Most managers in Strategic Relationship Management (e.g. Marketing Agencies or Strategic Suppliers) can list a fair number of reasons why relationship evaluations should be conducted on a regular basis. A typical list is shown below. The problem with these sorts of lists is that the benefits are all a little theoretical and lack direct practical relevance. Forget the theory, how do relationship evaluations really help? What practical help can I get from them?
I am pleased to announce that Decideware is once again proud to sponsor ProcureCon Marketing, to be held in La Jolla, CA. 5-8 December 2021.
In this webinar, hear from members of Ford's Global Agency Management Team as they share their experience in automating their scope of work and performance evaluation processes globally across all divisions and under tight timelines.
Decideware grew during the GFC.
And through the next decade.
And we’re growing during COVID 2020/21.
That’s because we help advertisers manage their agency relationships – thru’ the good times and the bad.
On 10 April, the Association of National Advertisers published a new article;
"Is AI the End of Agencies As You Know Them?"
which features comments by Decideware, Inc. CEO Richard Benyon.
Agencies are valued partners in advertisers’ evaluation programs. They act as respondents in the relationship surveys our clients conduct, often they’re invited to play a role in shaping the program, and certainly they will engage to act on the findings.
Most agency management programs help companies manage their agency relationships, deliver process efficiencies and savings. But did you know there is more untapped value that Marketing isn’t getting that can help brand teams make more informed decisions and deliver insights to the leadership team to help drive Marketing strategy? During this webinar, Decideware and LinkRFx will share with you how to move up the value pyramid to deliver more strategic value.
In this webinar, you will learn:
Which president is this quote attributed to... "Complaining about a problem without proposing a solution is called whining"?
So what can you do to get the comments you need from your agency evaluations for meaningful action planning?
Are you simply using the "volume control" for your scopes of work? Or are you making sure you have the right mix?
How will you avoid the evaluation black hole?
The middle of the year provides a timely opportunity to touch base with your agencies.
These Northern Hemisphere summer months offer advantages in that the speed of business is relatively a little slower.
Marketers and agency teams might have a little more time to step back, think about their client-agency relationships and complete an evaluation survey.
To register for the webinar, visit: http://www.ana.net/webinars/show/id/COMWWP-180419.
There is no such thing as a perfect agency. While many companies place a considerable amount time selecting which agencies they choose to partner with, sometimes even the "perfect agency" seems to lose its shine after the actual workload begins.
Decideware, in partnership with the World Federation of Advertiser, will present "Agency Evaluation: Results from a 2017 Joint Survey" on September 21st at 10:00 am EST.
Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware presented "Advancing the Agency Evaluation Process" at a April ANA Procurement Series webinar, along with client-side input from Jim Zambito of Johnson & Johnson and Joyce Costello of IBM.
The ANA has just released the June issue of FORWARD, and included is a cutting-edge thought-leadership article by Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware, titled"Why the Right Scope of Work is So Important: An Effective Scope of Work Ensures the Right Work Gets Done in the Right Way".
Richard Benyon, CEO of Decideware, will present "Advancing the Agency Evaluation Process" in an upcoming ANA Procurement Series webinar, along with client-side input from Jim Zambito, Executive Director, Agency Relations and Finance Controller of Johnson & Johnson.
In August 2016, the ANA and Decideware conducted a survey to better understand how companies are using data to manage agency relationships and how learnings from this survey can be applied to optimize client-agency performance.
Many organizations find it so challenging to administer and manage an agency relationship management program that they end up skipping one of the most important phases – Action Planning.
Over time, agency evaluation programs can run out of steam. Some reasons for this can include:
Agency evaluation programs are important but they do have challenges. One of the most important is designing what happens after the people working on the business have completed their questionnaire.
One model you can use to help understand agency performance looks at a “Value Multiplier” – the two main elements all agencies should excel at; Strategy (their thinking) and Core Outputs (including creative ideation). In order to deliver this, the agency needs a set of “Enablers”, specifically their people, and their processes (including their financial management).
Once advertisers have collected their assessments, and analyzed the data, it's time to share comments with their agency and start taking steps to improve operations. Advertisers want to deliver in-depth, but constructive feedback to continue to enhance their relationship with their agencies.
To make better decisions, it is vital to have data you can rely on. An evaluation is nothing without a strong, in-depth question set. Designing questionnaires or scorecards can be one of the more complicated portions of the process, as advertisers need to include input from the various departments interacting with the agency, and in many cases the agencies themselves.
There are key elements that advertisers should consider when developing agency evaluation programs. Frequency, assessment models, and rating scales should all be carefully considered and developed to ensure the success of the program.
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Complaining about a problem without proposing a solution is called whining.” This same principle can be applied to agency performance evaluations. Too often, free-text comments are used to simply complain about an issue, but they don’t provide a proposed solution or action.
Advertisers use evaluations to gauge and manage the success of their relationships with agency partners. These results are typically distributed to client and agency teams. However sometimes, stakeholders aren't properly engaged in the process. Without high rates of participation, advertisers can't fully learn how to improve their agency relationships. Therefore, it's important for advertisers to increase participation in their evaluations to ensure their relationships are strong, the work is good and that it yields the intended results. Here are some steps advertisers can take to do just that:
As the marketing space becomes more complex, advertisers find themselves managing an increasingly diverse roster of agencies and vendors. While maintaining relationships with these partners has always been challenging, it's more difficult now than ever. The better your relationships with agencies, the better their work will be.
A few years back I attended an excellent ANA course in San Francisco. The day's workshop, 'Optimizing the Client/Agency Relationship', focused on relationship management and was run by Joanne Davis, a leading light in this space. One of the key learnings I took from the day was how important it is to be a 'great client'! So how does this apply to agency evaluation?
This is the first article in a series of excerpts from our paper on How Modern Brand Strategies are Affecting the Agency Landscape. The article discusses business-to-consumer companies’ brand portfolio strategy trends, its effect on the creative agency industry, and how you should reflect those in your agency sourcing strategies.
I recently wrote an article about whether or not agency evaluation processes should be modified based on how some companies (such as Adobe, Deloitte and Accenture) have revised employee evaluation programs. Agency evaluations are ultimately performance evaluations of teams and individuals. Although obviously not your employees, your agency teams are often extensions of your marketing departments. Therefore, you can apply the same thinking when developing their evaluation programs.
This is the first article in a series of excerpts from our paper on How Modern Brand Strategies are Affecting the Agency Landscape. The article discusses business-to-consumer companies’ brand portfolio strategy trends, its effect on the creative agency industry, and how you should reflect those in your agency sourcing strategies.
This is the first article in a series of excerpts from our paper on How Modern Brand Strategies are Affecting the Agency Landscape. The article discusses business-to-consumer companies’ brand portfolio strategy trends, its effect on the creative agency industry, and how you should reflect those in your agency sourcing strategies.
The best-practice of performance evaluations for individuals in the workplace is currently going through critical structural changes. Many blue-chip organisations have started to abolish the traditional annual performance review process. Adobe was one of the first companies to let go of an annual performance review process in favor of fluid, more frequent performance discussions that are focused on the delivery of specific tasks. Many more companies (i.e. Deloitte and Accenture) have adopted similar approaches.
Back in 2007, Adweek highlighted the 50 year relationship between Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett and insurance giant, Allstate.
At a time when so much is written about the decline of long term client - agency relationships, this one receives plenty of interest.
The article reveals the five things Lisa Cochrane, Allstate EVP of integrated marketing and Nina Abnee, Burnett EVP of account management learnt from having survived and subsequently prospered from a difficult period in 2003.
They identify 5 important learnings to building a successful long term client – agency relationship:
This is the second article in a series inspired by a book published by Harvard Business School Press called "Managing Performance to Maximize Results". It is a compilation of articles, all based around Human Resources Performance Management - and in many cases the ideas and practical examples have direct parallels in the area of Strategic Relationship Management.
I am currently reading a terrific book by Harvard Business School Press called "Managing Performance to Maximize Results". It is a compilation of articles, all based around Human Resources Performance Management.
What drew me to read it was to investigate parallels between HR Performance Management and Strategic Supplier Relationship Management.
A great deal of theoretical research and practical study has gone into the manager/employee performance management process and I believe we can leverage this body of work to apply to the domain of supplier relationship management.
Many of our clients these days set specific performance objectives for the year. They are often integral to incentive compensation calculations and payments. However, a common frustration is that the relationship evaluation program cannot accommodate measurement of performance against the set objectives. Nor include their level of achievement as a component of the overall outcome.
We would like to thank the Association of National Advertisers (the ANA) for asking us to author their new Insight Brief, Building an Agency Performance Management Program.
Written by Richard Benyon and Steven Wales of Decideware, this paper addresses 10 key topics topics:
This is the second article in a series inspired by a book published by Harvard Business School Press called "Managing Performance to Maximize Results". It is a compilation of articles, all based around Human Resources Performance Management - and in many cases the ideas and practical examples have direct parallels in the area of Strategic Relationship Management.
I recently reading a terrific book by Harvard Business School Press called "Managing Performance to Maximize Results". It is a compilation of articles, all based around Human Resources Performance Management.
What drew me to read it was to investigate parallels between HR Performance Management and Strategic Agency Management.
A great deal of theoretical research and practical study has gone into the manager/employee performance management process and I believe we can leverage this body of work to apply to the domain of agency relationship management.
Questionnaires (or scorecards) are one of the most important elements in an agency evaluation program. Designing good questionnaires requires skill and effort but will contribute to a more effective program.
A common problem we encounter with relationship reviews is that participants at all levels are often unclear about the purpose of the program, and how it is implemented. Typically this problem occurs when a program has been in place for a number of years and has taken on a life of its own. The problem with this state of affairs is that administrators, evaluators and the agencies all become disenchanted and therefore reluctant to participate.
Many organizations find it so difficult to administer and manage an agency relationship management program that they end up skipping the most important phase – Action Planning. The goal of the evaluation process is not simply to gather opinions and information for storage! Rather, the purpose of the program is to develop actions that lead to constant improvement.
This June 2011 issue contains two articles:
"Beyond Cost and Rates: A Practical Guide to Understanding the Value of Agency Relationship" by Steven Wales, which overviews the value of agency relationship and looking beyond the traditional theory of cutting costs. The article explores the "value equation" which views the overall worth of each individual agency relationship.
In "Driving Performance: Key Insights on How to Maximize an Agency Evaluation Program", Richard Benyon interviews Ken Lloyd, author ofPerformance Appraisals and Phrases for Dummies for his perspective on agency evaluation programs and how to maximize the evaluation process.
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