Trust... Earned


I am optimistic again about how to make you a wealthy hero. 

Thanks to Rupal's riffs in AdAge on 6 responsibilities for Ad Agencies - it's all about earning respect by delivering results from ideas.

Key line:
"Execution turns out to be harder, more strategic and more valuable than everyone thought and ... it's what clients are coming to agencies for." 


(FYI, what qualifies Rupal is her years as an industry journalist and then realizing the best way to earn her client's respect is to work directly with the digital developers)

It all seem attainable as she nails the gauntlet of: providing safe havens for creative problem-solving with a diverse and appreciated workforce led by sincere leaders that get out of the way of empowered teams focusing on their mutually beloved clients and their bottom lines. Well, that IS a lot...perhaps guarded optimism.

That key line above is about not spinning aimlessly around "innovation" when there are products and services to be built, increasing the likelihood of growing your client's revenue and asset value. The "i" word only works when it is applied beyond thinking, into and through production of something real. ONLY THEN can it be assessed accurately by real users and optimized. 

 Because... Innovation = Iteration.

Let's all focus on what we do best but remember to include those that deliver. When you are talking about digital transformation, that's the frontend and backend engineers and coders.

Frankly, I am done with small talk about big ideas. The last several years have been great to open our mindset, setup our strategy processes, and delivery frameworks... Now It's time to steal/borrow the best ideas and build like Bezos, Musk, and (within ethical reason) Zuck.

Agency examples of how to grow businesses in this digital age should already be inspiring. By partnering with tech augmentors like Creative Chaos, you can deliver like R\GA, Anomaly, and (insert favorite Agency that helps clients grow their business here).  

 If you want to know what you need to know, read Jules' State of the Digital Nation.

Again, support your trusted nerds ... include them early and throughout your process to develop a dynamic tech architecture that includes CI/CD microservice containers.

Since lots of us get lost in that last sentence, we are happy to discuss it. 

Any time... David - dcutler@creativechaos.co or 617-331-7852

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Innovation In Sports


This should influence everything


The Right Side of Amazon

This is an awesome logo parody ... if you are not on the wrong side and competing with Amazon.

 Consumers root for Amazon because Jeff delivers - half of ALL online sales!

 Yes he wants global domination, but we can all learn from how he stays ahead.


 It's no secret. Amazon innovates new services and more efficient operations through persistent iterations to actually be customer service focused. 

 Step #1 - want this. Step #2 - build and re-build it. Step #3 - Repeat.

One of my favorite Bezos quotes is, "I regularly get asked about what is going to change in the future... nobody ever asks me what is NOT going to change... I would say human nature is not going to change."  - being understood, appreciated, treated fairly... yeah, customer service.

 R/GA, the impressively-ever-evolving Agency has a helpful take on how to compete with Amazon...  Simply, (which it isn't) establish more direct relationships with your consumers. Know them better... know them different.

"What differentiates success from obsolescence these days is a company’s ability to relate to its customers and deliver one-of-kind, memorable experiences ... Customer relationship management is going to be really important now because it’s going to be about understanding who your real core customers are, making sure you have a real relationship with them and building on that core ... Having a strong point of view and understanding of the consumer."

 See a short post on how our partners at McKinsey solve customer issues by adapting supply chains and leveraging ecosystems... “Digitization of supply chains accounts for more than 75% of the impact on incumbents’ profit growth” ... 75%...!

 Bezos has his team. You have us.

 We at Creative Chaos are here for you when you want to design, build, and update your digital presence for more efficient and effective customer service. Websites, Mobile Apps,  enterprise fixes, custom software between platforms, supply chain visibility and management, etc.

 But, remember, you don't have to hire us... Click to enlarge this below CBInsights teardown infographic about who Amazon is hiring so they can stay ahead... grow AWS, not bother with Advertising (smallest sliver), and provide the provocatively-named, AI-as-a-Service...

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Open Innovation = Ideas + Consensus + Process

Here are a few excerpts from another helpful HBR article:

... the reasons more ideas from open innovation aren’t being adopted are political and cultural, not technical. Multiple gatekeepers, skepticism regarding anything “not invented here,” and turf wars all hold back adoption.

in addition to having good ideas, those design agencies whose concepts were successfully implemented had a more flexible approach to all stages of the development process.

Successful designers took five strategic actions to cultivate flexibility and trust. … not to drive efficiency but to create consensus:
  1. Create a multi-layered network
  2. Foster equal ownership
  3. Establish interim milestones
  4. Build an open business case
  5. Prototype early

David Cutler is Managing Director at Creative Chaos. They provide tech team augmentation and custom software development for funded Startups, Agencies, strategy consultants, and corporate Innovation Labs, such  as: McKinsey  BionicSolutions and AB InBev's Zx-Ventures.

Digital Transformation Is Operation Optimization


Listen here as eMarketer interviews top marketers about the challenges of Digital Transformation.

 This is my summary with my POV... well, at least what I am observing that works

Key Take Aways:  #1 - The most important opportunities are beyond marketing. #2 - Have trusted nerds on speed-dial.



Digital Transformation is your Digital Strategy for your Business Operations. 
Most business leaders are in"shock and awe."

"Digital" is over... everything is Digital
Hard to keep up - new channels - IoT, Connected Home, Car, voice!
Evolving market ... so no pressure to know everything
Embrace the iteration process 
Get ANYTHING into the market to react to - test test test

FIX YOU FIRST. 
    - Use tech to deliver visibility and truth.
THEN YOUR CUSTOMERS. 
     -  Silos must intersect and flow around a consistent customer journey
OWN YOUR DATA
     - Do not rely on Facebook for an assessment of YOUR customers
GET HELP TO TEST, ITERATE, AND DIFFERENTIATE
     - Get tech architects to connect the dots between platforms
KNOW YOUR PEOPLE
     - Opportunities are around they are already interacting

Have CTRL = Content, Timing, Relevance, Location 
Get out there and feel real retail experiences and learning 
Emotional connections are NEEDED in this digital world
     - acknowledge our very human analog existence

 Accept that there is ROI from learning 
Make it fun to find mistakes since they are the process
Embrace sharing and learning together between client, vendor, customer

Marketers must be:
- Data Scientists (know enough to see the truth)
- Social Butterflies (friend and critic of media platforms)
- Economists (choosing priorities ...that produce)

Set innovation funds to experiment (removed from brand P and L)
Support successes (Remember cross-corp knowledge sharing)

Again, Summary: Have trusted nerds on speed-dial

Fighting Thru Advertising Week

Check out this list of some of the most interesting and controversial sessions at Advertising Week New York - Sep 25-28.

 Now, so much more than "Advertising."

 There is fighting for minds and budgets... cockfight or dogfight?

 See:
http://partners.creativechaos.co/awny17

Our Only Hope ... Is TechDev!

Should Agencies be terrified that the market is shifting away from them to Management Consultants? ... Well, yes if they are not providing what the client needs (which is way more than creative marketing campaigns).

The "inside" Digitization needs of our corporate clients are not changing... they have been trying to evolve their Digital operations for decades.

 The problem is that this transition to digital efficiency is difficult emotionally (who prioritizes what?) and technologically (who is coding what?).

 The big Management Consultants have seized this opportunity by helping CEOs directly with this heavy lifting. Marketing Agencies are not... but they should and they can... by adding technology solutions beyond the Media Platforms.

 Accenture, Deloitte, Mckinsey, PwC, etc. always follow the opportunity (so can you).

 Here are some excerpts from the latest Advertising Age Cover Story - "Out of the Shadows, Consultants Creep in on Agency Turf." 

 ... bring together the agency's data, analytics, research, CRM and search technology capabilities with the goal of creating more personalized content for clients.

 The big consultancies are underestimating the value of creativity [and] the agencies are under- exploiting the value of business analytics," said Ivan Pollard, senior VP-strategic marketing at Coca-Cola Co. "Someone's going to crack that soon because data plus creativity is the future."

 ... startups like Uber and Airbnb have built brands by disrupting traditional business models with easy-to-use consumer interfaces—not with big ad budgets.

 "Historically, brands have been built by pushed messages" with ads that gave "suggestions about how you should feel, or emote or think about a product or service," he added. But "we don't believe that is true at all anymore." Instead, Accenture's philosophy is that brands are built through "hundreds of customer interactions," ranging from e-commerce experiences to how people are treated in physical stores

 The new branding is this idea of building experiences for customers that allow them to experience you in ways that are much more honest and truthful and engaging than just standing on Mount Olympus shouting what it is that you want somebody to believe about your brand,

 One of the things that the consultancies have going for them is that they are not going through the traditional marketing channels. They are either going top-down through CEOs, or they are even going through the board

 Once inside, consultancies position themselves as cost savers via big reorganization projects, while ad agencies are perceived as cost drivers

 Deloitte Digital's agency Heat says, " We won this account specifically because we understood their business. We could bring all of the competitive intelligence and business strategy to bear in the creative pitch process and ultimately brought a data-driven approach to world-class creative," Hatch said. "You've got to check all those boxes."

 SO... the article headline is wrong. What the Managing Consultants provide has never been the "Turf" of the Agencies.

 However, technology solutions integrated across a clients business goals is an opportunity AND an obligation for all vendor/partners.

 FYI - Adweek also explodes this in the "Big Bang - New World Order - Global consultancies are rocking the agency world, creating a new universe of offerings that meld marketing and technology."

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Managing Your Agency's Sales Pipeline - MAB14


Photos and Tweet from
~ ~ ~


Another MAB FABulous session at MAB 14 
Managing an Agency Business meetup series.  
Come next time to meet founders of Boston's top design, dev and marketing agencies

 This event featured a panel discussion on "Managing Your Agency's Sales Pipeline" 
with topics including how to better qualify leads, managing your daily sales responsibilities, 
improving your scoping process and increasing your close rate on new deals.

Here are notes from this session on your Sales Pipeline:

Give free advice to connectors in your target markets
Get permission from clients to do your own PR
Share challenges publicly (podcast/Post) as process to solve… be that network of solving
Know target personas
And their networks
Who is funded, hiring. Read Venture-Fizz
Outbound prospecting = big pipeline
Find, meet, qualify, pitch, close
Read Predictable Revenue – segmentation of roles. cold-callers, Account person,

Know Persona details – their issues, needs, size, fears, competitors, what tech are they using,
Segment qualifying
A/B split test everything
Quality – Tier 1 - Priorities
Quantity – Tier 2 – General category
Practice – Tier 3
Owler – target account news
Google Alerts
Have top 20 accounts listed and printed… share with potential partners/everyone

Load emails to systematically touch - Yesware, Sendbloom, Outreach.io
Ask prospects, “How is this digital project going to help your business?”
Pre-qualifying – Speed process by asking if they appreciate this:
“up-front contract” – setup in advance “I assume you will want to know how 
we work, prices, relevant case studies.”  I will need to ask budgets, timing, how
you make this decision”
Give/Get Balance = Respect
Be careful not to condition your client to keep asking for more, time, scope creep
BUT they need to be asking for more. Healthy
Do - Scorecard… Prioritize a list of Gives/Gets. Match numbers for each ranked item.
List “Gives” – info, proposals. trials, better terms, Sales Engineer time, consulting, 
 extension on trial, discounts
List “Gets” – decision process, timeline, meetings with seniors, budget, 
referrals, testimonials
Sales is making connections and helping people out
Be as objective as possible. Not emotional. Practical
Best sales movies – Pursuit of Happiness. Tommy Boy.
          Stop pitching – conversations
          Helping – not commissions
– we cannot do everything. We have great partners
          Help wherever you can
Follow GaryV – “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook”
Read Blinkest (book summaries)
Moves:
“I’m confused”… “you said this, but this happened.” Hold them accountable
Never say,  “just checking in”
Pick up the phone!
Set expectations
Do – Summary email. Let them know before you send it
          List key action items for both … (active listening) … ask for confirmation
          Hold accountable
          Decision date? Put 15 minutes on the calendar
          Missed? Resend
          Confirm “what is best way to communicate with you”
                         I will get back to you within 24 hours… what can I expect from you?
          ALWAYS start “The reason for my call is…”
Influence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini - Reciprocity. Give reason
Keep emotions out
Have a walk-away line… do not cross it!
Handoff from Sales to production/service… (at 40:00+)
          Kick-off deck
…?
Use “Summary Email” to follow up call… and start next meeting for clarification
…?
Get paid for pilot
Have detailed success criteria
…?

Sales Stacks:

Owler – target account news
Google Alerts
Hubspot to Zapier to service tools
https://app.contactually -CRM (like Zendesk)
?...Todapt – email
https://leadiq.com/account/plans  – profiling, emails
Panda Doc – contracts, sow, stripe for recurring billing
     Custom token/fields
CloseIO
...?
Sendbloom – good for workflows
> Leadsboost – data
ZoomInfo
Uber conference
Pipedrive
Hubspot
Hunter – email
> Banana Tag – cleaner
Linkedin
VentureApp?
Drift > Zapier > Slack
> Crunchbase
CharlieApp – meeting prep data
Feedly
Sanebox

Out.

Any suggestions? (Should there be a collaborative MAB community wiki?)

David Cutler
Managing Director - www.CreativeChaos.co
617-331-7852  - dcutler@creativechaos.co
www.DavidCutler.net


About MAB
Managing an Agency Business (MAB) is a quarterly event series focused on 
bringing Boston-area agency founders/owners/managers together to discuss 
the 'business' of running an agency. Topics of conversation include business 
development, operational management, developing culture and anything other 
than the actual services you offer your clients. MAB is not another networking 
event for hand shaking and business card swapping but rather an intimate 
gathering of peers looking to share their trials/tribulations in building successful 
agency businesses.

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