are brand “doctors” who confer marketing
solutions to “sick” brands in need - based on tested market intelligence. You hardly ever find a patient
argue about a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment for a disease. why is that?
Patients trust doctors simply for share display of knowledge. When this
is lacking, clients begin questioning knowledge depth and agency competence
based on their representation (Client Service).
These days some Client Service Execs look unmindful in board
meetings, always often than not seem to agree with every marketing solution
proposed by the Client, contributing little or nothing to propositions. Market
intelligence is vague; competitive industry information is abstruse which
gravitates into a shift in relationship between clients and agencies from
partners to master – servant. One of the causes the founding fathers of
advertising in Nigeria fought against to foster better business relationship
between agencies and clients. Client service is the real differentiator, Chief
Marketing Officers (CMOs) can find creativity, they can’t find client service.
Once they find client service, agency churn stops.
The Agency of Record (AOR) still is a valuable relationship
at the core of a company’s marketing brigade. CMOs invest substantial time and
energy in relationships with their AORs. In return, CMOs expect the AOR to
anticipate needs and help reach the company’s primary business objectives. The
expectation incorporates having a dedicated client service rep equipped with
razor sharp industry information, ready to dispense on-demanding marketing
solutions. AORs unable to deliver this are quickly replaced.
In today’s business environment, somewhere along the line,
the need to maximize profits with minimal investment capital concomitant with a
messy agency landscape contributed to the degenerating image credited to client
service execs. More often than none, agencies tend to place three accounts or
more on one client service exec, expecting top managerial, productive and
relationship performance in todays market. A market that changes complexity and
dynamism daily, approaches to marketing problems alternate per day, still, the client service exec
receives time crunching requests from pressured clients, who demand
up-to-date winning marketing solutions for time sensitive brands / business.
All these factors make it extremely arduous for top client service execs to
function optimally.
When it comes to the advertising business, finding the right
balance between giving the client what they want and what they truly need is
always a challenge. In otherwords, trying to avoid being just a “yes man” is
often a difficult task for client service to overcome.
The Client is Always…
The notion that “the Client is always right” is not always
the best solution,It is usually very often than not a recipe for disaster.
Clients are driven by a variety of motivations – pleasing top management,
managing tight budgets, increasing profit margins / reaching targets, and
producing quality work.
Striking the perfect balance makes the Client Service
Executives job one of the toughest in the ad business, as they are in the front
lines daily, making real-time critical decision while managing multiple accounts.
Listen, Client service is never going to be viewed as the most glamorous part
of agency life, but getting it right can be as much of an art as anything your
creative team might do. To resist being just a “yes man,” apply the following
tips, which will help ensure that you build and maintain a solid relationship
with your client while delivering excellent client service:
-
Be Different: Make an effort to not do the norm,
what is expected when dealing with your client. Forget being politically
correct for a second, as humans when you give the “expected” you tend to always
come off as predictable and boring. Always make sure you bring something fresh
and new to the table.
-
Know your client’s industry, business and brand
as well, if not better than they do.
-
Enquire about budget (not for the purpose of
increasing profit margins for your agency) to understand what is feasible or
other creative avenues to generate value for your client at minimal or no cost.
-
Always keep the work on strategy
-
Don’t hear, listen
-
Understand why the client wants a deliverable
urgently. Never push back unless you fully understand the situation.
-
Never be afraid to deliver honest answers and
feedback. People who are “yes men” fear the client.
In the end, ultimately, Agencies should be held accountable
for producing great client service executive by limiting multiple account
management responsibilities. Today’s marketplace is evolving rapidly in a fast
paced world, with distracted and busy consumers. Market insight is now time
bound, it shifts and progresses along side market forces. Client service executive
need proper spells in brands they manage. After all, the success of an Agency
often lies in the palms of a confident client service not professional “yes” men
– and what they (Agency) choose to do with that power is what sets them apart
from the rest.
Femi Osobajo Jnr
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