How PR Agencies Devalue the Industry
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Most informed agency leaders will agree that a big part of what our clients want, and are willing to pay us for, is our thinking. We bring years of experience, coupled with tactical knowledge and creativity to marketing challenges. So why is it that so many agencies are willing to give it away for free?
Over the past couple of months we have been told by more than one new business prospect that while they love our creative thinking and want our experience/approach, they are having a tough time making a decision because the other agency(ies) have given them a complete plan, and of course, we have not. What?! A complete plan? From the one hour conversation they (maybe) had when they were asked to pitch the business, they have enough insight into the company, its brand promise, its customers, competition, and goals to present a plan? Folks, I call BS.
Really experienced CMOs/Marketing Managers will know they are getting a cookie cutter approach, since it isn’t really possible for that kind of strategic development in the 7-10 days they gave as a deadline for an initial proposal. Unfortunately, there are lots of people making decisions about hiring an agency who know very little about marketing and even less about how agencies work.
I am tired of competing for business with agencies that don’t even respect their time or intellectual capital enough to get paid for it. People, you should get paid to write a strategic plan. I know times are hard, but if you set the expectation that you will just give away your thinking in order to get an ongoing retainer, you not only hurt your own revenue stream, you hurt the reputation of an entire industry.
In particular (since I’m on a roll now), we see this in social media pitches. Since most agencies have very little experience in social media planning or management, they have developed a cut-and-paste approach. Take one part Facebook, one part Twitter and insert client name in the blank. There is very little customized or original thinking happening. I believe we are going to start seeing the carcasses of that type of approach all over the business landscape.
It’s too bad too, because social media presents loads of opportunity for the PR industry. But only if we use our smarts and don’t treat it like another tactic to be added onto a long list of “to dos.”
AMEN. As usual, you have nailed it.
Indra: great blog post. Can you make it into a billboard?
Thanks Stephanie. I went on a rant with the PR team earlier this week about this issue and the unanimous response was “you need to write a post about this!”
I think PR folks have a tendency to think about short term needs instead of long term development. We saw the same opportunistic thinking leading up to the dot com crash. And we all know what happened then.
Oh my,Scott and I were discussing this exact thing this morning. We have to move the discussion from tactics and time to counseling, strategy and experience.
Cannot agree more. Invest in yourself and your industry; stop nickle and diming your time away.
Coincidence? Abbie Fink and I talked about this earlier today. I couldn’t agree more!
Cannot agree more. We need to stop nickle and diming our time and expertise away. Creativity and business sense need to join up.
I smell a book deal.
Jon´s last blog ..How PR Agencies Devalue the Industry
Unfortunately, clients get what they pay for, and don’t realize it until later that they made a mistake on their first pass. Usually, they’ll come back to you later smarter and willing to pay for real strategy thought and a documented roadmap tailored for their specific business needs.
However, that initial 7-10 day deadline is a key time to deliver the best outline of your suite of services, it’s a more general sales pitch of your capabilities, not of your capabilities *for them*. Having different presentations of your capabilities tailored to your top target industries, perhaps with similar case examples, is a great way to deliver an almost-tailored outline of what you can do for them.
If done well, will establish in the client’s collective mindset that you know your stuff… and lead to another meeting where you can discuss the specific strategic planning they very much need for their business and the costs you very much deserve for your hard work.
DowntownRob´s last blog ..Facebook Places Overview-Walkthrough
I think what it also comes down to is lack of education on the client side – they aren’t really sure what they want, and go with the “most complete” – especially if they have no idea that said company is pitching the same deal to others.
I know many agencies that take the basis of a sales pitch of their overall services and then craft it to fit the specific industry and client. Same with SM presentations – here’s what we can offer, and then spend those 7-10 days on what they can actually do for the client.
It’s not perfect, and can definitely be improved on – its going to come down to education and presentation.
Lauren Fernandez
Agency Community Manager, Radian6
@cubanalaf
Ding ding ding! Winner, winner! Thank you for bringing this issue to light, Indra.
I recently interviewed with a prospective client for a significant account, and became one of three finalists. To “help” the client decide who to hire, I was asked to produce a complete plan for an upcoming special event. I was expected to produce an invitation list, determine venue, menu, setting, agenda, presenters and panelists, what media I would invite… are you getting the picture? I was astonished. When I told the client that I would be happy to provide past examples of similar assignments for them to judge my skills and abilities, but politely objected to handing over a free plan, the client denied wanting “details” – and then repeated the SAME request! I bowed out. Two other poor schmoes no doubt handed over a plan done on spec that neither got paid for… and one didn’t even get any business out of it.
This is like asking a retail store to give you a leather chair free of charge before you decide whether you want to buy the couch or not. They’d think you were cracked!
Can we talk about the explosion of unreasonable pro bono requests next? Ay carumba!
Rob – You are exactly right, we are often pitching business in which the prospect has recently had a poor experience with an agency and we have to fix their perception of our industry AND clean up a mess.
Gayle – Isn’t that outrageous? Where’s the part where you pay me for my time?
The pro bono thing is a beast. Maybe that’s my next blog post, thanks!
Amen. Creating a strategic plan for any company without intimate knowledge of their business, customers, sales cycle and internal workings is haphazard. Sure most companies could utilize Facebook and Twitter in their roadmap but the real thinking goes into what the heck they do with it. Cookie cutter marketing is especially mindless in social media where so much of its success depends on audience segments, the company’s internal resources, and human relationships. Otherwise it’s just, media. Ineffective media at that.
Great article, well written and well said!
Brandy´s last blog ..Never Said I Was Perfect
Hits the nail right on the head! Reminds me of the early days of the web, oh about a dozen or so years ago, when everybody’s nephew was a “web designer” and would build you a site for a couple of thousand dollars. The results were preordained and many learned the lessons the hard way – you get what you pay for and pay peanuts – get monkeys! Today, it seems to be about the intern who runs the social web engagement, i.e. dabbling in Twitter and Facebook. The tough part, analysis, learning, insight as part of a sound strategy development process doesn’t seem to excite the decision makers much less have them pay for it. Again, lessons are learned the hard way. Sad but all too often true.
[...] How PR Agencies Devalue the Industry, BG Creative Blog – Discussion on importance of valuing the time and intellectual capital it takes to create strategic plans for potential clients. [...]
Indra, YOU ROCK!
Jody and I were talking about this today! We are sick of people telling us they don’t have a budget and then turn around and ask us to cut our fees by 80% and train their people anyway. They say, “Oh can’t you just show up and turn the camera on?” The amount of preparation that goes into customizing our workshops makes that impossible. Not to mention, insulting. Thanks, Indra, for shining a BIG spotlight on this!
Earlier this month we lost a bid for a division of a global enterprise software company to one of the giant global pr agencies because the big agency was willing to develop the strategic plan FOR FREE for a half year social media campaign with a $150K total budget. We walked instead of offering a free plan. As the agency head, this was REALLY hard to do since this company is our largest client (through other divisions). I think giving away a $20K plan is a bad start with any client and would have brought me a bad revenue relationship over time.
Thanks for all the comments, so heartening to see we’re not alone in this.
p1lonn – This is not the first time I have heard a story about one of the big public agencies giving work away for free in order to win an account. Makes you wonder how they can justify the lost revenue and pro bono time (to a for profit client). You certainly took the high road and I’m sure it was awful. For what it’s worth, in my opinion you did the right thing.
We hear this all of the time, too. “You presented such an in-depth strategy – we just don’t think we’re ready for that or ready to actually get things done. We’ve selected another agency that can move at our pace.” That sort of response.
Part of me is thinking of saying, “It’s good to know we’re not alone and others out there are losing out on business opportunities for the same reasons.” But, a bigger part is thinking – WHY?
Why are companies so accustomed to a simple, cookie-cutter, short-sighted approach? Is a well-thought strategy too risky? Too much work?
Lauren has a point about educating the client, which is certainly a step. Figuring out what the hang-ups are will help us do that.
Excellent post. The real problem is that “The Plan” that clients get for free is worth what they pay for. That can only sell to the hopelessly un-savvy, IMHO, because anyone who knows what they are doing would see right through the cut-n-paste approach.
So they make a big mistake at the start and just wallow into social media without a real strategic plan. Hopefully, they’ll all learn – but my (very small biz) clients typically wind up with a bad taste for the whole industry. My job, as a non-snakeoil peddler, is to somehow educate them to be better consumers without giving away too much.
I do it by stressing my approach and why it works. But, to be honest, I would dearly love to talk to other people who are pounding the pavement and trying to be genuine craftsmen in this developing industry. How do you educate your clients to be better consumers? How do you sell to those who have been well trained in the ways of old media?
I’d like to collaborate and refine my message, if anyone is interested. My approach (and sales pitch) is outlined in my link, above. Can we talk?
Erik Hare´s last blog ..A Glimpse of the Future
[...] value when it comes to professional services firms. My friend Indra Gardiner, in a recent blog post, went so far as to say we are devaluing ourselves when we give away our creative thinking in the [...]