This month the Senior Leaders within the EVCOM membership came together to discuss strategy at the London Stock Exchange. Our guest speaker Ethel Sanchez (Global Strategy – Brand Communications and Creative Solutions, Shell) was joined by facilitators Jane Sayers (Chief Film Lead, Content Engine @ Shell) and Matt Green (Strategy Director, Broadsword).
How can agencies stay ahead in a challenging world? This a question so many agencies are grappling with everyday. There is “pressure to be very disciplined in our spends”, says Ethel, and in today’s market agencies can end up chasing all avenues of business in order to keep the books “healthy.”
However, doing too many things can be to your detriment. “If we keep doing too many things that leads to a weak market profile” which means that “clients don’t know what we are good at” and resources become spread too thinly.
Ethel recommends think about what your agency offers in relation to a professional service spectrum:
- Commodity – Commodity services help clients with relatively simple, routine problems by providing economical, expedient and error-free service.
- Procedure – This offers a systematic approach to large, complicated problems that may not be cutting edge but require attention to a plethora of considerations.
- Gray Hair – Gray Hair services provide seasoned counsel based on experience.
- Rocket Science – These services address idiosyncratic, bet-the-company problems that require deep expertise and creative problem-solving.
Commodity is the most reliable but rocket science often has the largest profit margins. Think about where your practise falls in this spectrum, and what the rationale is behind your chosen position. Ethel recommends that best performing practises are ones to focus in one (or two) of these areas. It means clients know what they are good at, agencies know what kind of skillsets to build up in the company, and leaders know what to offer to clients, and what levels to pull to make that happen.
Building clients into this conversation is crucial. “A practise’s position is determined not by what we think of ourselves, but what our clients think of us. Tightly linking clients and the needs that will warrant them to pay us, with what we are really good at is vital,” says Ethel, who recommends doing regular client surveys.
Additionally, what was rocket science yesterday can become commodity tomorrow as clients become used to that offering and it starts to be done in the industry more widely. So how we can avoid the drift from rocket science to commodity? Ethel once again comes back to customer and client-centricity. Innovating with the client/ customer keeps the offering fresh and helps build a relationship. You also need to create a clear structure for measuring impact, as well as “sustainable experimentation structures.” Ethel recommends a disciplined allocation of resources between viable and exploratory services e.g. 80% on business as usual and 20% on new business/ innovation. The landscape is changing incredibly fast so we need to be aware of this, and make sure we can support more innovative services with the right resources and leadership alignment.
In these changing times, company culture is also critical. As you evolve your strategy and try new things, you need to make sure you bring your people with you.
Our attendees then discussed their own agency strategies, challenges they have faced and learnings they have taken away.
It was a fascinating conversation, full of insight from our speakers and across our community.
Thank you so much to everyone who joined us, and thank you to Richmond Communication Directors’ Forum for sponsoring this event and to London Stock Exchange for hosting us!
The next Senior Leaders’ Breakfast meeting is taking place on 12th November. Please email Claire at claire.fennelow@evcom.org.uk to express interest in attending.
