Measurement or Management? - There Really is only One Choice

When we launched Aprais in Australia and New Zealand in 1999,  true relationship management processes simply did not exist. Not only were we the first to establish the concept in this Region, we were one of the first countries in the world to introduce relationship management per se.

Whilst some more enlightened clients (e.g. Nestle, Suncorp and Toyota) were not only very interested in the concept, but became our "early adopters", I would have to say that most clients simply were not. The philosophy of "true partnership" between Clients and their marketing and advertising suppliers was the exception rather than the rule, with most relationships working rather on a Master-Servant basis.

As a result of this, few Agencies had any interest in talking to us-let alone supporting us. Why? Because they (wrongly) believed that Aprais was just another tool designed to beat them severely around the ears!

Nonetheless, we totally believed in the work we were doing and so we persisted.

Now, 11 years on:

-  The market has dramatically altered via an explosion in new media opportunities;

-  Most major clients are using some form of relationship measurement or management tool;

-  The Master-Servant relationship culture is in decline, as clients realise it cannot produce the results they both want and need in this environment;

-  Agencies have become some of the strongest supporters of the concept;

-  Relationship measurement and management has increasingly become a standard part of the Marketing Procurement process;

-  Aprais now operates in over 50 countries via 24 offices worldwide and has conducted over 9,000 separate relationship appraisals analysing over 10 million individual data inputs during that time;

-  A whole new industry has now been established with multiple options available from a number of different suppliers both in Australia and around the world.

When visiting prospective clients these days, we ask them a very simple question.

"Why Do You Want To Embark on a Relationship Management Process??"

The answers we hear are many and varied. Some however, can be a little concerning, such as:

"I want to measure my Agency's performance"

"I want to hold my Agency more accountable for their performance"

"I want to be able to compare relative performance between my Agencies"

"I need a measurement tool for PBR"

On a couple of occasions we've even had a response of "I want to show them how badly they are performing so that they understand why I'm firing them"

In that case, we tell them to firstly fire their agency, appoint a new one and then come and talk to us.

But what is it that concerns us about such responses?

It's just one simple fact:

Whilst they are all valid, they are clearly looking for a MEASUREMENT system, not a total RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT process.

As far as we are concerned, measurement is nothing but a minor means to a much more important end.

When we come across such responses, we tell clients that there is a myriad of cheaper options than Aprais, ranging from some of our competitors offerings, right down to using Survey Monkey if they wish to do it themselves at almost no cost.

In truth, there is only ONE reason to invest in a process such as Aprais.

That is you sincerely wanting to IMPROVE the relationship you have with your Marketing Partners, resulting in a better understanding of the often complex client/agency cultures and processes, significantly improved productivity, better work and ultimately a better return on your marketing investment. There is literally no other valid reason to use relationship management, and in 90% of cases, we achieve continuous relationship improvement over time for both Clients and Agencies.

Regrettably, there are still a number of marketers who remain committed to a Master Servant approach to Agency relationships, as they truly believe that this is the way to get the best out of their agencies.

It isn't!

The  recently, commissioned study of the Aprais database done by The Advertising and Marketing Roundtable, (a division of Corporate Executive Board) clearly demonstrates this fact.

They found that advertisers, who have achieved "Client of Choice" status with their Agencies, gained an increase in the agencies commitment to their business of up to 28%.

That is, up to 28% greater commitment to a Clients business at no additional cost!

But what exactly does this mean? For a client it means:

     The Best Agency talent working on the business;

     Higher levels of Agency Initiative delivered on the business;

     Senior Management directly involved in the business;

     The agency working beyond pure advertising to become a business partner;

     Understanding and working within Client cultures, systems and processes to improve productivity and working methodologies generally.

What is the Result?

Better relationships, better work and better business results for your marketing investment.

So how do you become a Client of Choice?

Come and talk to us and we'll show you.

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