Chats with Chip

While the current crisis may be nothing like any of us has seen before, Carl Smith of the Bureau of Digital has been through a serious economic downturn and knows how it can impact running a business. He joins Chip on this episode to talk about the impact on the agency community.

Carl discusses how he is having to reinvent his own business of helping digital agencies, as well as how the community he has created is supporting each other. You'll hear a lot of creative ideas that you may be able to use as you look for the path forward for your own agency in the months ahead.

Many agencies have multiple generations working in the business. Sometimes, it may be a passing thing -- a summer internship perhaps -- while in other cases, two generations work side-by-side for many years.

At some point, the elder generation may decide it is time to retire, or at least slow down. That's exactly what Jonathan Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management did. He recently announced that his son, Erik, would be taking over leadership of the family business while he takes a step back from day-to-day management.

On this episode of Chats with Chip, both Bernsteins join Chip to talk about the decision to transfer agency leadership, as well as the steps that go in to making it a reality.

For any agency looking at succession issues -- but especially those looking to do so within the same family -- this episode is chock full of valuable insights.

Many new PR and marketing agencies start out as "virtual" agencies where everyone works remotely and there is no physical office. But some agencies with their own office space have made the decision to swap leases for the virtual model.

Todd Zeigler of The Brick Factory in Washington, DC joins Chip on this episode to talk about how his agency reached the decision to go virtual and what steps they have taken to manage the transition with employees and clients.

Todd explains that it wasn't really an overnight process, but rather an evolutionary one that eventually became the blindingly obvious path forward.

Kelly Glover believes in the power of podcasting -- and she has built her agency business around the medium. The Talent Squad books guests on shows, with a particular focus on promoting entrepreneurs and authors.

On this episode of Chats with Chip, Kelly shares her insights on podcasting with plenty of practical advice for agency leaders.

Chip and Kelly talk about the evolution of podcasting over the past couple of decades, as well as where it is going in the future. Kelly talks about how agencies can use podcasting to help grow their agency as well as deliver results for clients.

As higher education faces increasing pressure to not just educate students but better prepare them for gainful employment after graduation, the student-run PR agency model provides some useful lessons.

Boston University's PRLab is the longest-running such program in the United States, and co-director Amy Shanler joined Chip on this episode to talk about what it is and how it works. She explains how the students handle not just client service, but also the business and operations side of running an agency.

Most agency owners find value in talking with their peers and understanding the challenges that they share in running PR firms. The PRSA Counselors Academy is a special interest group within the Public Relations Society of America that brings together agency entrepreneurs through events and other programming.

The Immediate Past Chair of Counselors Academy, Chuck Norman, joined Chip to talk about the group and how it brings benefits to agency owners. In addition to his volunteer role, Chuck is also the owner of S&A Communications.

In this episode, you will learn more about Chuck's journey, as well as specific examples of the work that Counselors Academy does to bring together agency principals and experts.

Agencies have a constant need to "feed the beast" when it comes to content creation. Public relations and marketing firms have always had a strong reliance on the written word, but as clients become publishers and social media places increasing demands on scribes, the challenge of finding and managing writers only grows.

On this episode, Gideon Stein of Write Label explains how his team has built a roster of writers to help meet that need. There are lessons and ideas for anyone who is looking to outsource writing responsibilities or build their own network.

Gideon discusses a wide range of topics including:

• Write Label's approach to filling client requests
• Managing writers for maximum results
• Recruiting new writing talent
• How Write Label extends the range of many agencies
• The role of AI and machine learning in the writing process

It's one thing to believe you need to improve profitability at your agency, but where do you go for the metrics and benchmarks that help you grow your profits smartly?

One resource is Marcel Petitpas and The Agency Profit Podcast. He's also the CEO and Co-Founder of Parakeeto, a software company that helps agencies improve their service -- and their margins.

On this episode of Chats with Chip, Marcel explains some of the numbers that every agency owner should be watching, including why each is important. He also has some suggested guidelines for how to benchmark yourself against your peers.

Agencies evolve over time -- and so do their team cultures. But they are always a reflection of the founder and key leaders.

Keith Scandone of O3 World joins Chip to talk about his experience and evolution over 15 years of running his own agency based in Philadelphia. He explains why he has prioritized culture -- and hired help to focus on it. He talks about some of the challenges he has faced, including growing out of their existing space and managing team members in two locations.

The conversation also touches upon a difficult subject for many agency owners: what to do when an employee wants to leave. He explains the concept of a "graceful exit" and why it benefits both the individual and the organization.

As agencies grow, it becomes more difficult for the founder to stay in touch with every employee, but Keith has come up with a system that encourages open dialogue between himself and any team member.

In a business that is fueled by talent, this is an episode that you don't want to miss to build an environment to get the most out of your team.

Is your agency doing a good job of marketing itself? If you're like most agencies, the chances are that you aren't taking enough of the advice you give your own clients.

On this episode, Aaron Strout, CMO of W2O Group, shares his experience as an agency marketer. He talks about how you get more out of the whole team, and why marketing matters beyond new business -- including recruiting, M&A, and more.

Topics covered include:

• The intersection of agencies and consulting firms, and how each is getting into the other's arena
• The role of a CMO in an agency
• How the W2O marketing team functions
• The impact of thought leadership in the agency space
• Using events as an agency marketing tool
• The software and services that provide structure to W2O's marketing
• Leveraging internal expertise effectively
• How W2O measures marketing success for itself