It’s that time of year … time to go back to school. No, not the kids, but us here at R+K. Time to dig deep and learn more about the trends affecting our industry and the industries of our clients.
Recently our agency held a “Stories from the Road” session for all off our staff. In it, several R+Kers shared takeaways from the seminars, conferences and workshops they recently attended.
One nice piece of information that our SVP Jeff Walter shared was that a number of millennials who grew up using mobile devices are now in getting into decision-making positions (in marketing or procurement departments). These millennial decision-makers rely on mobile devices to search for potential contractors, including agencies. Since 93 percent of decision-makers on the client side begin their agency search of prospective agencies online, it points to the importance of having a mobile-optimized website (for that mobile device-obsessed group) that shows off your agency’s capabilities, personality and, maybe even more importantly, its ability to resolve clients’ problems.
Which gets me to a point our President/CEO Diane Martin brought up, when meeting a new business contact don’t necessarily talk about “you the agency.” Make the conversation about them. Engage them on what their issues and challenges are then integrate what the agency does well and how the agency has developed solutions for those facing similar situations.
As a PR practitioner, I am always seeking out more how my profession continues to evolve. When I started out in the agency world, the media was a primary source of information for clients’ target audiences. They still are but many times to a lesser degree. Now clients’ are publishing their own content driving customers to their own channels and bypassing the media. Part of this process involves social PR. Social channels are now sources of media for clients’ customers … and even media, too. Another part is search. It is critical for us to understand what the intent of the searcher is, because those folks are seeking out news about our clients and their brands. We – and our clients – need to provide valued content the audience can find easily. Moreover, as our VP of PR Rob Merritt noted during our session, search outlets have now surpassed media in terms of trustworthiness, making search an essential element of any communications plan moving forward.
I appreciate that Rhea + Kaiser holds these “Stories from the Road” sessions. Not only is great information shared, but it also builds teamwork and enhances communication. If your agency, business or organization does not conduct these learnings sessions on a regular basis, I would wholeheartedly recommend it, because going “back to school” can provide a fresh perspective, a friendly reminder and a few new ideas that you can integrate into your communications efforts.