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Give Your Outsourced Service Providers a Seat at the Table
According to a recent survey by Deloitte Consulting in New York, 70% of executives said they have had ?significant negative experiences? when out-sourcing projects. These days though, as companies focus their efforts on their core business, out-sourcing is becoming more and more common. The way business is conducted has changed considerably in the last decade and will continue to change at a frantic pace for the foreseeable future. Regular transformations are demanded of managers and the world has indeed become a global village. S Dharma (Metric Consultancy, India) states ?the model for business success is no longer the hermetically sealed firm but is now a dynamically evolving network of cooperating actors with each actor contributing to the process of value generation?.
In the marketing services world, having a poor relationship with vendors such as advertising, PR and research agencies can be a grave mistake. These firms are key influencers in the shape of your customer?s brand experience. So while it is increasingly important to make sure your dealings with service providers are positive it would appear from the Deloitte findings this is not always easy to achieve.
Given the interdependence mentioned above, surely it no longer makes sense (if it ever did) to keep service providers at arms length. Agencies are able to add maximum value only when they are involved in the process. This seems so obvious that perhaps it doesn?t need to be stated at all but in my experience the obvious doesn?t happen. More often than not the client only calls the service provider to deal with a specific issue. But when a client simply calls their research agency and says ?we need you to do some research to find out ?? they do not establish a relationship. Thus, they do not get the full benefit of the agency?s expertise and experience. Only once the two parties have come together and the supplier is able to ask questions such as ?What is the strategy? Who are you trying to reach? What are your goals?? is the service provider able to engage and to add value.
According to David Cason (JTI, Geneva) ?it is critical for services suppliers to get close to customers? closeness means they understand the dynamics of the client?s business, the background, the focus, the strategic intent.? This is echoed in the words of Mike Davidson (previously Barclays and NIC Banks, Nairobi) ?Provided one is satisfied with the quality of the individual provider (and this is critical), it is essential to bring each and every one into the whole process from end to end. The more they understand about the business the better; their input will improve. Input from service providers has been vital in all that I have achieved.?
David Cason takes this a step further and suggests ?hypothetically, if the service supplier stepped into the business itself as a replacement for current management, the result should be a seamless process because the marketing service company would know so much about the business they would be able to run it themselves without issue. This is how I see an ideal marketing services supplier?
Putting it in perspective perhaps, Mike Davidson cautions ?Consutlants are not cheap and to get the best from them they must be given as much opportunity to understand the proposition if they are to make a major contribution?.
In my view, having outsourced advisors feel like insiders can only be good for your business.
