Focus, Influencer Marketing, and the Road to Authenticity

Danica Kombol, President of Everywhere Agency, talks about the impact of personal storytelling on brand-building and future purchase behaviors and highlights an opportunity many companies miss when they hire influencers to talk about the products/brands they love: that brands, trapped in a traditional “slick” advertising mindset, fail to repurpose the gorgeous, visually-rich, more authentic influencer-created content. Danica also discusses the importance of knowing the business you want to be in, staying in those lanes, and opting out of what you don’t want to do.

Continue reading “Focus, Influencer Marketing, and the Road to Authenticity”

What Should Agencies Pay Attention To In 2018?

Brands continue to look for the best agencies to work with but what will that mean for the next year?

It feels like as much as marketing and PR changes it also stays the same. Every year predictions about channels and platforms dying or taking over continue to be proven untrue. So what can you do differently in 2018? What changes might actually matter?
Continue reading “What Should Agencies Pay Attention To In 2018?”

What Is Your Agency’s Differentiating Factor?

Why did you last client choose you over the competition?

Why would your next client?

These are questions you constantly need to be thinking about in order to position yourself above the other marketing agencies out there. Identifying your unique factors allows you to build a brand that is easily distinguishable from the other agencies out there. Continue reading “What Is Your Agency’s Differentiating Factor?”

How Your Agency Can Use Social Data To Win New Clients

Your agency received an RFP which is great, but you don’t have a lot of time to conduct the market research needed and learn everything about the client, products, customers, and competition.

What are you to do?

Using social media to conduct your market research is vital. You’ll be able to access data faster, in a more cost-effective and flexible way that produces an overall better pitch. So stop the surveys, step away from the focus groups and see why using social is the best use of your time and resources to produce consistent and in-depth market research. Continue reading “How Your Agency Can Use Social Data To Win New Clients”

Pursuing Clients Using Analytics

Data has changed the way agencies pitch to new clients!

Potential clients are now able to share data easily with agencies which means agencies are able to incorporate so much more information in their new business presentations. This has enabled the pitch to become all about the client rather than agencies making it all about them by rattling off the services they provide and showcasing past client work.

Depending on your agency and the client you are going after you will look at different data points and metrics to determine opportunities and solutions. There is no need to guess anymore, you can identify the problem and provide the solution before you’re even hired!

Below we’ve broken down a few ways you can use data to learn about your next client and WOW them during the pitch. Continue reading “Pursuing Clients Using Analytics”

How To Solve Problems & Keep Your Clients Happy

Have you ever had to deal with a distressed client? It’s a sinking feeling and certainly not something you want to bring to your boss. Or worse yet having to have your boss tell you. But don’t worry, you aren’t the only one, and that probably won’t be the only time it happens, after all, you are dealing with people.

Below we evaluate three ways you can help repair a client relationship before it’s too late. Continue reading “How To Solve Problems & Keep Your Clients Happy”

What Is Hurting Your Marketing Agency The Most?

The truth is, it takes more than creativity and innovation to run a successful agency. No matter how good your ideas are, they won’t mean much if you don’t have any clients to pitch them to or time to invoice. If you feel like you just can’t catch up then it’s crucial you avoid these common agency mistakes listed below.  Continue reading “What Is Hurting Your Marketing Agency The Most?”

An Agency Perspective On Measurement

While on the agency side you have the opportunity to work with lots of different people, all at different points in their marketing journey. Some brands might just be starting out and establishing their social presence while someone else might be requesting your help to refine their paid digital ad strategy that already exists. You have to be able to wear multiple hats while not forgetting to build and nurture the relationship- which is too important to neglect!

In an agency role, you are going to rely heavily on data! It helps explain the past, measure the present and predict the future. Your ability to set goals, adjust efforts to meet them, and present results all relies on the data you are gathering, analyzing and reporting on. Once you have a platform in place that allows you to collect data what should you be tracking and how can you optimize it? Continue reading “An Agency Perspective On Measurement”

How Agencies Can Help Brands Rethink Customer Loyalty

As an agency you are probably used to brands bringing you in and asking you to direct a lot of effort into a campaign and strategy focused on a new consumer market or target audience but what would you do if they told you to figure out why their current customers aren’t sticking around? And then build a campaign around that?

Would you know where to start?

Would you be up for the challenge? Continue reading “How Agencies Can Help Brands Rethink Customer Loyalty”

What Your PR Team Can Learn From Sales

After digging into the sales funnel to identify marketings KPIs that are worth measuring last week we deiced to take this another step forward and think about if sales pros and PR pros could have something in common too.

When you take a high-level look at the sales funnel,

  • Awareness: something seems wrong
  • Consideration: what are my options to fix it
  • Decision: X will fix my problem

This actually doesn’t look that different from what the PR team does,

  • Awareness: identify opportunities
  • Consideration: build up value
  • Decision: secure placement

It’s really not all that different at all. The PR pitch is very much a sales pitch as both are in the business of using a story to build relationships and solve problems. The sales team might use a story to pitch product or services while the PR team is using their story to pitch to influencers and publications to work with.

So after thinking about PR this way, what are some qualities that make up a successful sales team that PR pros could leverage for their next media pitch? Continue reading “What Your PR Team Can Learn From Sales”