10 Reasons why your small agency is the best fit for a big company

Small agencies are already working with large clients.

You don’t have to read this Psychology Today article to recognize the unfortunately all-too common human tendency to self-sabotage. We don’t take meaningful action toward the attainment of our loftier goals because we’ve already convinced ourselves that it’s too difficult. Even impossible. We dream dreams and then tear them down.

Sound familiar? On a personal level, perhaps?

Well, have you ever told yourself “massive companies only work with massive marketing agencies”? This is a professional self-sabotage red alert. Big companies are working with small marketing agencies. Right now. On an increasing basis. In fact, in a lot of cases, they’re seeking them out. Why?

 Ten reasons your smaller marketing agency is the most appropriate fit for a big company

 1.      No complacency. Big agencies can get complacent. What would landing a huge client mean to you?

Exactly.

To a big agency, a big client is, well, just another client. Small agencies are beyond passionate about doing a good job for their client and this is a breeding ground for focus, creativity and diligence.

2.    The Ringlemann Effect. This phenomenon is simply ‘the tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases’. As a small, lean agency, you’re not so big you need positions as specialist as Team Envelope-Licker. You’re a crack team of specialists with a broad skill set who are collaborative, creative and productive.

3.      No red tape. Bureaucracy is the Kryptonite of innovation. Without the corporate rule book you’ve got a climate for outside the box thinking and, frankly, ‘just-getting-on-with-it-ness’.

4.      Less sales-y. Your agency needs to make money – obviously. But you’re not consumed by numbers. It doesn’t dictate every strategy and determine every action. There is a genuine excitement for, and love of, the work you do. This will be obvious. 

5.    Transparency. Small agencies do not have the same rabbit warren-like structure of a mid to large business. There aren’t hundreds of departments. You won’t be put on hold while you’re transferred to Margaret from accounts and then back to Aaron from the Creative Team once your query has actually been understood. The staff at a small or boutique marketing agency are communicative and available. If someone other than the recipient of the call holds vital information material to the call – well, they can just shout their name across the office. The client can reach you immediately to know what’s going on.

6.      Flexibility. Smaller agencies are lean, flexible and adaptable. If your client wants something done, you’ll get it done. You don’t have to put the project through operational protocols in order to correctly assign resources and project manage it to death. On the contrary, a small agency will just get on with it. If the direction your client takes suddenly changes you can steer with immediacy and not come crashing off the road.

7.    Relevance. Andrea Brimmer, CMO at Ally Financial, in an interview with AdAge, said ”..we really like the ability for our smaller agencies to move quickly and at the speed of the realities of the marketplace. And we really are attracted to that because we want to move at that same speed.” Let’s face it, if you’re good at what you do, you’re probably ahead of the curve. You can afford to experiment and take risks which makes you cutting edge. Forward thinking companies of all sizes want cutting edge.

8.    No BS. Boutique agency staff haven’t undergone the Corporate brainwashing that makes all staff use the same terminology and buzzwords which seems to have the effect of doubling the length of conversations while halving their meaning (side note: hilarious further reading on this phenomenon here). Clients want straight talking. When they ask for an update, they want to the point answers; progress, timescales, barriers.

9.      Affordability. Some big agencies, used to working with massive businesses, will see them as a bit of a blank cheque. They will have, over time, ramped up their costs because they know a) their clients can afford it and b) their clients will pay it. Big businesses are getting wise to this and when they come across a small agency who can maintain or improve quality at a lower price point… well, you can imagine the outcome.

10.  Sunk Cost Fallacy. This is another phenomenon found in big business: the notion that a team or idea, having received historic significant investment, is continually used as a solution, regardless of its effectiveness. A bigger agency, having just invested significantly into new email marketing infrastructure, may try to shoehorn all their clients needs into that particular solution to justify it / pay it back. Small agencies usually remain open-minded and take a solution-agnostic approach.

 Go forth and multiply

Let these reasons be your motivation to act and land your first big-budget client. Beyond that, let these reasons permeate your dialogue when talking to bigger potential clients. Embody them as an agency. Finally, let them be the clear and resounding facts that a decision-maker at a big business can’t get out of their head - thus, electing to choose your agency.

This article was co-authored with Susan Werkner, Co-Founder of The Agency Accelerators