The Ghost(ing) of Christmas Present

2024 has been a pretty good year for our business on the whole. We won some new clients and grew some existing clients. We produced some exceptional work and scooped a few awards for it along the way. All in all, a relatively solid 12 months in what has been a challenging economic landscape for most businesses.?

But something’s been bugging me. I mean….really bugging me. And that has been the growing number of time wasters and tyre kickers that have cast an increasingly long shadow over our new business activity during the course of the year.

Maybe it’s just one of those years, but after comparing notes with a few other agency friends, it does seem to be a concerning trend (and a costly one for companies in our industry).

Of course, some clients have their reasons for not replying to tenders which they have requested or not providing feedback on proposals which have taken several people considerable time to create. However, I’m not sure those reasons outweigh basic common courtesy and respect. I’m also well aware that, had we won all of those tenders, I might not be sitting here writing this.

I should highlight that we have engaged with plenty of prospects this year who have been exemplary throughout the procurement process – including some of those we have lost. So this is by no means an indiscriminatory bashing of all marketing and communications procurement teams.

In the spirit of Christmas, and while completely aware of the old phrase ‘farting against thunder’, I’ve written up my new business process wish-list for 2025.

Some of this is more pertinent to public sector tenders, some of it is more relevant for commercial teams but all of it should apply to everyone who’s responsible for procuring marketing and communications agencies (and wishes not to damage the industry during an already testing time).

In no particular order:

1)????? Disclosure of incumbent: The amount of time wasted on tendering for contracts which the tendering bodies seemingly have no interest in awarding to new suppliers is staggering. So here is a suggestion. Why not make it mandatory for purchasing bodies to disclose whether there is an incumbent supplier, who that supplier is, and length of relationship. Then let everyone else decide whether they want to take a risk and invest time, money and effort in tendering.

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2)????? Actual human conversation: There really is no substitute for being able to engage in a two-way discussion with someone who represents the organisation to which you will potentially be supplying your services. Are they the right fit for us? Can they answer all my questions? Or am I being fobbed off with a stock answer which everyone receives? A 30-minute conversation prior to anyone investing time and resources should, in my humble opinion, be a mandatory. Instead, we are asked to submit written questions and await carefully worded answers. Sometimes those answers can be useful, other times not so much. If a potential client shies away from this, it’s usually a big clue they have no intention of appointing you.?

?3)????? Transparency in scoring and evaluation: If you’re going to apply a scoring system to a tender, at least make sure that it’s credible and fair. Scoring from 1 to 5 on quality (or even 1 to 3) is an absolute nonsense. You’re asking suppliers to invest considerable time in developing significant pieces of creative work, often to short deadlines. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for a scoring system which reflects the effort which has been put in, and feedback which is specific to the content which has been scored.?

?4)????? A mutual respect for timings: Leading on from number three…..it’s timings. Yes, we’re all used to developing and submitting tenders with 2 to 3 weeks’ notice. It’s part and parcel of working in agency and I get it. I do. But if we’re being asked to meet those timelines, it’s only fair that procurement teams honour their own timelines for awarding the contract.? There has been considerable slippage on that side of the equation this year, as well as the usual nonsense approaches asking for proposals to be delivered over the festive season, knowing fine well that agencies are down to a skeleton staff.

?5)????? No-ghosting – No-one likes delivering bad news, or telling agencies they’ve changed their mind, but we’re all adults. Act like one and make that call – the folk at the agency you’re standing down will respect you for it. Ghosting reflects badly on the individual and the brand they represent.

So that’s my top 5 wish-list for procurement in 2025. Let’s all hope for a minor miracle that ghosting can well and truly be consigned to Christmas past. No doubt some of you will disagree with this list, others will have other wishes to add. All debate very welcome! I might even provide some timely feedback.

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