You never want to be either of these things…stuck in any kind of pond.  But it happens and when it does, you can’t let it languish because it’s going to put you and your business behind.

Small Fish in Big Pond
Just got off the phone this morning with a marketer looking for a new agency because they are working with a sizable firm that’s giving them very little attention.  Not good if you’re trying to build your business.  You need an agency that treats you like they’re the only client they have!

One of the very first searches we ran was for Citrix (the Go-to-Meeting folks).  They were working with a big networked agency and felt like they were a small fish in a very large pond.  Never got the attention they needed.  Knew there had to be a better way. We focused on independent media firms and found them an excellent group of agencies to review and a great finalist agency to ultimate partner with.

Large Fish in Small Pond
Or maybe you’re dealing with just the opposite.  You’ve been working with the same agency for quite a while and they aren’t moving as quickly to adapt to changes in the digital space as you need them to be.  This is also not very good if you’re trying to scale up your business.  You need an agency that is committed to staying current, investing in technology, keeping you ahead of the curve.

We’re ran a search with Glanbia Sports Nutrition where this was the situation.  The client was in an aggressive growth mode.  They were expanding and buying up brands and other businesses.  The agency they had was fine when they were small and less sophisticated.  Today, this same agency was  having a tough time keeping up.

We encourage all the agencies we talk with to not let this happen to them.  While you are ultimately in control of the relationship you have with your agency, the agency doesn’t have to let this happen to them.  They can be strategic if they want to be.

We tell all of the agencies we speak with that they need to make every day feel like the first day of the relationship.  Remember those first months of your agency’s relationship with you?  A lot of fun, energy, and ideas.  Marketers often come to us feeling like they are the ones bringing the ideas to the agency.  Not good.

We pushed out a post awhile back that still has relevance today.  It’s all about future proofing your agency.  Not something you can do for them, but something they can do for themselves…and for you.

So if you’re in the middle of any one of these situations, and you like the idea of a solid independent firm carrying your business forward, give us a call (513-293-6785) or drop us a line (mark@rswas.com).  We would be more than happy to help you out.