Today is a big milestone for me personally, not just because #MeasurableImpact (MI) turned six today, but also because this “number six” has always been playing in the back of my head over the years. From the day I started this new “ad” venture, a lot of people threw various stats at me (all with good intentions) on how in the first year, 90% of businesses go bust. And another 90% of the remaining 10% in the next five years. So, “surviving” for six years was always something I wanted to achieve somewhere deep down. Yes, we weathered a few storms over the years, but we survived.
We did some great projects, and we also failed (yes, happy to use that word) or rather kicked ourselves on how we could have done things differently. It has been a very exciting but not at all easy ride as we only focus on a very niche segment, The IT Channel. The biggest challenge with this industry is that we quite often get ad-hoc campaigns based on MDFs, so generally, we don’t get a second chance to try different variables as the budgets and timings are sometimes quite limited.
But today, I am restless the more I think about that line “survived the first six years”, the more I feel that this ideology may have kept us on the fence from coming up with crazy ideas (high-risk, high-reward) and made us more risk-averse, choosing instead campaigns that make common sense. I mean, how do we stand out if we are always saying what everyone else is saying? Should creativity not explode when your a$$ is on the line? Obviously, the budget/timing/other variables do play a huge role in how creative you can get, but I am sure it does not cost too much to come up with 2 crazy options for every 3 safe options for our clients, right? As a Marketing agency, how can we do AWESOME things if we are only here to survive!
I spent almost my whole day today thinking about how many tech partners/owners we hear in our brainstorms going through the same thoughts every day on how they can keep innovating their services for their clients but don’t know where to start. They have done very well over the years and are brilliant at what they do, but the question is, how can we stand out/take the leap and be more explosive in our growth. How can we turn more eyeballs towards us by doing something that really would change the life/job/skill of my clients? Yes, I know this might sound like a cliché statement but is it so far out there not to think on those lines?
I keep going back to them and talk about building the foundational stages to have that process flow within your business from marketing to sales to service in a proper flywheel (not a funnel) approach. The important question here is, can you bake fabulous pies/pastries (new client relationships) without “investing” in an oven/fit-outs?( a perfectly working marketing/sales/service framework). Do you have the right team, pastries chef, staff, delivery, etc. (perfectly aligned sales, marketing, service teams) to find the perfect recipe your clients will LOVE?
So let me stop rambling on, as I do realise that it’s past 1.00 AM when I am writing this and just ask the question I always wanted to.
1) Would you like to invest in an agency to come up with crazy new ideas (when I say crazy, I mean still logical) that could be high-risk, high-reward?
2) What should be the ratio of crazy versus safe campaigns? 2 crazy campaigns ideas for every 5 safe campaigns?
3) What are the top 3 things you expect from an agency to drive value for you? (please don’t say “just give me leads” as we all know where this conversation goes…)
I know I am asking for a lot here, but I would love to see if I am on the right track. You can message me or leave comments or email me or call me, whichever way I could get this very valuable feedback.
I appreciate any help you can provide. Let’s do awesome!
Happy marketing!
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