TRADE SECRETS YOUR AGENCY ISN’T SHARING: How to get the most our of your agency relationships

Sandra Fathi President, Affect @sandrafathi sfathi@affect.com

Presented at the 7th Annual Employee Communications, PR & Social Media Summit by Ragan Communications

October 28, 2015

Sandra Fathi

•  President of Affect •  Director, PRSA-NY •  Director, PR Council •  Experience:

o Founded Affect o 15+ Years at Agencies o  In-house Marketing for Start-ups &

Established Brands o Tech reporter for IDG & Ziff Davis

@sandrafathi sfathi@affect.com

Agenda

I.  Choosing the right agency: from RFP to in-person pitch

II.  Avoiding the bait and switch

III.  Negotiating guaranteed results into your contract

IV.  Developing a highly productive and efficient agency partner

V.  Testing for industry knowledge, creativity and writing

VI.  Setting metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs)

Basic Agency Structures: Hierarchy CEO/

President

VP

Director

Supervisor

Sr. Acct Exec

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

Director

Supervisor

Sr. Acct Exec

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

VP

Director

Supervisor

Sr. Acct Exec

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

Director

Supervisor

Sr. Acct Exec

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

Acct Exec

Acct Coordinator

Acct Coordinator

Basic Agency Structures: Teams

CEO

VP

Account Team

VP

Account Team

VP

Account Team

Operational Concepts •  Hours – Baseline and time tracking

•  Billing Rates – Per Professional or Blended

•  Utilization Rates - % of Time Assigned Per Person

•  Billability – Percent of Time that is Billable Per Person

•  Revenue Per Employee

•  Profitability by Client

•  Minimum Monthly Fee

•  Turnover – Industry Average is 27-30%

I. Choosing the Right Agency

•  Be an Educated Consumer

o  Understand the industry landscape

o  Use resources such as the PR Council, PR Week, O’Dwyer’s to find reputable agencies

o  Research their website for areas of focus, experience, conflicts etc.

o  Test their responsiveness

•  Size Matters

o  Big fish vs. little fish

o  Local, national or global

o  Specialist or Generalist

•  It’s Not All About the Relationship

I. Choosing the Right Agency (Cont.)

•  Price is Right

o  Realistic about your own budget

o  Agency minimums

o  How do they price – hours vs. value

•  Who’s on My Team? o  Meeting the day-to-day account team, not just agency leadership

o  Would you hire these people?

•  Old School or Entrepreneurial o  Original, new, creative approach or tried and true formula

o  Using latest technology and tools

o  Up to date on social media, marketing or other needs

RFP Best Practices •  Narrow the Field– Vet the agencies before inviting them to the RFP

•  Less is More – Focus on what’s important in terms of evaluation criteria

•  Invest in Education – Give agencies a deep dive before they respond

•  Provide Clear Instructions – How to respond, how long the response should be and an exact time frame

•  Show Me the Money – Provide budget guidelines and ask about pricing structure (hourly vs. value-based) and what is/isn’t included

•  Test the Waters – Include a requirement to show creative thinking, ideation and/or a real-world scenario

•  Measure Up – Ask for estimated results or definition of success

Philosophy, Strategy & Tactics

Company News

Company Profiles

Content Marketing

Data Discovery

Bylines

Executive Profiles

Story Hijacking

Industry Reports

Trend Intervention

Editorial Calendars

II. Avoiding the Bait & Switch

•  In the Pitch, You Get the A-Team - The agency wants to win

•  Day-to-Day - Who will work on your account?

o  What is their experience?

o  Do they understand your product/service/industry?

o  Do you trust them to represent your company?

•  Get the Details – How the agency runs accounts, samples of writing,

wins and losses

•  Get a Reference – From one or more current clients, on the work and

the individual team members

II. Avoiding the Bait & Switch (Cont.)

•  Get Personal – Spend time getting to know team members (this

is a major investment)

•  Time with the Company – Is this a long-term trusted employee?

•  Communicate Your Needs & Expectations – Make sure you

articulate what you want from team members

III. Negotiating Results in Your Contract •  It’s Not Advertising – No guaranteed placements, but you can set targets

•  It’s Not All Under Control – The news media, your company, your product and the market all have an impact

•  Create Incentives – Bonus structures, a system of rewards for meeting milestones (carrots – not sticks)

•  Clear Deliverables – What are the finite deliverables you expect? Include a scope of work (SOW)

•  Set a Timeline – Understand how long each phase will take and when you’ll see results

•  Have an Out – Check the termination clause – and what triggers it

Activities vs. Outcomes vs. Business Outcomes A

ctiv

ity

Press Release

Case Study Development

Media Pitching

Out

com

e 5 Interviews

6 Articles

1 Byline

B

usin

ess

Out

com

e Downloads of Software

Leads on the Website

Sales

IV. Developing a Highly Productive & Efficient Agency Partner

What You Can Do:

•  Be a Good Client – It’s a long-term relationship

•  Give in Order to Get – What you put in is what you get out

•  Don’t Forget to Listen – Sometimes the agency does know best

•  Ask What’s Working & What’s Not

•  Provide Clear Direction

•  Trust But Verify

•  Communicate Early & Often – Praise as well as dissatisfaction or

frustration

IV. Developing a Highly Productive & Efficient Agency Partner

What The Agency Must Do:

•  Communicate Early & Often – Conduct regular calls and reporting

cadence

•  Know the Company – Understand the company, products and industry

•  Turn on a Dime – When things aren’t working

•  Don’t Spend Time on Admin

•  Focus on Results-Oriented Work

•  Say No – When it’s in your client’s best interest or it goes against your

principles

V. Testing for Industry Knowledge, Creativity & Writing

•  Ask Specific Questions – Or provide training

o Competitors

o Key Media Outlets

o Key Reporters

o  Industry Trends

•  Ask the Agency to Write Something Original – Make it part of

the RFP/Pitch Process

•  Ask to See Pitches to Journalists

•  Ask for ‘Big Ideas’ and Brainstorms

VI. Setting Metrics & KPIs 1.  Surveys: Ask and Tally Results

2.  Scores: Create Indices or Scoring Mechanism

•  Quantity: sheer volume of media hits

•  Quality: weighted value for Tier 1, 2 or 3 or feature vs. mention

3.  Correlations: Outputs, Outcomes and Business Results

•  Track PR events against lead generation (online, email, phone etc.)

•  Track PR events against web traffic or registrations

4.  Check Boxes: Meeting Specific, Finite Objectives

•  Number of articles, press releases, event attendees, registrations, downloads, revenue (dollar value)

Traditional Customer Journey

Discover

Form Opinion

Conviction

Consideration Set

Purchase

Goals vs. Objectives

Goals Objectives

Broad Narrow

Intangible Tangible

Infinite Finite

Abstract Concrete

Open Ended Bound by Time

Goals vs. Objectives

Goals Objectives (Specific & Finite)

Raise Awareness Increase Share of Voice by 20% Among Top 5 Competitors in 6 Months

Establish Credibility Secure 4 Ongoing Columns in Publications from Our Top Priority List in 2016

Increase Media Coverage Target 50 Articles Per Quarter in Top Tier Outlets Target 8 Broadcast Opportunities in H1

Drive Demand for Services

Generate 300 Registrations for Free Trials in Next 4 Months

Social Media Customer Journey

Positional Measures

Relational Measures

Commercial Measures

# of Likes # of Followers # of Subscribers

# of Shares # of Retweets # of Clicks

# of Leads $ Revenue Earned $ Costs Saved

Summary

•  Understand what you are buying

•  Get to know your partner

•  Agree on definition of ‘success’

•  Work as a team - service vs. commodity

•  Be willing to self-examine

•  Communicate

•  Know when to move on

Keep in Touch

Slides Available: www.slideshare.net/sfathi

Sandra Fathi President, Affect Email: sfathi@affect.com tweet: @sandrafathi web: affect.com blog: techaffect.com