Why You Must Understand What The Client Wants Before You Try And Change Your Spots
Yesterday I was with the Chief Executive of a local company that operates nationally in the Uk and is extraordinarily ambitious.
I know lots of business leaders in the area and in terms of expansion this one is way up there with the absolute best of them.
We were talking about his struggle finding the right kind of marketing agency and this is what he said:
"W e ended-up having to go to a London firm, they were
the only ones that understood what we needed.
Local marketing agencies in Devon that are great at engaging the B2C
market just failed to cut it but attempted to convince us
that they did"
What did he mean?
Well, he needs strategic brand repositioning at this point and not SEO, mobile ad campaigns, fliers and pay per click.
This company is a big company. It is growing and needs to know what it's brand and corporate character will be for the next ten years as it is going to invested many thousands of pounds in nation wide marketing.
Some of the premiere regional agencies - that do S.E.O, design and mobile advertising well - must have got really excited at the chance of working with this leading company. They panicked, felt threatened and attempted to change their spots and reposition their service to win the business.
They made a classic mistake. They felt that their competitors were a threat. When in reality they are not because this is the order of things.
- First, get the branding and positioning done by expensive specialist marketing firms that know about strategic branding in the national context.
- Second take the brand and feed it into to professional but competitively priced local agencies that operate near to the client and have the skills to supply effective online, mobile and local marketing campaigns.
Unfortunately , by panicking some very good agencies looked a bit insecure in the eyes of the client and lost the possibility of future business.
Marketing is a broad church and sometimes your perceived competitors aren't rivals at all.
Be honest with the customer, position yourself for future business - the kind that permits you to play to your strengths - and make sure you understand what the client wants.
This way you demonstrate understanding, objectivity and integrity.
All of which give you a good chance of beginning a relationship that will lead on to you getting the right type of work at the appropriate time.
By Stephane Kolinsky owner of Springboard Outsourcing. We provide SMS and QR Campaigns in Plymouth, Devon. Visit our online, mobile and local marketing blog for more cool stuff.
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