5 Ways Small is Beating Big for Flagship Clients | Sales | Small business news; tips; networking

Posted by bloggertone under SugarTone
From http://bloggertone.com 5364 days ago
Made Hot by: HeatherStone on March 16, 2010 3:38 pm

How is this possible? How are Chris Brogan and Jason Falls beating Oglivy Interactive, BBDO, Campbell-Ewald and the like for big-time interactive marketing and social media clients. How is Jeremiah Owyang and Altimeter Group beating Forrester and Gartner?

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Comments

Written by nialldevitt
5363 days ago

Hi Bill, wonderful post! could easily be applied to this #Sugartone comp :-) Bloggertone & BizSugar have two wonderful tribes who work hard for each other. Bringing the two together and we are greater than the sum of our parts. I think your point about hunger is also well made. it ties well into the fact that we are now all operating in a ever changing and quick moving environment, small invariably are the ones driving this change where as big prefers the status quo. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Niall

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Written by billrice
5362 days ago

Thanks Niall. I agree Sugartone is great and you guys are making a splash. I also concur with your thoughts on the small folks driving change.

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Written by robertbrady
5364 days ago

Some big guys are still able to provide personalized service (ie Zappos) but it becomes much more rare as the business gets larger. The same "economies of scale" that provide the impetus for growth also create a culture that sees customer service as a cost to be cut, not an investment.

However, the small guys often are hungrier and more willing to go the extra mile for you. But you have to be willing to accept the fact that they may be learning (or stretching) with your account. It all comes down to trust and trust has to be earned.

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Written by billrice
5363 days ago

Zappos is a great example of big guys acting small. I also heard the Craig Newmark of Craig's List still answers customer service emails and policies profanity on Craig's List. There are great examples and what we need to do to build that confidence and trust.

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Written by m4bmarketing
5364 days ago

Bill,

I agree about them being hungry. I also think for the larger agencies it is outside their core business. You may see in time separate departments specializing in this area, like they tried to do when direct marketing was all the rage years ago.

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Written by billrice
5363 days ago

I think you're right. Those silos and specialization routes may not be playing out well in this market. Clients/people expect multi-discipline thinkers/doers.

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Written by billrice
5364 days ago

McLaughlin, I agree! I see it all the time. Big guys waiting for their clients to tell them what to do next. Guaranteed pick-off with that ethos.

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Written by McLaughlin
5364 days ago

"They’re still hungry" may be the most important point. The big guys often only want the biggest deals - why waste their important time on a little payoff.

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