Five years ago I began one of the biggest adventures of my life and started to build a company called F6 Agency Ltd. A company that started with two individuals, from our spare bedrooms, wanting more out of life and the drive to make a difference in the marketing and advertising industry. Today, I am proud to say that we have grown into what I believe is a great company, best known for building long lasting relationships with our clients in order to grow and become successful together.
There are around 26,000 marketing and related service providers in the UK alone, which I would imagine would make selecting a new agency a bit of a challenge for clients. How do clients choose the right agency? What are the key attributes they look for? How do they recognise the charlatans from the masters? And does size really matter?
I recently asked a good friend of mine, who has had many years experience with working with various size marketing and advertising agencies, what he thought about the industry as a whole. His feedback was as follows:“It is becoming less and less the case of ‘the big fish eating the little fish’ and more like the ‘fast fish eating the slow fish’, so size really doesn’t matter!”
I found this interesting and couldn’t agree more with him. In today’s digital world, it’s key for brands to be early adopters of new technologies and stay on top of emerging trends. It’s about having an agency that’s agile, is able to change direction at a moment’s notice, anticipating a competitor’s next move and outmanoeuvring them.
Smaller boutique agencies have the ability to respond more promptly, with enthusiasm and insight. They show a genuine interest in understanding a client’s business and their requirements. They can offer a quality bespoke service that is built around a client’s needs and can be flexible in order to help drive sales.
A boutique agency in effect becomes your outsourced marketing team, rather than just another supplier. Therefore chemistry plays a huge part as well. When you have chemistry with someone, you just feel it. Compatibility and chemistry are often ignored over just wanting to get the job done, but it should be one of the most important elements to help drive the ease of communication between the agency and the client. For all communication to be effective, realistic expectations, budgets, and objectives need to be clearly outlined by both sides, as you are all working towards the same goal in the end.
Experience and knowledge is essential to suggest creative concepts that fit the overall business strategy and objectives to deliver against KPI’s. It still amazes me how often I hear about bigger agencies sending in their ‘A-team’ to pitch for business or a particular project, to then swap in a junior team once awarded the client account. The trust and value of the business relationship is then lost from the beginning, and the experience and expertise creates an undesirable working relationship. The benefit of working with a boutique agency is the personal approach. The owner of the business is there from the start and will be heavily involved in all decision making, which helps build a strong and effective working relationship.
It has been incredibly rewarding to get to where we are today. F6 Agency is celebrating its FIVE year anniversary this month. But above all, it has been the learning experience of a lifetime to build, execute, and create a business where the people in the business are the most important. We have a culture at F6 Agency that inspires each and everyone of us to help create value for our clients. We have the same beliefs and passion that operates with integrity and professionalism. It’s not about the growth of the company, it’s about how we make a difference and how we help our clients to meet their goals. If you think our agency may be a good fit for your company, please email us on hello@f6agency.com or call us on 0800 0368 930
