Small Spark Theory: a marginal gains approach to new business and marketing

I’ll admit it, I’m slightly obsessed about the experience that clients and prospects have when they work with (or are considering working with) an agency. Just as customer and user experience is now paramount for consumer brands, of course the the same rules apply for B2B. There will always be other agencies who can deliver […]

I'll admit it, I'm slightly obsessed about the experience that clients and prospects have when they work with (or are considering working with) an agency.

Just as customer and user experience is now paramount for consumer brands, of course the the same rules apply for B2B. There will always be other agencies who can deliver a comparable service for a comparable price, but it is the experienceof working with an agency which will influence selection, keep clients coming back for more and generate referrals. But hang on a minute - isn't that where chemistry comes in? Well yes it is, but chemistry isn't scalable, or reliable for that matter. What I'm really talking about is the end to end experience and the processes we can put in place to truly delight clients and prospects, beyond the delivery of great work.

And yet rarely do we take the opportunity to truly put ourselves in our clients or prospects shoes, to understand just how user friendly we really are. Our reporting, meetings, emails, websites, project management processes and more are all fertile ground for identifying marginal gains.

This is an episode I've been wanting to make for a while so I was delighted when Nick Phippsgot in touch from Rawnet. In true, "physician heal thyself" style, Rawnet are in the process of applying the customer centric principles and strategies they use for their clients' businesses, to their own agency. We got together to chat about how it's working out.

And we have another competition for you. You can win a copy of Nick's recommended read: The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences by Matt Watkinson- just listen in for more details.

Earlier this summer, Jemima Monies, Head of New Business & PR at adam&eveDDB wrote an article in Campaign about why new business leaders need to fight harder to be heard.

She closed the piece with a rallying cry to the industry to “value new business people’s opinions, invite them to speak out and elevate them within your agency management teams”.

Reading this, I realised that so far in the Small Spark Theory series, whilst we’ve been speaking to a range of industry experts about elements of new business process and agency growth challenges, we have yet to give a voice to any new business practitioners.

So I’m delighted that Jemima could spare the time between pitches to come and chat. In this episode we discuss the importance of new business culture, what makes a great new business person, the power of momentum and ice cream.

With an enviable new business record, adam&eveDDB has now clocked up four years as Campaign Agency of the Year. Since recording this episode, I visited my local cinema and between trailers, the agency’s John Lewis / Waitrose “Bohemian Rhapsody” ad  finished to spontaneous applause from the audience. By my reckoning they’ll be holding that top spot for a while yet.

As always you can join in the conversation on twitter @gunpowdertweets #smallsparktheory.

Earlier this summer, Jemima Monies, Head of New Business & PR at adam&eveDDB wrote an article in Campaign about why new business leaders need to fight harder to be heard.

She closed the piece with a rallying cry to the industry to "value new business people's opinions, invite them to speak out and elevate them within your agency management teams".

Reading this, I realised that so far in the Small Spark Theory series, whilst we've been speaking to a range of industry experts about elements of new business process and agency growth challenges, we have yet to give a voice to any new business practitioners.

So I'm delighted that Jemima could spare the time between pitches to come and chat. In this episode we discuss the importance of new business culture, what makes a great new business person, the power of momentum and ice cream.

With an enviable new business record, adam&eveDDB has now clocked up four years as Campaign Agency of the Year. Since recording this episode, I visited my local cinema and between trailers, the agency's John Lewis / Waitrose "Bohemian Rhapsody" ad finished to spontaneous applause from the audience. By my reckoning they'll be holding that top spot for a while yet.

As always you can join in the conversation on twitter @gunpowdertweets #smallsparktheory.

Finding an alternative revenue model to the billable hour, is a topic we touched on with Erica Wolfe-Murray of Lola Media, back in Episode 14, as we explored the subject of an agency’s intellectual assets, and returned to in our episode on pricing creativity with Blair Enns.

And as we head into what is arguably the most important three months of the year for agency new business, we are delighted to welcome Erica back to Small Spark Theory, for a dedicated episode on agency revenue models. Based on her experience across multiple industries, Erica takes us through how we can think more creatively about what we sell and and how we sell it, and how to create multiple, and more importantly, scalable revenue streams.

All this and more is available in Erica’s brand new book, Simple Tips, Smart Ideas: Easy to Use Advice for Business Growth, which will be available from January 2019, and get this… you can win a copy too! Listen to this episode to find out how.

We’ve been getting a lot of love for Small Spark Theory over recent months, which is heartening indeed. If you’ve been listening in and enjoying what you hear, please do leave a review on iTunes, it’s really quick to do and would make our day.

Finding an alternative revenue model to the billable hour, is a topic we touched on with Erica Wolfe-Murrayof Lola Media,back in Episode 14,as we explored the subject of an agency's intellectual assets, and returned to in our episode on pricing creativity with Blair Enns.

And as we head into what is arguably the most important three months of the year for agency new business, we are delighted to welcome Erica back to Small Spark Theory, for a dedicated episode on agency revenue models. Based on her experience across multiple industries, Erica takes us through how we can think more creatively about what we sell and and how we sell it, and how to create multiple, and more importantly, scalable revenue streams.

All this and more is available in Erica's brand new book, Simple Tips, Smart Ideas: Easy to Use Advice for Business Growth, which will be available from January 2019, and get this… you can win a copy too! Listen to this episode to find out how.

We've been getting a lot of love for Small Spark Theory over recent months, which is heartening indeed. If you've been listening in and enjoying what you hear, please do leave a review on iTunes, it's really quick to do and would make our day.

Right at the beginning of this podcast series we talked about the importance of setting objectives for growth that in turn, guide the new business & marketing plan and activities. But what if those objectives include a sale or exit? We need a different level of planning altogether.

 

In this episode I am joined by Tony Walford – founding partner of Green Square and one of the leading M&A and corporate advisory voices in the marketing communications, media and tech sectors.

 

Tony offers advice on what agency owners need to plan and prepare for, including the often tricky process of demonstrating ROI to clients (awards are critical!), why incentivising your staff is essential, along with key attributes in client relationships that are attractive to potential buyers.

 

Mentioned in this episode are:

 

The Diagrams Book by Kevin Duncan

Sad Men by Dave Roberts.

Details on the Green Square Ascension Day can also be found here.

 

Not only that we have our monthly competition! Listen in to find out how to win a copy of Tony’s recommended book ‘Sad Men’ by Dave Roberts.

 

Just in time for the holidays, this really is a really is the perfect sunlounger episode,  so put your feet up and kick back with a G + T. Stay cool gang.

 

Right at the beginning of this podcast series we talked about the importance of setting objectives for growth that in turn, guide the new business & marketing plan and activities. But what if those objectives include a sale or exit? We need a different level of planning altogether.

In this episode I am joined by Tony Walford - founding partner of Green Square and one of the leading M&A and corporate advisory voices in the marketing communications, media and tech sectors.

Tony offers advice on what agency owners need to plan and prepare for, including the often tricky process of demonstrating ROI to clients (awards are critical!), why incentivising your staff is essential, along with key attributes in client relationships that are attractive to potential buyers.

Mentioned in this episode are:

The Diagrams Book by Kevin Duncan

Sad Men by Dave Roberts.

Details on the Green Square Ascension Day can also be found here.

Not only that we have our monthly competition! Listen in to find out how to win a copy of Tony's recommended book 'Sad Men' by Dave Roberts.

Just in time for the holidays, this really is a really is the perfect sunlounger episode, so put your feet up and kick back with a G + T. Stay cool gang.

Small Spark Theory Live was recorded in front of a live studio audience at White City Place in May. In Part One, we were joined by agency board advisor Felix Velarde and Joanna Brassett, founder of Studio Into to discuss the challenges faced by agency leaders at various stages of growth. 

 

In this, the second of two episodes recorded on the night, we gain a client perspective by speaking to Head of Marketing and Creative for Dishoom – Sara Stark. Sara discusses her experience of working with agencies and offers advice for approaching potential clients, along with invaluable tips for a building successful client / agency relationships. (Hint: send Sara flowers!) 

 

As always we have a competition for you. Listen in to find out how to win a copy of Sara’s recommended read: Winning in Your Own Way: The Nine and a Half Golden Rules of Branding by Robert Bean.

 

Thanks again to our lovely co-hosts YCN, everyone at White City Place and to photographer David Townhill. 

Small Spark Theory Live was recorded in front of a live studio audience at White City Place in May. In Part One, we were joined by agency board advisor Felix Velarde and Joanna Brassett, founder of Studio Into to discuss the challenges faced by agency leaders at various stages of growth.

In this, the second of two episodes recorded on the night, we gain a client perspective by speaking to Head of Marketing and Creative for Dishoom - Sara Stark. Sara discusses her experience of working with agencies and offers advice for approaching potential clients, along with invaluable tips for a building successful client / agency relationships. (Hint: send Sara flowers!)

As always we have a competition for you. Listen in to find out how to win a copy of Sara's recommended read: Winning in Your Own Way: The Nine and a Half Golden Rules of Branding by Robert Bean.

Thanks again to our lovely co-hosts YCN, everyone at White City Place and to photographer David Townhill.