The Importance of the IDEA FACTORY

Here are a few things you can do to lay the groundwork:

• Know your clients and their businesses as well as they do themselves.
• Follow multiple sources that impact your clients’ business.
• Meet with or talk to experts and key influencers in your clients’ fields.
• Visit the clients’ offices and meet with as many people as you can.
• Listen more initially and resist the urge to offer quick feedback.
• Do not always wait for regularly scheduled client meetings or conference calls to share “breaking information” that could assist them.
• Always be thinking of other services in which you could interest your clients.
• Try to anticipate how your ideas will be received by the client and be prepared to leap into action.
• Make proactive information gathering and idea generation a part of your personal and corporate culture.

Here are several scenarios when the “big idea,” strategic thinking or research made a difference:

When the pressure was on:

A global corporate client with multiple, complex products needed it boiled down to a simple concept that anyone could understand. A brainstorming session on a federal holiday led to the winning theme, which landed our agency a $7 million annual account.

When listening paid dividends:

We pitched a statewide community college system for a comprehensive marketing campaign and, because we listened carefully, we heard the chancellor begging for help on a smaller project. Doing a great job on that project got us closer to winning the statewide campaign.

When partnerships were forged:

Leveraging a Veterans History Project and bringing in college journalism students to assist, we created an award-winning “Take a Veteran to School Day” campaign for the cable industry that we also replicated in another state.

Following these key principles and adding your brand value may help you retain some clients beyond the original contract, gain repeat business from decision-makers, and maintain trusted relationships for decades.