Mediaboss Marketing

Quba's Owner and MD, Matthew Williams, is optimistic about this coming year. Reflecting on what went well in 2019, he explains that collaboration between specialists is much more important than being a Jack-of-all-trades.

2019 was an interesting and turbulent year - to say the least - but we all got through it and Id like to think theres an air of optimism as we have the whole of 2020 laid out in front of us.

Much of our success in 2019has been down to an outward-looking and collaborative approach to how we do business; and I believe that way of working will be one of the biggest trends and growth areas for the entire marketing and digital sectors.

The term collaboration does tend to throw up some rather dodgy marketing speak connotations, butits all about adding value to our clients. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do; fromhow we work with our clients and suppliers, to how we communicate internally.

But more and more, its been focussed on working more closely with other agencies who can deliver first-class and complementary services that we dont offer for the ultimate benefit of our clients.

Let me wind back a bit... In my view, full service agency is a bit of a misnomer for most of the companies that claim to be one. You need tobe specialists in what you do.

For example, a PR or ad agency that brings in a junior developer to work on small scale projects and then claims to be a digital or full service agency isnt being honest.Theyre simply not one.

You can count the number of truly full-service agencies - andmoreimportantly, first-class ones -in the UK on a couple of hands. I dont want to knock anyone as were all trying to do the best we can, but it takes courage to focus on one thing, ignore the noise and do what you do well.

We should all be proud of what we can deliver, but when the need arises the most switched on and commercial firms look outside for the extra skills that are going to add the most value.

Take our own sector, for example. The scope and breadth of software used within the marketing and digital industries has expanded exponentially over the last 10 years.For example,software like CMS platforms have become far more complex to build in and they have to do a lot more than just manage page content; the growth of CRMs and marketing automation software has been unprecedented; whilst cloud software such as Azure has taken off in a huge way.

This means that from a technical perspective, all but the very largest of agency networks are able to fully deliver all the potential requirements a client may have via their internal resources. So my question is this: why do companies still feel the need to be seen as full service when theyre not?

The answer is simple - agencies dont want to turn work away and they dont want to risk their client looking to others to deliver their projects, so they claim to be all things to all men. However, it doesnt have to be this way - if onlywe all started to work together more strategically and openly, by building stronger relationships with other agency partners. We shouldnt view each other as threats, but as opportunities to grow and develop together.

During 2019 we took the decision to take specialising to the next level at Quba. We decided to pull out of providing SEO and PPC services. We felt the market had become too diverse and that we would actually provide a better service to our clients by using a select number of specialist SEO and PPC partners.

Over the past 12 months, this approach has benefited Qubas bottom line. By building a trusted network weve been able to be 100% transparent with our clients and they really appreciate that honesty. They know who is delivering what and they can see the benefits that collaborative working brings.

This has particularly been the case with our larger and more complex clients as they just want the best tools for the job rather than a one-stop shop. They appreciate quality, insight, strategic knowledge and technical expertise over and above anything else. In the most simplest of terms, they now know that with great agency integration comes great work and first-class results. Thats all they care about.

On a far more practical level, collaboration also makes agencies far more competitive and nimble as it mitigates the need to take on the extra overheads and the expenditure of additional staff, training or technologies in order to service what may only be a short- to medium-term client or requirement. Partnering with another agency removes all of this, as you can spin up the resource quickly and with minimal financial outlay.

My prediction is that collaboration will become much more the norm and the growth in networks likePimento, Agency Hackers and The Network One clearly backs this up. Agencies just need to become far more open to partnering and realise that its the best way to retain clients and provide the highest levels of service.

My advice? Choose your partners carefully to ensure they fit the blend of clients you have, and ensure your clients know you've spent time ensuring you use the best possible partners, and havent just pulled them out of a hat. Finally, be loyal to each other, be transparent and work together when things dont quite go to plan.

Read the original:
2020: The year of greater agency collaboration - Prolific North