foundation for agency's positioning
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Layering a Foundation for your Positioning Sandra Riano 416-606-9040 [email protected] December 2011
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What’s the purpose of Marketing your Company?
Getting Opportunities?
Making money?
NO
It’s about Control
Sandra Riano | 416-606-9040 | [email protected] | December 2011
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Controlling Client Base
Who are they? Why would you work for them?
THEY should be lining up to see you
Ability to sift through your client list and replace/include based on your needs as a company
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Sharing the Control
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What does More Control mean?
Choose/Switch clients when new ones come in
Move upstream in the relationship
More time to do work
Move $$ - more relevant information is shared
More opportunity to provide advice
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Ideal Client Profile
Have they used an agency before? You don’t want to ‘break them in’
They must represent at least 10 – 25% of your business [8-15 clients tops]: Makes you money now Makes a difference in the world Shares your corporate culture
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Ideal Client Profile
Respects your minimum project fee Should be $30 to $40K for 8 to 10 employees Nothing less or it devaluates the company’s image
They’re spending someone else’s money
Have budget authority and are honest about it
Are leaving current company for right reasons It shouldn’t be because of money!
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Ideal Client Profile
Are coming to you for the right reasons Not cheaper, not once, not ever!
Shouldn’t insist on Principal being main contact: Gives power away Principal should be focused on marketing company
Single point of contact Doesn’t have your team chasing different tails
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Ideal Client Profile
Always has you at the table (get their ear)
Meaningful to the world
They’re fun and nice
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Testing your Positioning
Truly Differentiated
Demonstrable (case studies,
research papers, etc)
Sustainable (should live for 20
years)
Ethical
Truthful (don’t offer the moon if you
don’t have it, desperation shows)
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Know the Difference
Responsive
Cost protective
Principal Involvement
Full Service
Quick
Cheap
Small company/incompetent staff/owner is control freak
Desperate (no scope creep)
What they Hear What you Say
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Caveats to Defining Expertise
Declared: Obvious
• Your expertise should be obvious to whoever reads your website/brochure
Seek vs. Accept
• Clients look for you, not the other way around
Focused
• Do what you know and do it well
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Caveats to Defining Expertise
Location: Specialized
Regional specializations
means you know your market well
Size: More ‘expertise’ = More staff
The longer your ‘expertise list’ is, the larger your
team is
S/I: Strategy vs. Implement (one or the other, not both)
Discover your strength and commit to it
Strategy and Implementation require different mind-sets,
choose one and commit to it
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Advantages of Vertical
Clients are easier to find
Makes more money
Clients – Prospects larger together
When they leave, they take you with them
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Advantages of Horizontal
More variety on work
Work for bigger, more sophisticated clients
More immune to economic downturn
Fewer conflicts of interest