Given by agency brand expert Karla Morales-Lee, CEO of Hunter & Farmer - Why marketing is more effective than selling in agency new business - How to position and market your agency for growth

1. Positioning for growth:
how to identify, articulate and market
what makes you different and better.

2. Why marketing is now more effective than selling

3. The old ways to get in
the door of prospective
clients don’t work as
well as they used to.

4. “I get approached constantly. It’s even got to the stage now
where I answer my phone and I am concerned -
will this be another cold call?”
Client quote

5. “In my role of chair as ISBA, I have seen inside a number of
agencies and witnessed first hand the lack of strategy
applied to the process of identifying and acquiring
new customers”
Client quote

6. The agency market is
oversaturated.
As a result, clients have
all the power.

7. “Over the last decade agency identities have become
less distinguished and unfortunately more
like commoditises than brands. And every day we
come dangerously closer to confusing our clients about
who we are, what we are and why we are valuable
to their business”
Allen Rosenshine, Former CEO of BBDO

8. 1/2 million agencies
worldwide
agencyspotter.com

10. A marketing-led approach to business development

11. The agencies that behave like
brands outperform the market
when it comes to the winning
of new business.

13. AIM
“We want to be the agency that convinces
companies to see brands as valuable
assets (rather than just logos)”

17. Is your agency a market
leader or a challenger brand?
The answer should be defining
your marketing strategy.

18. Market leader approach
to marketing:
Saatchi & Saatchi

22. Market challenger approach
to marketing:
The Social Chain

24. www.karlamoraleslee.com

26. Agencies often only play
lip-service to the positioning
process (resulting in years of
ineffective business
development tactics).

27. Point of parity
Industry table stakes like great customer
service, creativity and being results driven
Relevance
Narrowing your target by asking who
what you do is most relevant to? A list of specific benefits
aligned to specific customer needs
Differentiation
Requires an in-depth agency, competition and market
audit. Few properly invest which is what differentiation
is rate among agencies

28. Positioning is a revolutionary
idea because it informs and
gives consistency to the 4Ps.

29. Product Price Promotion Place

30. We can do whatever
you want us to do
We are clear on:
- what we do, how we do it
and why we do it
- how we are different and
better to the competitors
in our space
- the challenges we are
best suited to address
(and the ones we are not)
- the real value we offer
clients
Weak position Strong position

31. Having an organising brand
idea helps the agency to stop
selling and start focusing on
owning a unique space in the
prospective customer’s mind.

32. A client that approaches
your agency is far more
likely to convert.

33. “Agencies that are producing content
that I find truly fascinating
and engaging, content that positions
them as thought leaders in a particular
discipline - they are the ones I will
contact to come in to have a conversation
around how they can bring their expertise
to my brand”
Client quote

34. Push (selling)
THE AGENCY
‘We want to work with you”
Pull (marketing)
THE CLIENT
‘We want to work with you”

35. Ten key lessons in agency positioning

44. “Most companies want to create the holy grail of products that
appeal to every demographic, socioeconomic background and
geographic location.
Doing so creates mediocrity.
Instead, create segments of products that make some people
very happy.
Fear not if these products make other segments unhappy.
The worst scenario is to incite no passionate reactions
at all”
Guy Kawasaki

47. Thank you!
@karlahuntfarm
www.karlamoraleslee.com
www.theartofnewbusiness.com
www.ukagencyawards.com