Unlocking Efficiency: 4 Steps to Powerful Agency Management and How to Handle Roadblocks

Advertiser relationships are under greater scrutiny to do more with less. Brands must implement a step-by-step approach to a more automated, streamlined, and smarter way to engage with agencies and deliver organizational value.

“Do more with less” has become a corporate mantra for most brand advertisers and the agency ecosystem that brands rely on so heavily to compete. Yet, the challenge lies in a company’s ability to achieve operational efficiencies with external partners without compromising the quality, rigor and performance of its marketing activities. It requires a carefully orchestrated approach and automated, more streamlined ways of working with agencies across the partnership continuum. Brands and their agency partners are wise to rely on agency management tools, such as a digital agency roster, an automated scope of work, and a comprehensive, 360-degree client–agency satisfaction assessment, to operationalize best practices and bring them to life in their everyday work relationship.

Let’s review how brand advertisers can successfully implement these powerful agency management capabilities in a step-by-step approach using the acronyms CRAWL, WALK, RUN, and FLY, while confronting common roadblocks and challenges through HALT, PAUSE, SWIM, and FREEZE.

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Step 1: CRAWL (Coordinate Requirements and Align with Leadership)

Crawling before walking is crucial for building a solid foundation, ensuring that basic processes and goals are clearly defined. One significant challenge for brands is identifying requirements: determining what aspects, activities, or processes of their relationship with their agencies would benefit most from automation and task simplification, especially when resources are increasingly scarce. The answer lies in identifying where the greatest impact can be made from an ROI perspective, what resources are needed to execute, and then securing alignment with marketing leadership and CMO buy-in.

Recommended actions:

1. Identify processes and tasks that are manual, cumbersome, overly time-consuming, or redundant for your internal teams or agencies.
2. Estimate productivity gains realized from streamlining or automating those processes and tasks.
3. Articulate benefits and use cases and align them to other potential company initiatives.
4. Identify resources needed.
5. Secure leadership buy-in and support.

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Step 2: WALK (Welcome Assessment and Learning Kickoff)

Once alignment has been reached and requirements are well documented, the design and implementation of the solutions can start. In some instances, especially in large or highly decentralized organizations, a phased approach may be necessary. A thorough initial assessment is important. Create a welcoming environment, and focus on key learning points to build a strong foundation for the client–agency relationship using agency management tools.

Recommended actions:

1. Socialize the benefits and value of the tools to stakeholders.
2. Create a welcoming environment by building excitement; leverage executive air cover.
3. Allow user feedback early on to learn what works, what doesn’t, and why.
4. Take corrective action to improve the user experience and outcome.

For a deeper dive into this topic, head over to the full article on the Agency Mania Solutions website. Continue reading here: Unlocking Efficiency: 4 Steps to Powerful Agency Management and How to Handle Roadblocks - Agency Mania