Four client benefits to working with an external agency

After a 20 + year career working client side in professional services, specifically on in-house events, hospitality, and operations, the leap to agency side has not been for the faint of heart.  While I was deliberate in my decision that my next career move be both ‘unique/different’ and part of a long-term growth strategy, the learning for me has stretched beyond just career benefits. Service and overall customer experience are still key, but here are four of my key learnings going into 90-days in my new role and why I strongly believe that clients can really benefit from working with external agencies:

1. THE PACE OF DECISION MAKING

• While overall volume of work and managing competing priorities is on par with corporate roles, one key distinction is that agencies are inherently built to make decisions quickly, deliberately, and confidently while moving at a whole different speed. This assists clients who frequently face numerous approval stages and excessive internal focus. Agencies operate at a high and purposeful speed compared to their corporate counterparts!   
• This speed and agility also have the benefit of providing clients with real-time results and pivoting when needed, often mid-project. This is rare on the corporate side. 

2. INCREASED COLLABORATION

• Agencies operate with far less red tape than big corporations. The pace of decision making and execution favours collaboration which means no team silos! Clients benefit from multiple and diverse voices on one team working collaboratively and quickly toward one united end goal.   
• Agency account teams are staffed to work as one team in delivering a seamless client experience.  
• Unlike clients, agencies ensure clear roles are defined as per each SOW and then work as one to meet deadlines and support one another during each planning phase. 

3. CROSS INDUSTRY EXPERTISE

• Agencies offer their teams exposure to a variety of clients, brands and industries beyond one organization. For example, Proof Experiences is a differentiator when it comes to servicing a variety of industries and has large brand reach. This breadth of talent and industry experience benefits our clients by providing multiple opinions and experiences when working on their business.  No group think! 

4. INCREASED INNOVATION

• Clients benefit from increased innovation and creativity with external agency team members who can work across industries and businesses and then bring that experience to the table. Challenges and learning in one category are shared across businesses to everyone’s benefit. 
• Agencies pride themselves on being leaders in trends, tools, and various ways of operating and testing.  They have access to completely different resources than internal teams and can complement and expand collective resources for their clients.