I’m starting week eight here at Lawrence and Schiller and I’m thinking about our agency buzzwords. Specifically: Full Service Marketing. What does it mean?
I recently responded to a caller who wanted our assistance in one stand-alone effort - the purchase of a zip-code targeted mailing list. Could we have done it? Sure. Did we agree to do it? No.
Why not? Because our mission is to help our clients succeed through comprehensive marketing efforts that support business goals rather than single marketing tactics. In my time here, it’s been interesting to watch how we approach new clients or try to help existing clients. In a company like ours, I never thought we would turn away from any potential sale - but marketing is more than just a website, or a newspaper ad placement. Successful marketing is about thoughtfully planning a strategy that will positively influence the business goals - whether its customer growth, product sales, or creating brand awareness. Designing cool websites and well-designed ads are things we do, but not without a clear strategy and success metrics. To be meaningful, our work must integrate well into the client’s goals and priorities. The question we ask: what is it that we’re trying to accomplish through this effort and how does it support the client’s overall goals?
The four phases of our 5280 approach: Strategy, the Plan, Execution, and Analysis, are important in any effort - not just marketing. We work with clients throughout the entire process and in the end, we stand back, evaluate, adjust and continually improve.
In the end, and in evaluation of our own work, we can always say that our best work, the work we hold up and take pride in, utilized our full foundation of resources and expertise. We understood the end goals, we understood how it was going to be measured, and we had an integrated approach.
What I’m writing about today isn’t rocket science, but it does take commitment. We as an agency are committed to building market leaders. It is a sales approach, sure, but it’s also an internal philosophy that we are committed to. As a reader, potential client, existing client or friend, I’m sharing this philosophy in hopes that you get to know our agency better.
Passionately posting,
Billie Jo
April 4th, 2008 at 10:55 am
I think a lot of the most successful service companies have similar strategies. If you don’t take a holistic interest in your customer, why should they stick with you? You can do a better job servicing them if you have a firm relationship, and they are more valuable as customers if you have a history. Everyone wins.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I agree with Mile completely. In addition, the best strategies are developed from open collaberation between agencies and clients. Who’s driving the car does not matter if you are waisting gas driving down the wrong road searching for your destination. Better to establish the destination first - then determine the best route to get there.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Billie Jo, this is a great message and one that is particularly important for business leaders to hear. A good deal of my role as a marketing director for a small non-profit organization is convincing internal organizational leaders that marketing is not magic — it only appears to be when it rests on a good deal of strategy and planning. The desire for organizations to solve problems by placing quickly produced ads and messages (or entire campaigns) likely cooresponds to an organization’s level of anxiety and perceptions of control (or loss thereof). When the world appears to be spinning out of control, a better approach may be to slow down, consult experts, garner internal support, and sometimes rediscover what makes an organization tick in the first place. Good messages stem from this space. It seems as though L&S’s customer strategy is one that will ultimately serve clients best — and save marketing dollars in the long run.