Five New Year's Resolutions You Can't Afford Not to Make

2009: Welcome to the Big Show!

Dear Tom,

To elaborate on your first point: "Give more than you take. Value is the name of the game, and he who consistently delivers the best value will likely win" – adding another point:

1a. Practice a Cost-Reduction/Value-Added mentality that demonstrates Marketing ROI growth for your clients.

Today in AdAge, Anderson Analytics reported in a study for the Marketing Executives Networking Group, more than half of the marketers surveyed said their budgets will be cut in the coming year, and another 44% said they'd cut or freeze hiring.

It went on to say: "there are still pockets of optimism. For instance, almost three-fourths said they think spending on research and development, along with innovation initiatives, will stay the same or even increase (21% in the latter category). Spending on market research is also expected to stay the same or increase, according to two-thirds of the marketers surveyed. (...) But they also acknowledge the use of things like competitive intelligence and data mining as important concepts," said Anderson Analytics. (...) The overall trend result is a back-to-basics strategy by marketers. When asked what marketing concepts are "most important," they ranked as the top four customer satisfaction (79%), customer retention (76%), marketing ROI (65%) and brand loyalty (61%)."

Also be aware that: "buzzword fatigue has also set in more firmly on an aging set of digital terminology, including "Web 2.0" (19% said they were tired of hearing it); "social networking" (12%); "social media" (11%); "blog" (8%) and "viral marketing" (6%)." It went on to say that marketers feel as though they are being pushed into web 2.0. New Media solutions need to be quantified not just qualified. Marketers want results not platitudes for exploring the unknown.
So for your New Year's Resolutions add: Value-Added is the buzzword where back-to-basics with Customer-Satisfaction, Marketing-ROI, and Brand-Loyalty -- are the most important to Marketers. Your resolution: just-do-it.

For 2009 Agencies need to become Value-Added Marketing Tools for the marketers they serve for that Return-On-Investment. The hallmark for doing that is strategic creative geared for a customer-satisfaction-focus making them Brand-Loyal. Consumer decisions are made on value-exchanges, they need to be sold on the product or service as benefiting them and being the best value.

Never before has 'partnering' between Agency and Marketer been more important. Agencies need to implore Marketers to share Market-Research and Strategic-Competitive-Intelligence with their Agencies to allow them to develop Strategic Creative that will affect Customer-Satisfaction-focus making consumers Brand-Loyal.

Clearly in 2009 Agencies need to focus on the basics and develop Strategic Creative to affect their client's target brand-loyal consumers by keeping them and ever increasing their numbers.
You have to walk into to this knowing you have to do more for less. And while that doesn't seem to add up, if you practice a Cost-Reduction/Value-Added mentality, which demonstrates Marketing ROI growth for your clients it produces results: Having a formula for success, it is a good pitch to attract more agency business.

Have a client-focus: growing your client's business grows yours.

Very motivational Tom; although when you put your list together it becomes more of a lifestyle than a set of resolutions.

Good luck in 2009!

http://admaven.blogspot.com

If you're serious about item #5 -- Spend an hour a day learning -- here's a suggestion: visit www.artofclientservice.com, click on "tools for suits," then click on "the list." This takes you to a PDF of the 58 "rules" you should follow if you deal with clients (that's pretty much everyone in the agencies I know).

Print the list, learn it, then put it into practice. The result: happier clients, and accounts that remain right where they are, with your agency.

Dear Nicholas,

Impressive-list, and site. Well said. Impressive book-list too.

Comments: #12-While listening is always good, questions from us are even more important. Agencies need to ask the right questions and then listen to the answers and restating them until we achieve crystal clear clarity.

#15-Choice is good - and profitable. The more ideas we give our clients the more money we earn. We make money by selling our time-and-ideas.

#17-Do not sell -we serve, not sell.

#32-Lead the meeting, don't tyrannize it. Don't ever lead a meeting other than preparing an agenda. The client is paying the bill, let them go wherever they want - just make sure you covered the points on your agenda.

#35-Credit is for creative directors. Learn to talk agency, not individuals.

#39-We are smarter together than we are alone: is absolute genius.

#40. Make no commitment without consultation. Don't make promises for others, make only promises that you can keep, but consult others first.

#41-There is no NO in your client vocabulary. When it is said, it means goodbye.

#43-Before you give clients what they need, first give them what they want. Easier said then done, but this is the perfect opportunity for a two strategy, two-market test. When you know the client is way off base and a strategic opportunity is at hand, test both - yours at no cost.

#44-How to write a letter of proposal. I had a partner who said if you can't say in a one-page letter, you can't say it. A Military letter is: Subject line; Body - no more than two paragraphs; Closing sentence, which is usually next step.

#48-No surprises about money or time. Give an estimate up front - stating: accurate within + or - 10% does not include revisions or changes which are billable at standards hourly rates.

#49-Deal with trouble head-on: through-to-#50. If things go wrong, take the blame. -51.-What happens when I screw up?-52-Remember the personal side of business relationships. 49-through-52 are interrelated and all under the heading of take responsibility and no room for pride - followed up by make it right no matter what the cost. I had a partner who'd say we don't want people to buy what they don't want - so no charge. And if we screw up, they get their money back, and we fix it at our cost. That means they get a refund and we-pay for the advert and media.

#55. Once a client, always a client. This is the hardest of all - these are the guys on the other side of the desk, and they are and always will be clients and nothing else. When your client becomes your friend, you effectively stop working for the agency.

#59: Honesty and Trust go hand in hand, lose either and it's all over. Never ever under any circumstance cheat a client. No smoke and mirrors ever, when it comes to honesty.

Nicholas, you are organized and methodical in your approach, and that garners trust and confidence from any client. Well said and very impressive.

I've worked with a lot of sleep deprived, hard working, successful executives. They would have functioned a lot better and gotten even more done with an extra hour of sleep.

These are great tips.. in or outside of work. Its funny how often some of the simpler things to be successful are overlooked.