July 15, 2008 | Author: Ron Baker
The history of commerce teaches us that almost every single innovative pricing change has been done by sellers, not buyers. This is because most pricing strategies are often changes in business models — that is, how companies monetize the value they create.
Yet, across the professional knowledge sector we hear endlessly how firms and their clients are going to have to jointly get rid of the billable hour. This is nonsense.
Intellectual capital isn't sold by the hour
Professional firms will have to eliminate the billable hour by changing their...
Read More
January 15, 2008 | Author: Tim Williams
Survey the thousands of advertising agency websites and you'll find that most of them contain the word "partnership." As if it were a unique point of difference of some kind, agencies almost universally use "partnership" as a selling point, with language like:
"We are true partners with our...
Read More
December 15, 2007 | Author: Tim Williams
Agency professionals are rightly concerned about whether they have the right set of business practices to guide them through today's cross-functional multi-channel marketing environment. This becomes an even more burning issue when applied to the question of how agencies get paid for what they do.
Estimating mistakes
Now more than ever, agencies are struggling to keep their margins. Many agency managers believe that a big part of the problem is their agency's tendency to chronically exceed estimated time on client relationships and assignments. So many agency organizations are feverishly...
Read More
September 15, 2007 | Author: Tim Williams
Besides doing good quality work, there are a number of things agencies can do to justify charging a premium price for what they do. Economists and professional pricers teach these principles in other industries; there's no reason we can't apply them to the advertising business.
Fixed price vs. variable price. A fixed-rate mortgage always costs more than a variable-rate one. That's because there's value in knowing exactly what you're going to pay for a service or outcome.
Service guarantee. Offering a 100% guarantee that your client will be pleased with your services...
Read More
May 15, 2007 | Author: Tim Williams
It surprises most agency professionals to learn that many clients are intensely interested in exploring a value-based compensation arrangement with their agencies. A recent position paper from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) states it clearly: "Traditional metrics used in today's...
Read More
Questions or feedback? Contact us.
Copyright © 2011 Ignition Consulting Group, Inc. Terms of Service
