It’s astounding the number of ad agencies who have no new business mechanism in place on their websites or in their culture. Hundreds of little things can add up to big differences when it comes to developing new business. Here are 3. The first 2 are easy.
First: if your agency is serious about new business, client development and retention, put the president’s name and email readily clickable and easy to find. This communicates that when they hire you (or more importantly if there’s a problem) your clients get the top tiers of your company. Transparency. Access. Top level talent without the layers. These are in the DNA of sm/md sized agencies and a big reason why clients hire smaller shops. So put your people front and center–have a dialogue with your prospects.
Second: You’re communication experts, right? Communication is a 2 way street. Who am I communicating with if I’m communicating with info@? Info@youragency as a means for potential clients to contact your shop shows no commitment what so ever to those clients. Who wants to do business with no one? Info@ instantly adds a layer–and a faceless layer, at that, to that prospect’s impression of your shop. Maybe, you’re thinking “But we’ve never gotten a single job from our website. We get clients based on our work and who we know.” If it’s not helping you it may be hurting you. Get rid of it.
Third: if it’s everyone’s job to get new business than it’s really no one’s job. (Start up shops are a little different in that all players should be networking and meeting potential new clients. It’s vital for your survival in that first year.) Put someone in charge of new business development. Involve the president and management team. Develop them. Hold them accountable. Make sure they’re supported. They could be the best sales person in the world, but if what they’re putting out doesn’t match your agency culture, you’ll have a tough time converting those prospects to clients. No matter how good the work is.
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