7 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL AGENCY ASSESSMENT & PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

By Ranji David, Marketing Director Asia, WFA

The WFA Workshop on Successful Agency Management in Singapore on 12 August saw a select group of marketing, sourcing and media professionals come together for an engaging half-day of breakout sessions and group discussions that saw participants huddled together in deep conversation, even during break times. Conducted in close collaboration with WFA’s optimisation partner The Observatory, the day built on survey results to define key challenges for advertisers in the area of agency management.

With the #1 priority identified as Agency Assessment and Performance Management, everyone quickly got down to not only addressing the main issues within the space, but also identifying actionable solutions for practical execution.

7 steps to successful Agency Assessment & Performance Management:

1. Measurement isn’t the end goal. It’s the start of the process.
   Don’t assume that measurement will offer actionable solutions per se; it’s about making sure that both marketing and agency teams are involved and engaged in setting and agreeing to KPIs at the start of the process as well as the actions to be taken if KPIs are not met. And, this needs to be measured and monitored closely throughout the journey.
2. Don’t hesitate to over-communicate.
   If, for a start, you’re unsure what you should measure, undertake a discussion or conduct a workshop with your agency and internal stakeholders to align and set KPIs together.
3. Build common KPIs across the team.
   Agency KPIs should be aligned with marketing KPIs for common KPIs that both marketer and agency can be jointly measured on and incorporates: a. business / marketing performance as well as; b. operational performance. These should also be set and shared across the agency roster.
4. Get everyone to the table.
   Inter-agency KPI setting adds an extra level of complexity to assessment & performance management. To ensure that shared goals are established and committed to, make sure to have complete working sessions with all agencies present at the time of the project kick off.
5. Senior-management support will ensure that performance management is prioritized.
   Internal resources can sometimes be too time-poor to perform proper analysis or follow through with actionable solutions. Securing the buy-in of senior business and marketing leaders in support of the agency assessment & performance management programme will help ensure that analysis and actions are committed to.
6. Technology can provide timely solutions.
   The measurement of performance information and subsequent results isn’t always delivered in a timely manner, but this is where technology can assist in accelerating the process. An online feedback platform can enable real time input for immediate results.
7. If all else fails, make it personal.
   Even when agency assessments are compulsory and frequent, the best systems in the best of times can sometimes still result in vague viewpoints that are unsubstantiated or just incomplete. Consider scheduling face-to-face sessions (or phone interviews) with key stakeholders to facilitate the process and ensure that you get the information that you need.

In addition to tackling Agency Assessment & Performance Management, the following topics were also discussed in detail:

• Designing & detailing your agency scope of work
• Designing your agency roster to fit your scope of work
• Benchmarking agency fee proposals
• Getting your agency proposals working smoothly

Source: WFA