An open letter to small agencies: Now’s not the time to play it safe
Many small agencies may not be able to pick up where they left off after COVID-19. Sharon Zeev Poole advises says that to bounce back, they must rely on their guts, hustle and not play it safe.
Dear fellow small-agency owners,
This time just a couple of months ago we were on-boarding our latest recruit, and I was in the midst of uploading a new job role to LinkedIn; what was to be my third hire in six months since being named PRIA’s Boutique Agency of the Year. Our office whiteboard was crammed with exciting campaign opportunities in the pipeline, and my team were pumped about a huge year of success ahead.
Well, I guess you know where this is going – week of March 9 is one that I will never forget. COVID-19 blasted through the door (not literally, thankfully) and the trajectory of our agency for 2020 was on a total and immediate downward spiral. Now a “good day” was one where we didn’t receive a call from a client asking to put their project on hold or wanting to part ways because their business ceased operating overnight.
Within a week, the direction of our agency and its operations had diverted completely from our robust growth plan. Overnight, like many others, we had to frantically pivot client communication approaches and widen our business offerings to stay alive. It felt like a mad race against the clock as our minds went into strategy and execution overdrive. From crisis comms, to content creation, video editing and webinar strategy to online tasting events, we were doing it all and at lightning speed. And it worked. Those calls stopped, we stabilised, and our team survived.
Great advice Sharon – although I think now is the time when smaller agencies will thrive – so long as they are nimble and quick, and can help their clients pivot, quickly. Larger agencies are more expensive, and usually cannot change as swiftly as a smaller agency. Clients want value – they resent the fees the larger agencies charge. In today’s fast moving COVID-19 media cycle, agencies need to seize opportunities instantly and advise clients appropriately. If an agency can do that, it will be streets ahead of the competition. They also need to offer value.
Brilliant article Sharon, my thoughts exactly well done and thank you for sharing. Gilles and the Yakusan team 🙂
Good stuff Sharon thank you. Please keep sharing your insights, they’re invaluable to the communications industry. Onwards and upwards!
Pivot, the new lean in,which was the new reaching out,which was the new journey which was…..
For f?$&@ sake stop the jargon!!!!
Great article and mindset Sharon. Many successful small and medium PR agencies have been built on their ability to think laterally and evolve quickly; it is a built-in component of our culture and it means we can move out of protection mode and into progressing new ways of working, faster.