Walk on the client side

Posted on in Small Business Tips, SME Marketing

Find out what the benefits are of working with a marketing consultancy with client-side experience…

Being able to see things from both sides is a great benefit in most lines of work. It’s why journalists make good PR people – having worked on the ‘other side’ they know just what it is that newspaper and magazine writers need to make great stories for their clients.

The same is true in marketing – marketers who have worked client-side generally have a greater understanding and depth of knowledge than those who have only worked in agencies.

Working on the client-side, you are often part of a quite small team, which means that you end up having greater autonomy over strategies and decisions. They are likely to have been involved in everything from the marketing strategy right through to the execution of a campaign. This leads to a better all-round understanding of what is needed – and how to achieve it.

As Roger Hart, CEO and founder of Aesop and Fable, explained to Marketing Week “When you’re client side it’s your baby. When you’re agency side you’re at best babysitting. Depending on the nature of the relationship you’re only seeing a third of the picture.”

Strong commercial skills are also a benefit when you work client-side – the marketer will have had to sell their ideas to senior staff members/board members and so on – and being able to show a strong business case is vital.

This means that when they work for you, they will be able to present their ideas to senior members of your own company and demonstrate that they truly understand the bigger picture.

Also vital for client-side marketing are long-term strategies – you’re looking at two- to five-year plans. So employ this kind of marketer and you’ll find that they are no fly-by-night who will whip up a couple of promotions and then leave you to it – you can expect a detailed, thorough, 360-degree plan that will take you into the future.

Crucially, marketers who have worked client-side will really understand the challenges that face your brand or company – because they have been there themselves. This can save an awful lot of time in the briefing process because you don’t need to explain the issues you come up against, they will already understand.

Alison Page of APM has 25 years of experience working client-side and brings all of these attributes to the table when working with clients.

If you would like to have a chat about your marketing requirements, please call Alison Page on tel: 07963 002065 or email: hello@alisonpagemarketing.co.uk. You can of course browse our website to see what our existing clients have to say about our work.