Selecting An Advertising or PR Client Is Not Easy
By Ron Owens
This article is dedicated to agency management people and their associates responsible for agency new business.
It’s easy to find articles and reports on how to select an advertising agency, but not too much is written on how to pick a client. Not much thought seems to be given to what makes a good client, and that may be why so many agency-client marriages don’t last. The selection process requires both time and evaluation. As a seasoned advertising professional, permit me to share with you a few gems I have learned on this subject.
Ad agencies want to be wanted and agency people want to be loved. We’re all prone to drop what we’re doing and chase anyone who shows or expresses the slightest interest in us. Even worse, we chase prospects who don’t have the slightest interest in us. Call it greed or something else, that’s our behavior pattern. Instead of developing a well-defined marketing plan that delineates the kind of clients we want, we put our faith into wooing whoever calls or walks in the door. Anything I’ve learned about evaluating prospective clients has been learned the hard way, by painful experience in doing it the wrong way. Some of it, I’ve learned more than once.
What makes a good client? The answer is different for every agency, but it’s the starting point in defining what’s important to you and your people. These are some of the questions we try to answer about prospective clients:
- Do they have a budget and do they reveal it? If a prospect plays a “cat-and-mouse” game about money, he or she probably does not have enough to do the job.
- Do they believe in advertising and public relations? You can tell the “believers” from the “me too” advertisers by looking at what they’re done historically. In some instances, a change in top management dictates changes in company’s commitment. Generally, however, history often repeats itself.
- Does everyone really want a new agency? Too often agency selection is one person’s idea and it doesn’t have the full support of everyone involved in the decision. We want to know who really makes the decision.
- Are you one of 20 agencies being considered? We want to know how many agencies are involved and who they are. There’s no reason for this to be a secret. Besides, it gives you a good idea of how the prospect thinks and whether you can compete and win.
- Why are they switching agencies? It’s difficult to get straight answers on this issue. But it’s a key element in trying to determine what the client expects from an agency. Or has the client made past agency solicitations an exercise to justify keeping the incumbent agency? Can it be the client chicanery or dishonest practice to gain new ideas, a variety of marketing approaches and fresh creative ideas? If the client has a history of changing agencies frequently, be forewarned.
- Do they have an excellent product, service or idea? While I believe that advertising can improve the appeal of a product or service, I’d rather work on making good products better. There’s a need for ordinary products, but they should be with ordinary agencies.
- Will it be profitable? You don’t have the energy to work hard if you always have to be lean and hungry. Ad agencies deserve to make a profit, assuming they are controlling expenses. Reasonable clients want their agencies to make a reasonable profit.
- Are they growing and profitable? Profitable relationships are based on the client being profitable as well. We look for growth companies; companies who are second, third or fourth in their field – but who want or aspire to be number one.
- Will it be fun? Life’s too short to not enjoy what you’re doing. I’m not talking about being frivolous. I’m talking about generating and sustaining excitement about a client’s product.
- Is the prospective client creative? Look at the kind of product, marketing and management decisions that have been made, not just how the advertising looks. A creative environment has to exist before great work can be accomplished.
- Do they fit within our marketing plan and core competencies? We’re good at certain kinds of advertising, and it makes sense to use that experience as building blocks for the future. We can, of course, expand our areas of expertise through acquiring new clients and new people, but the prospect has to be willing to accept that premise. (How many times have agencies been told, “You don’t have the right kind of experience” following the presentation?)
- Do they want to meet the people who are going to work on their accounts? We like clients who are smart enough not to fall for elaborate pitches by new business teams; who aren’t awed into subjugation by “bells and whistles” and “flash-bang” AV presentations. What counts is the people they will be working with. It’s a positive sign when they want to visit the agency.
- Do they pay their bills on time? Advertisers sometimes switch agencies because they’re deeply in debt to their current agency. Or if they’re not “no pays”, they’re “slow pays”. We work fast and we like to be paid fast. All because we believe in smooth and orderly cash flow.
- Do you like the people and their philosophy? We want to do business with nice people, professional people – people who we respect and those who respect us. Most are anxious as we are to have a pleasant working relationship. But if you’re treated discourteously or unprofessionally when you aren’t engaged in business, it’s not going to improve just because they hire you.
- What kind of questions do they ask? You can frequently gauge a prospect better by what they ask you than what they tell you. Do they want to know what kind of results you get for your client(s) – or is this prospect looking for a job for his wife, son or daughter? Is the size of the agency important to them?
- Are they being too fair? Some prospective clients bend over backwards trying to be fair. As a result, they waste their time and the agency’s resources talking to people they never intend to select. There’s no reason to be fair. They should select the best they can find.
- Is there a clear-cut timetable for decision-making? Often the decision gets drawn out or never made. They end up staying with their agency because they can’t decide. We like to know going in that the prior agency has been terminated and notified.
- Where did they learn about us? Hopefully, it’s positive and / or because they were referred by a satisfied client. Or they are responding because we’ve been talking to the prospective client over a period of time and they like what they have heard.
- Is this a government piece of business with a one-year contract with renewable annual options which requires re-solicitation after the contract period ends? If so, the contract must be re-solicited by regulation at the end of contract and renewable options, regardless of how satisfied the client is with the incumbent agency. In other words, the solicitation could, in fact, be an “exercise” or validation. If, however, you wish to compete, a complete agency knowledge of federal acquisition regulations (FAR), source procurement policies & restrictions and strict government administration compliance are required. If you feel that you fall short that knowledge, expertise or cannot obtain this capability in short order, take a “pass.” Don’t waste your time.
Some of the answers to the questions above can be obtained, confirmed or validated by agency media and production departments which possess vast intelligence networks. Lastly, you’re selective when it comes your mate, be selective when it comes to your clients. Why? Because if you’re like me, you believe in long-term relationships.
Ron Owens is President of Ron Owens & Associates, a marketing consultancy which specializes in market development, branding, diversity, equity and inclusion. Ron is the Co-founder/Principal, LMO Advertising and has served as VP, TMP Worldwide; Director, Worldwide Advertising & PR, Pitney Bowes; and VP, Bozell Worldwide. He has also held industry positions of Governor, 4A’s Region II; Vice Chair, AAF, Region III; Committee Chair, ANA and Past President, Ad Club of Metropolitan Washington, DC. Ron can be reached via Ronowens221@yahoo.com
Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash
