Defining the Consultant-Agency Relationship

Consultants and marketing agencies have unique strengths and perspectives that makes them prime candidates for partnership. At the very basic level, they need each other. Consultant engagements end where marketing engagements begin, with very little overlap. To be more specific, here are six key reasons why consultant-agency relationships are a good idea:

1. It's a win-win-win.

This arrangement offers benefits for everyone involved. First, and most importantly, the client gets better work because they get a more holistic solution to their problem. Secondly, consultants get more work from the relationships generated by the agency-consultant partnership. And, lastly, the agency gets greater access to different projects and clients.

2. Greater differentiation.

When consultants have the ability to offer design and development services to their clients, they can differentiate. Just the ability to offer a more comprehensive solution to their clients will allow them to be included in engagements in which they normally wouldn't be involved. It’s the same with agencies. When they can offer consulting services, they bring more value to their clients.

3. Longer-lasting, deeper engagements.

When you own a greater share of the client's work, you can do a better job with those projects. And, they are more efficiently executed and completed. Not only is this beneficial for the client, but it allows both the consultant and agency to generate more revenue by spending less time to create the same results. With an upstream or downstream partner, you get to be in more conversations and stay involved as the project develops.

4. Cross-pollination.

Consultants can learn from agencies, and vice-versa. When your personnel are exposed to a whole new way of thinking, working, and understanding the world, interesting things start to happen in your own organization. Even though both are service businesses, they operate in much different ways. Learning from each other makes their own services stronger.

5. Strategic execution.

Strategy and execution are necessarily intertwined. When consultants and agencies work together on a project, it's easier to make sure that the strategy is in line with the execution—and the execution with the strategy. This creates not only stronger design deliverables but also efficiencies in the process—saving time and money.

6. Lower costs to the client.

Agencies, many times, have to retrofit the strategy in order to complete the design executions. This happens more often than anyone would like to admit. With a close agency-consultant relationship, the agency doesn't spend its time trying to rewrite the strategy of the absent consultants. In addition, blended project teams are typically cheaper for the client because there is no ramp-up time required for the agency once the strategy has been completed.

Conclusion

Consultant-agency relationships can be a great idea. These types of partnerships must function as one entity so that there is a consistency of communication and, ultimately, client results. And, as with any other business relationship, the personal interconnections must work. That being said, the benefits of such a relationship outweigh the negatives in almost every circumstance. And, the beauty is that everyone wins.