An Advertising Agency New Business Survival Guide
A minor (OK, big) update… If you want to run a kick-ass advertising agency new business program that stands out, makes more money, and is happy, then buy my new book. Its 27 chapters cover every aspect of agency management and business development. Even your very own personal branding. Go here: “How To Build A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency.”
I admit it, this blog post… “How to Build A Winning Advertising Agency New Business Program” has been read by your competitors over 50,000 times. Glad you stopped by.
Advertising agency business development is a 24/7 operation that requires the right agency positioning, strategies, action, and high efficiency. I help my agency clients get there faster.
The post’s popularity is due to three key factors:
1. It directly addresses a major marketing pain point: how to build a winning and efficient advertising agency new business plan.
2. The post is well optimized for search engines, delivers high value, and, therefore…
3. Google loves it. FYI, my number two trafficked post is, “How To Name Your Advertising Agency – Part One” at 30,000 + views. While always rethinking their website, advertising agencies also obsess about their name. By the way, this post is also a very good cheat sheet on naming that you can steal if a client ever needs a new brand name.
“How To Build…” is all about the most important thing an advertising agency can do (while it is nurturing its current clients)… run a new business program that ensures that the agency will keep growing. Agencies are like sharks. They must keep moving forward to eat or else.
Your potential clients have over 4,000 marketing communications ‘agency’ options (other agencies, new consultancies, freelancers, even your ex-creative director…).
Therefore, any form of business development passivity on your part – sucks. If you think you are doing everything right, you probably are not. How can I say this? I never thought that all was well whilst running business development at Saatchi & Saatchi and when I owned my own agency.
Here’s my “ad”: I suggest that you give me a shout and take me up on my Corleone offer – It’s hard to refuse.
OK, Let’s Go… The 24/7 Business Development Plan = Advertising Agency New Business
I moved from New York to Bend Oregon in 2002 to buy a very successful advertising agency (and raise a family 20 minutes from a ski lift).
Citrus grew to add a Portland office and national accounts including Dr. Martens, Harrah’s, Leagalzoom, Nike, Providence Health, Montana Lottery, and the UN.
I woke up every day as if a client like Nike was going to walk out the back door along with its revenues. I bet as an ad agency owner or manager you have rough nights too. One of the things I knew I could and should do was to manage this back-door issue was to have an active, I stress active, new business plan in place.
Here are some (I stress some) of the elements of my marketing plan. They helped me grow Saatchi & Saatchi and my agency Citrus. I hope my insights help you grow your agency.
Execution Rules.
When I set out to write this advertising agency new business post I didn’t think that it would be this long – a warning to the ADHD types. But, advertising agency new business planning is complex and is getting more complex every day due to the rapid changes in our industry and technology. That said, the devil in business development, you know what’s coming, is in the detail. Success is all about execution.
For example, running a successful inbound biz dev program that attracts market attention must be based on a sound strategy and smart agency process if you want to run a 24/7 sales program. Staying the course is critical.
The Advertising Agency Business Plan. First Things First.
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