Double-dipping on your budget.
Eric Marjoram ??
I help complex B2B brands get clear about the problem they solve and why anyone should care.
Timmy:?What are you doing?
George:?What?
Timmy:?Did...did you just double-dip that chip?
George:?Excuse me?
Timmy:?You double-dipped the chip!
George:?Double-dipped? What are you talking about?
Timmy:?You dipped the chip, you took a bite, and you dipped it again.
George:?So?
Like so many people my age*, everything we think about is automatically filtered through a rigorous?Seinfeld?filter. It doesn’t matter the situation or scenario. There’s always a pattern-match back to some small piece of some random episode in our minds.**
And so, as a marketing agency, we’re seeing some troubling budget double-dipping.?
Situations where marketers are paying for it twice.***
?It’s a path of destruction for your psyche—and your budget.?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to assign blame. I’ve just arrived at the tail-end of these issues too many times. Sometimes to fix, reframe, adjust, or clarify, and sometimes to break the bad news:?The baby is indeed ugly.?
So, what’s the root cause here?
Could it just be a?Clients?from Hell?situation?**** Could it? Fool me once, as the saying goes. Are there some nightmare clients out there? Absolutely. (Not you, of course). But there are nightmare agencies, too—especially in the B2B space. Sure, sure, the internet is full of parody videos depicting clients critiquing the?design of a stop sign?or trying to create a horse and ending up with a camel. But there has to be some accountability on the part of the agency, too. A mea culpa should be required when the original agency was just wrong?or?misguided?or?out of their depth?or?solving for the wrong problems.?
As a B2B marketing agency, we should be focused on the?best?interests of you—the client.?Period.?Professionally and personally. Regardless of who you might be, whether you’re an industrial brand, ingredient manufacturer or (insert?hip client name here*****). After all, isn’t it all about getting results? Seeing a transformation? Getting a reaction? Prompting an action? Making your life easier? That’s where the true?value is — for?you and?your?organization.
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Now, don’t get me wrong—it doesn’t always go according to plan. (Reference?Clients from Hell?scenario above.) There can be frustration on both sides. Sometimes one side doesn’t listen, doesn’t believe, or simply doesn’t understand where the other is coming from. But in a B2B client-agency engagement, you must do the research, do the back and forth—both sides listening, both sides respecting the opinions of the other, and both sides understanding where the other’s expertise lies.?
This is the conflict of compromise.******?It’s where trust and value are built. And it’s the point most agencies strive to reach because it provides a referral source for years to come.?
So, instead of getting double-dipped for the same thing, think about the qualities that fit your needs the best. Think about the 3 Cs when assessing possible agency candidates:
So, the next time you have a marketing challenge and need an agency to help*******, follow the above formula, pick the one that truly gets you, and end your?search. Choosing?the right-fit agency from?the start?will save you from having to pay?twice in?the end.
Slainté,???
Eric
*?Awesome Gen Xers, I mean??
**?No soup for you, man hands, it’s a Festivus for the rest of us—just to name a few
***?A day late and a dollar short—story of my life
****?We are not responsible for the rabbit hole you are about to enter
*****?You know who you are, you magnificent thing, you
******?Or as I tell my beautiful wife: You are right, honey
*******?I hope at this point you know who?(hint:?it rhymes with Barjoram)