Each Client Opportunity Report (COR) is very individual and yet there are common processes and outcomes. Stories told about the company which is the subject of the COR are very important. These are very often strong memories, and they can reveal motivations and more.
Agency Battlecards
For an agency, competitive agencies were described in the interviews, and the ways those agenc clients compared and chose agencies. Those advantages became part of battle-cards in sales and the website was adjusted. A new story was developed and spread through referral partners.
In potential client meetings, the decision-makers often refer to what competitive agencies have offered. When the presenters knew the strengths of their own agency and vulnerabilities of others, they answered important questions, and were able to give specific advantages. It just involved a little practice and information.
New Content For All Media
The various clients of a business coach tended to tell 3 different ways they compared the coach. Their motivations, emotions and decision criteria pointed to 3 different key messages. In the COR to the coach, clear new messaging was outlined. The agency gained much greater insight and was able to provide honest differentiation with evidence. That messaging improved the social media, SEO, stories for referral partners, presentations and advantages compared to other coaches.
SEO and SM Given Time To Work
Sam had been a very skilled remodeler/renovator for a contractor, before starting his own kitchen and bathroom company. He was not patient with digital marketing and told his agency he was getting calls from other agencies. Based on the insight learned in Sam’s COR, the agency developed a local reputation plan and guided Sam on making in-person contacts. He also learned how to improve his contact list, work a networking event, use questions to get others talking and ways to demonstrate his above-average skills using a variety of testimonials. His online and offline reputation resulted in great new contacts and customers.
Different Agency Clients Describe New Segment
For a COR client, 4 of the interviewees from different companies had similar experiences. Those memories were told a variety of ways yet illustrated a new set of opportunities. Their testimonial quotes became a story-frame and outlined an important client segment for the agency to target. Those narratives also guided the agency on recognizing indicators of segments and how to target them with specific sets of marketing services.
Immediate Referral
Stewart, a CPA, told how he described his marketing agency to a friend, a managing partner at another CPA firm. Stewart’s marketing agency was told immediately about the referral, not needing to wait for the COR analysis and report. That referral was new information to them and they acted on it. Stewart was happy to make the introduction.
Growing an agency’s client base with “preferred” clients instead of “average” is the goal. Learn what others are saying about you, and get a plan to boost your reputation.
