Mad Men set the stage for brand and agency relationships, and as marketers, weโve been trying to overcome this blow to our image ever since. And while I jokingly refer to myself as the millennial Ken Cosgrove, the fact is that attitudes about conflict in the workplace have evolved significantly since the 1960โs Madison Avenue era, even as our architecture on the moon hasnโt.
Productively dealing with conflict between brands and agencies is essential to not only a good relationship, but good results from your marketing efforts. And the bottom line is that if youโre not experiencing some degree of productive conflict with your agency, you need to re-evaluate what that word means and what it can do for your business.
Brand vs. Agency Conflict
โConflictโ is when ideas clash. There doesnโt have to be a series of escalating attacks or raised voices. Itโs simply a disagreement or a misunderstanding. And believe it or not, it often comes down to a singular point of contention. But even a dispute on a single item can lead to significant implications and big decisions surrounding marketing strategy. Conflict handled poorly leads to fights and guaranteed un-met KPIs. A conflict that is handled well leads to revelations.
Maybe your agency is trying to force a conversation about content development while the brand is heads-down on an upcoming sale of their product. I can clearly picture this meeting, where everyone involved is frustrated and asking themselves, โwhy are they talking about that when this is what we should be talking about?โ You could chalk it up to competing priorities, or poor communication, the agency not listening to the brand, or the brand not understanding the value of their blog or all sorts of reasons. But instead of pontificating at length, itโs a lot simpler and more effective to borrow a tactic from your favorite five-year-old and ask โwhyโ until the answer becomes clear.
First, letโs look at this situation from the brandโs perspective:
The agency is pushing for content development.
Why?
Because the blog needs more posts.
Why?
Because blog traffic has been significantly outperforming other channels.
Why?
Because the blog is mostly Evergreen content, and the posts keep bringing high-intent users to the site organically, and these conversions have zero ad cost.
This already helps clear up some of the underlying rationales behind the agencyโs recommendations. But before we make up our mind, letโs look at this same situation from the agencyโs side to see where the brand could be coming from.
The brand wants to focus on an upcoming sale.
Why?
Because the last sale didnโt perform very well.
Why?
Because click costs were higher than expected, and the conversion rate was lower than expected.
Why?
Because more competitors have entered our advertising space, and weโre sending users to pages that havenโt been updated.
Before we talk about our point of disagreement, what do our agency and brand agree on in this scenario? Itโs clear that theyโre both after increasing revenue. One could assume revenue is the metric identified as the priority at the beginning of the engagement. The point of disagreement here is how to increase revenue; the agency thinks itโs by eliminating ad costs by focusing on organic strategy, and the brand thinks itโs by improving their paid strategy. Great; now that we know what weโre actually disagreeing on, we can have a real conversation.
Why is the brand prioritizing paid over organic if click costs are rising? Maybe itโs because itโs only in recent years that the annual sale hasnโt performed well, and paid strategy is a major reason that senior leadership wanted to hire the agency in the first place. This context is important to have, and these are questions that need to be answered to drive a marketing strategy forward that will result in increased revenue and appease stakeholders. Itโs also a conversation that wonโt happen if our fictitious agency and brand avoid the conflict altogether.
Your agency has reasons for pushing the strategy that they do, and the same is true for brands. But if you donโt take the time to push aside the discomfort borne of our conflict-avoidance culture and ask, โwhy?โ youโll never find out.
Why Conflict Happens Between Brands and Agencies
Conflict in business happens when you get two different people in the same (virtual) room talking to each other. Itโs the price we pay for the benefit of having different perspectives, schools of thought, and backgrounds. I made a somewhat inflammatory comment at the beginning of this post that if youโre not experiencing conflict with your agency to some degree, something is broken. And I stand by that. If youโre not clashing with your agency, at least sometimes, it means that someone(s) is keeping their opinion quiet or withholding information.
In defense of the quiet, conflict-avoiding people of the world, itโs incredibly popular and trendy to try to avoid conflict in the workplace. But I write โtryโ to avoid conflict on purpose because conflict will inevitably erupt anyway. It may just happen behind closed doors, through snide comments, or in private meetings. The best marketing strategy comes from a brand-agency partnership where people feel they can challenge each otherโs ideas, ask tough questions, and provide feedback. The worst marketing strategy comes from a quiet partnership, where people avoid disagreements, accept the plan as given, and withhold their insight.
The Right Way to Handle Conflict In The Workplace
Now that Iโve hopefully convinced you that conflict is part and parcel of a healthy brand-agency relationship, letโs discuss the ground rules of how to wield this tool most effectively. Again, weโll default to some good old playground guidelines as our baseline: no biting, no fighting, and no name-calling. But weโll add a few extra.
1. Donโt Avoid Conflict
Avoiding conflict is natural. Itโs encouraged from a young age, and it is terrible for business. Conflict avoidance leads to โconflict debt,โ which is just as fun as any other sort of debt:
As Liane Davey put it: โConflict debt is the sum of all the contentious issues that need to be addressed to be able to move forward but instead remain undiscussed and unresolved. It can be as simple as withholding feedback and as profound as deferring a strategic decisionโ.
2. Recognize Conflict as Necessary for Progress
Donโt get angry at someone for having a different perspective and doing their job. Instead of avoiding conflict or taking it as a personal attack, re-frame it as something necessary for progress and part of the reason youโre working with these person(s) in the first place. Conflict is part of the process because it provides the chance to listen and learn. Make an effort to change your teamโs attitude about conflict; see conflict as an opportunity to view an issue from multiple angles, not an obstacle you have to fight your way through.
3. Donโt Start at the Beginning
Julie Andrews may disagree, but tracing back threads of conflict to the start can quickly devolve into a โwho started itโ blame game. When youโre in the moment and ideas are flowing and tempers are high, donโt focus too much on how you got there; that part comes later, with the gift of 20/20 hindsight. At the point of conflict, itโs essential to focus on resolution, not origination.
4. Remember the End Goal
You all want the same thing at the end of the quarter; stellar marketing performance, improved KPIs, happy leadership teams. The agency may have the expertise, but the brand has the industry knowledge. The brand knows the ins and outs of their product/service, but the agency knows the ins and outs of digital marketing. We come from different sides of the field, but weโre all on the same team, and weโre all playing to win.
Conclusion
Thereโs no doubt about it; actively engaging in conflict is uncomfortable the first few times you try it. But itโs also a critical part of any brand/agency relationship. If youโre afraid of โrocking the boat,โ you may make mistakes that could have been avoided. If you withhold feedback from a colleague, you may build up an insurmountable amount of resentment and bitterness. Speaking up about different priorities and perspectives, providing additional context or expertise, or pointing out things the team might have overlooked will ultimately improve your marketing strategy and your relationship with your agency. You may not be so โluckyโ to work with Sterling + Cooper, but youโre all on the same team, and the best teams challenge each other.
To get the most out of your partnership and your marketing strategy, you need to be able to reframe how you approach conflict and its place in your business toolbox. Like any tool, deciding whether to use it destructively or constructively is in the hands of the one who wields it. Next time you find yourself in a heated email exchange or tempestuous conference call, lean in and make it productive.
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