When I started out as an account manager at Inbox Marketer, I quickly became accustomed to being asked by Geoff and Randy (co-founders of Inbox Marketer) to share examples of how I was adding value for clients. By this they meant, how am I using the knowledge and expertise Inbox Marketer holds in digital messaging best practices to make strategic and tactical recommendations that improve the effectiveness of the campaigns I was working with clients to execute? This is the culture that really unites our account management team. We’re always sharing insights on best practices, industry trends, and case studies from testing we’re conducting so that we can continue to provide clients with fresh recommendations and new ideas for campaign optimization and digital strategy.
It’s not surprising that the strength and value of our strategic and tactical recommendations increases dramatically the more involved we are with the client. Knowing our clients’ brands more intimately, being aware Marketing KPI’s, and having visibility to insights from marketing activities outside of just the services we offer gives us the knowledge we need to go beyond one-size-fits-all tips to very specific recommendations and plans.
The barrier to achieving this strategic relationship between the client and vendor is typically either a case where (1) insight isn’t freely shared across the marketing (and sometimes product) teams within the client’s organization which makes sharing this information with vendors/agencies an afterthought, or (2) information is not shared in the name of efficiency. Many of us are guilty of trying to abide by the “do more with less” mantra and try not to take up other people’s time with information that isn’t relevant to them. In an environment where marketing teams and agencies are often segmented by channel, it becomes even more important to share insight so that you can benefit by a more unified messaging strategy.
So what might you be sitting on that your digital agency could benefit from? Or, if you’re on the agency side what should you be asking clients for?
Here’s a quick list of items that help agencies add value that might be overlooked:
Detail of your marketing KPI’s. Since we’re a digital messaging company, sometimes clients will share only those that are relevant to digital. It’s helpful for us to know how your digital objectives fit into the larger schema. Plus, your account manager might have ideas for how your digital program can help to achieve goals that you might have thought weren’t related.
Updates on your brand/marketing strategy. As focus shifts within your organization, keep your account manager updated. When we’re on the same page, the content/creative we produce will be aligned as well.
Market research. Almost any research conducted on your customer/prospect base is useful. Insight from this not only helps us to make strategic recommendations, it can additionally provide insight that helps copywriters and graphic designers emphasize and position key information in a way that it will best resonate with the base.
Measurement & analytics [for other channels]. Insights about how offers and campaigns are performing on other channels can provide a lot of insight. For example, if an offer that is performing well in print is not performing in email, we can dive in further to pinpoint the cause and optimize the email campaign.
Segmentation studies. Any reports that are being created, especially those that analyze/define customer behaviour, are typically relevant to ALL marketing teams/vendors but aren’t always shared.
Any others? Post a comment if you feel there are any key items to add to this list.
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