Presentation given at Inbound 2016 by Karla Morales-Lee, CEO of Hunter & Farmer: Positioning for Growth
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POSITIONING FOR
GROWTH
How to identify, articulate and market what
makes your agency different and better
Karla Morales-Lee, CEO of Hunter & Farmer
@KARLAHUNTFARM
21. #INBOUND16
Strong position:
Your company is clear on:
- What you do, how you do it and WHY you do it
Weak position:
“We can do whatever you want us to”.
Positioning types:
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Strong position:
Your company is clear on:
- What you do, how you do it and WHY you do it
- How you are different and better to the
competitors in your space
Weak position:
“We can do whatever you want us to”.
Positioning types:
23. #INBOUND16
Strong position:
Your company is clear on:
- What you do, how you do it and WHY you do it
- How you are different and better to the
competitors in your space
- The challenges you are best suited to address
(and the ones you are not)
Weak position:
“We can do whatever you want us to”.
Positioning types:
24. #INBOUND16
Strong position:
Your company is clear on:
- What you do, how you do it and WHY you do it
- How you are different and better to the
competitors in your space
- The challenges you are best suited to address
(and the ones you are not)
- The real value you offer your clients
Weak position:
“We can do whatever you want us to”.
Positioning types:
28. #INBOUND16
BRAND AUDIT QUESTIONS:
• Are people aware of us? If so, for what? Is this what we want
to be known for?
• How is our market changing and evolving?
29. #INBOUND16
BRAND AUDIT QUESTIONS:
• Are people aware of us? If so, for what? Is this what we want
to be known for?
• How is our market changing and evolving?
• How are our competitors positioned?
30. #INBOUND16
BRAND AUDIT QUESTIONS:
• Are people aware of us? If so, for what? Is this what we want
to be known for?
• How is our market changing and evolving?
• How are our competitors positioned?
• What do our customers want and need?
31. #INBOUND16
BRAND AUDIT QUESTIONS:
• Are people aware of us? If so, for what? Is this what we want
to be known for?
• How is our market changing and evolving?
• How are our competitors positioned?
• What do our customers want and need?
• What do our stakeholders regard as our strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats?
It SEEMED ODD TO ME THAT BUY NIGHT MAJOR AGENCIES WERE PITCHING STRATEGIC AND CREATIVE IDEAS TO THEIR CLIENTS, BUT UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS THEY WERE HIRING AN OUTSOURCE COLD CALLING AGENCY TO TRY AND MAKE MEETINGS FOR THEM WITH POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS – WHY WEREN’T THEY TAKING THE SAME APPROACH TO THEIR OWN GROWTH AS THEY WERE THEIR CLIENTS BRANDS?
ALL WAS NOT LOST THOUGH
IT ALSO OCCURRED TO ME THAT…..
A CLEAR TARGET CUSTOMER PROFILE
A VISION THAT SERVES AS AN ORGANISING IDEA FOR THE BUSINESS
A UNIQUE CULTURE
HOW MANY OF YOU PREDOMINATELY TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DO OR RATHER THE SERVICES YOU OFFER ON THE FRONT PAGE OF YOUR WEBSITE?
WITH HALF A MILLIO N AGENCIES IN THE WORLD AND 120,000 IN THE US ALONE, WHAT YOU DO IS HIGHLY LIKELY TO BE OVER-SUPPLIED
.
IT ALSO OCCURRED TO ME THAT…..
IF YOU DON’T CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE SPACE YOU ARE TRYING TO OWN IN YOUR PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER’S MINDS YOU WILL ALWAYS BE BLIND WHEN IT COMES TO THE OBJECTIVES OF YOUR MARKETING
ONCE YOU HAVE AN AIM FOR YOUR MARKETING IT IS FOR EASIER TO DECIDE ON THE STRATEGY AND TACTICS YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE THAT AIM
ARE YOU GUYS ALL AWARE OF THIS AGENCY? A GLOBAL BRAND AGENCY WITH A NETWORK OF 29 OFFICES IN 22 COUNTRIES
Uk agency awards
Uk agency awards
The ENV (Emission Neutral Vehicle) is an electric motorcycle prototype powered by an hydrogen fuel cell.
The best growth strategy – in good times of bad – is to decide what not to do.
IT’S A SIMPLE FACT THAT THE SPECIALIST EARNS MORE THAN THE GENERALIST
A BETTER PROPOSITION ATTRACTS A HIGHER QUALITY CLIENT
IT’S A SIMPLE FACT THAT THE SPECIALIST EARNS MORE THAN THE GENERALIST
A BETTER PROPOSITION ATTRACTS A HIGHER QUALITY CLIENT
IT’S A SIMPLE FACT THAT THE SPECIALIST EARNS MORE THAN THE GENERALIST
A BETTER PROPOSITION ATTRACTS A HIGHER QUALITY CLIENT
IT’S A SIMPLE FACT THAT THE SPECIALIST EARNS MORE THAN THE GENERALIST
A BETTER PROPOSITION ATTRACTS A HIGHER QUALITY CLIENT
Research is key in agency positioning
See with clarity before positioning
All stakeholders
Competitors
SWOT
“Most companies want to create the holy grail of products that appeal to every demographic, socioeconomic background and geographic location.
Doing so creates mediocrity. Instead, create segments of products that make some people very happy. Fear not if these products make other segments unhappy.
The worst scenario is to incite no passionate reactions at all.” Guy Kawasaki
This is a company called Eat Big Fish that created the term “challenger brand”. And it’s a cool story because actually, the guy who created it was working as planning director at TBWA and was asked to find a …
MOST AGENCIES CHARGE FOR INPUTS - Time is an input. Timesheets only capture what the agency puts into something, not what the client gets out of it.
Getting compensated for outputs is slightly better in the sense that at least the client is paying for a “deliverable” rather than the effort that went into creating it.
Outcomes are the benefits. Ultimately the buyer of professional services is paying for a result; or as economists would say, “utility.” We buy not the service itself, but the usefulness that comes as a result.
Research
Point of view (The agencies that are brands outperform the market)
Position (The Agency Brand Expert)
Organising idea: (New business is an art, not a numbers game)
Strategy (Convince the market that there is a better way to prospect clients beyond cold calling and the sending of unsolicited direct mail)
Tactics (Client research, UK Agency Awards, Art of New Business events