All sorts of problems can slow down the start of a partnership. We’ve compiled some of the most common worries and challenges we encounter in our discussions with current and potential clients. In the first part of this blog series, we delve into budget concerns and the role of a creative partner alongside an in-house team, among other things – and we offer a few perspectives and solutions that might make it more natural to hit the gas instead of the brake when starting a collaboration.
Starting a partnership with a creative agency is a big decision. It’s no surprise that committing to a long-term partnership or a major project can cause hesitation – creative collaboration always requires a great deal of mutual trust, courage, and understanding. In the midst of a hectic daily routine and budget juggling, the easy solution is to slam on the brakes and wait for some other moment to begin the collaboration.
But you'll be waiting for that perfect moment forever – because it doesn't exist. The second-best moment, however, is now.
Sales are Lagging and Investments are at a Standstill
Sales challenges are a very typical reason to review the marketing budget critically. In the aftershock of a recession and with the economy recovering more slowly than hoped, many end up freezing all marketing investments and parking the car with a nearly empty tank, waiting for sales to pick up. Often, the underlying reason is a desire to focus resources on sales and minimize non-essential costs in the hope of quick fixes.
Quick savings at the expense of marketing, at worst, only deepen the sales challenges. The car can quickly get out of hand, and the negative effects will be visible on the bottom line for a long time: a reduction in Share of Voice and Top of Mind, among other things, can easily translate directly into a thinning of the sales pipeline. Postponing investments can backfire later when they are restarted – suddenly, you have to claw back market share lost to competitors' investments, and customer loyalty usually doesn't escape unscathed either.
Marketing is sales' best friend: a strategic tool and an investment in growth that attracts customers and drives brand awareness. In an uphill start, the amount of gas is what matters – when you invest in the right marketing activities even in challenging times, it pays off as a faster return of sales to the target level and as long-term growth.
A Price Tag That Fits the Budget
The salt of our work is presenting creative and strategic proposals to potential and current clients from various industries. We often find ourselves in a fantastic situation where the client not only gets excited about the proposal but also starts up their own idea engine about the proposal's possibilities and applications. This mutual enthusiasm to develop and realize the proposal is always the absolute best foundation for us, for both ongoing collaboration and individual projects.
Even if a proposal feels absolutely perfect, the price tag is sometimes too big, despite internal discussions. However, you don't need to slam on the brakes right away and end the conversation there and then. The proposal and its execution can almost invariably be scaled to a suitable level. We can trim things, find compromises, and direct the efforts to what is most essential. You also don't have to break the bank in one go – we can start slower and smaller, and then add more gas when there are more resources for the investment. It's also possible to build an alternative package that follows the original idea but is tailored to fit the budget framework. So, there are plenty of options, and there's no need to just shove a diamond of an idea out of a moving car onto the roadside.
To Be or Not to Be a Partner?
Many companies have a skilled and efficient in-house team for marketing and advertising. When the idea of a creative partner is thrown out there, it's natural to wonder if bringing an agency partner alongside the internal team makes sense at all. Superficially, the deliberation is often about the budget – a partnership is an investment, there's no getting around that. However, money alone is rarely the sticking point. Often, there are underlying concerns about overlapping teams, roles, maintaining sufficient control, and the smoothness of communication, and sometimes bad experiences with past partnerships and doubts about the value a partner brings.
In reality, a good partner isn't competing with the in-house team, which is driving in countless lanes at once. Instead, a partner smooths the daily flow and applies just the right amount of gas to everything. A creative agency can take responsibility for brand alignment and development, for example, in terms of brand communication and concepts. The in-house team, in turn, gets to focus on the essentials in peace without the pace slowing down, and it becomes easy for them to scale their activities.
On the strategic side, a partner can spar with management and help, for instance, to reframe the work, offering an objective opinion to support decision-making. On the other hand, a partner can also focus on pumping out and executing creative ideas from a fresh perspective. The advantage of an external partner is also the flexibility it brings – with a host of specialists available, speed, efficiency, and responsiveness all increase. A creative partner is an excellent choice that pays for itself when the goal is to raise the bar and take the brand to the next level.
Committing to and investing in a partnership is not an empty expense but a direct investment in your company. When competitors are hitting the gas, it takes courage to press down harder. If your direction is a bit lost, we're happy to help turn the steering wheel in the right direction. Book a 30-minute chat with us, and let's see what potential is dawning in our collaboration. Courage is what will drive your company straight to the front of the pack.
