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A clear and concise scope of work is one of the most important documents when beginning an agency/client relationship. As the relationship matures and the ways of doing business change, how often do you revisit the scope of work? What should an agency be responsible for? Has that changed with technology and increased business pressures?
The concept of swim lanes isn’t new, but it’s the best term to define the problem and opportunities faced in automotive marketing. The roles of Marketing Communications Companies, Internet Manager, and BDC Managers are becoming blurred. Is the agency responsible for selecting 3rd party lead providers? Is it the BDC Managers’ responsibility to make sure inventory listings are up to date with correct pricing and information? Is it the Internet Managers’ responsibility to update website with correct incentives? Best answer to all these questions: It depends.
Each client situation and objectives will answer the questions posed above. What’s important is to define who does what upfront and revisit roles often. Without clear and defined swim lanes, problems will occur and opportunities missed.
We all know it can be difficult to refuse a client request. Especially when what is being requested is by itself, benign. But over time, these benign requests build and before you know it, you’re swim lane has widened. The danger is sometimes an agency isn’t the best equipped to handled the additional responsibilities, nor is it really an agency core competency.
We’ve had success with our clients by communicating regularly on roles, responsibilities and results. If something isn’t working, we work as a team to figure out a solution. If responsibilities shift, we adjust our swim lanes accordingly and publish the revised scope of work. This seems like basic operating procedure, but we hear stories all the time about agency and client relationships that seem to operate without clear, defined roles.
When the last time you looked at your swim lanes?
Key to a successful agency relationship: Define swim lanes
Monday, April 7th, 2014
A clear and concise scope of work is one of the most important documents when beginning an agency/client relationship. As the relationship matures and the ways of doing business change, how often do you revisit the scope of work? What should an agency be responsible for? Has that changed with technology and increased business pressures?
The concept of swim lanes isn’t new, but it’s the best term to define the problem and opportunities faced in automotive marketing. The roles of Marketing Communications Companies, Internet Manager, and BDC Managers are becoming blurred. Is the agency responsible for selecting 3rd party lead providers? Is it the BDC Managers’ responsibility to make sure inventory listings are up to date with correct pricing and information? Is it the Internet Managers’ responsibility to update website with correct incentives? Best answer to all these questions: It depends.
Each client situation and objectives will answer the questions posed above. What’s important is to define who does what upfront and revisit roles often. Without clear and defined swim lanes, problems will occur and opportunities missed.
We all know it can be difficult to refuse a client request. Especially when what is being requested is by itself, benign. But over time, these benign requests build and before you know it, you’re swim lane has widened. The danger is sometimes an agency isn’t the best equipped to handled the additional responsibilities, nor is it really an agency core competency.
We’ve had success with our clients by communicating regularly on roles, responsibilities and results. If something isn’t working, we work as a team to figure out a solution. If responsibilities shift, we adjust our swim lanes accordingly and publish the revised scope of work. This seems like basic operating procedure, but we hear stories all the time about agency and client relationships that seem to operate without clear, defined roles.
When the last time you looked at your swim lanes?
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