experience matters

Forrester has an excellent report out this week on how to find an interactive agency. “How To Hire The Right Interactive Agency” was penned by Kerry Bodine. It’s a telling summary of the key challenges the interactive industry faces when prospective clients approach agencies on new business opportunities. Kerry discusses the challenges, key areas where RFP and RFI processes go wrong, and the reality of what it really takes to find a great match between client and agency – whether for a project or a long-term relationship. She goes on to suggest areas where clients need to focus their efforts to find the right agency.

After reading this article, I started to think about our client relationships and the process of finding and cultivating those clients. Something we have learned after 12 years in the business… the selection process is often a reflection of the client experience. And that is often a reflection of the customer experience. Our best client experiences have the best selection experiences. Is it coincidence? I’m beginning to think not. Clients get the agency, and the experience they deserve.

Just last week, we declined an RFP from a major client. It was an assignment where we could have excelled, if the experience were better… It included: rethink their Internet strategy and presence, answer over 200 questions, upload each answer into a procurement system, develop spec creative and a strategic framework for how we would approach the work. The process immediately went south with an archaic procurement system and requirements like allowing the client to interview the team, and nix those they did not want to work with. The proposal also required we be willing to pay performance penalties if the proposal we deliver does not deliver what the client expects. And the kicker – deliver it all in ten days time.

Needless to say, we said no. The “RFP experience” said to us, they don’t care about the customer experience, because they don’t care about the agency selection experience. What was also telling was that their current site experiences were less than stellar. We started to connect the dots.

If you’re a Forrester subscriber, we encourage you click over to Kerry’s article. Full disclosure, because we were one of the agencies that they talked with in formulating the report. But our experiences were echoed by so many others in the Interactive space. Bob Greenberg with R/GA recently wrote an AdWeek article suggesting the RFP process for interactive is broken. His suggestion – just hire an agency for a project and see how they perform. While I’m not quite sure that’s the only answer, it’s an interesting alternative to fast-turnaround requests that don’t truly test the potential experience of working with a client.

What’s your experience in the agency selection process? Kerry’s report suggests it’s a challenge in need of more strategic focus. I know we have trouble doing the two-step when the music suggests it’s a mosh pit we’re being thrown into.