2020 has certainly been an unusual year for everyone, not only for businesses. With the office-based workforce all working from home, this experience, for some has been rather isolating. This isolation is something that has been felt across all industries including agencies.
That is why collaboration between agencies on a number of factors is more important now than it ever has been. As business owners we are all guilty of feeling that other agencies are ‘competition’ or the ‘enemy’ but in fact the opposite is true.
Whilst there are crossovers in the services that you provide – and in that sense you could be considered competition – other agencies are in fact a wealth of experience, knowledge and resources. Every agency offers their services in a manner unique to them, and every team member brings their own experience, life view and creative flair to any commission. Therefore, rather than considering other agencies as ‘the enemy’, by collaborating with them you are able to draw on the collective knowledge they have – and vice versa – which can only be beneficial to your business.
At this time of market disruption those in the creative industries should be supporting each other and helping each other out. And one way of doing this is to share common resources between agencies.
The concept of collaboration across industries is commonplace with regular collaborations between marketing, photographers and copywriters happening as par for the course.
However, collaboration between agencies offering the same services seems to be slower in becoming established, even though it can:
- Highlight your agency’s strengths (and weaknesses)
- Increase your agency’s skill set
- Enable you to serve your clients’ needs more effectively
- Allow more efficient problem solving
- Boost morale amongst your staff
- Open new communication channels
As a means of encouraging more collaboration, Agency Local has asked Alex Rigg from Agency Pond to host our next Ask the Expert online event. Alex has worked in agencies for seven years in various data and analytics roles. He has also launched a new platform which allows agencies to outsource their personnel to other agencies. At the Ask the Expert event Alex will be talking about ‘sharing and managing resources between agencies’ including the different ways you can make this beneficial for both parties as well as managing resources within an agency.
The key takeaways Alex will be emphasising in his talk will be:
- Most other agencies are not your competition
- A small increase in utilisation rate gives an outsized increase in profit
- Sharing people is a way through a period of market disruption
There will also be a chance to have your questions answered in the Q&A afterwards.
So, be sure to register for a place today on Eventbrite.
- Wednesday 21st October
- 2pm via Zoom
- £10 + fees (free to members)