Transformation to the world of digital marketing was never going to be easy. It was always going to challenge the relationship between the agency – with their creative gurus on tap – and marketers, who plied them with funding, research and, perhaps, a dash of company politics.
It’s very different today. Decisions are being driven by increased volumes of data and nurturing programs demand far more content than agencies are used to providing. In this interactive age, agencies and clients have to rethink who does what.
For some, drawing the boundaries is a straightforward process. For many it can be as fraught as Greece’s bailout negotiations. A starting point, though, has to be a shared understanding of what the new environment looks like.
Research from eConsultancy, commissioned by Marketo, asked 500 agency and client-side marketers their thoughts on the state of digital marketing in Australia and New Zealand. On some issues they are united – like the firm belief that a good understanding of technology is critical for senior marketing leaders who want to maximise the potential of digital channels.
There was a difference in priorities when it came to exactly what sort of technology was needed. Both see CRM systems as important over the next few years, but it’s the agency respondents that seem to have a heavier focus on the sorts of tools that will deliver nurturing-style marketing activity. 29% saw marketing automation as a priority, compared to just 14% of company respondents. Agencies were also much more focused on business and web analytics (31%) than their in-house counterparts (just 8%).
This is a surprising outcome. It’s as though the world has turned on its head. Remember the days when clients held the data and shared some of it, sparingly, with their agencies. Now, agencies seem more focused on the numbers than their clients.
Just how marketing should be measured is even more telling. Most agree that increased sales is key. A no brainer, you’d think. 65% of in-house staff say it’s a metric they typically use, but that’s just a few points ahead of the less compelling measure of ‘traffic to the website’. Agencies, meanwhile, place a greater emphasis on the harder number of ‘return on marketing investment’.
The figures suggest that agencies are often more business focused than the marketers they deal with. Marketing staff, clearly, need to skill-up for a more analytical and responsive approach to their craft.
There’s a lot to be gained by agencies and clients working together on building the processes and tools for a digital future. In particular, agencies should have an influence on decisions regarding marketing technologies, to avoid building a siloed solution that creates barriers in the broader marketing ecosystem. Imagine, for example, a client’s marketing automation system that integrates easily with their agency’s media planning tools. Digital heaven.
Most agencies understand how paid, earned and owned media work together, creating personalised communication journeys that nurture prospects, generate leads and create sales. Most clients do too. But what about their bosses? More than a quarter of respondents said their senior staff had a poor understanding of the potential of digital channels to grow their business. That’s possibly the biggest shared obstacle that has to be overcome. And often it takes outside influence to help someone see the light. It’s the first step an agency and client can make together on their new digital partnership.
All in all, digital creates an opportunity for a more symbiotic relationship between agencies and their clients. The work is far more involved than ever before, but the rewards come with better returns, greater accountability and shared learnings. Each of those is a win for the agency and the marketing department. So, if your client-agency relationship hasn’t changed over recent years, it’s time to start talking.
By Aden Forrest
MD Australia and New Zealand at Marketo