The right amount of intelligence
It’s 2026 and if ever something needed a “right amount of” discussion, it’s ai. There is obviously a lot of hype, with literally millions of articles writte
A bit of a shameless plug
So – she doesn’t know that we know – although she will find out pretty quickly – but our own Tami Kailola has discovered that working full-time as our Creat
Some pretty exciting news
It’s funny how you don’t always end up at the destination you had in mind when you started. When we set out on this journey many years ago, everything was going digital
The Right Amount of Bathrooms
So – we talk a lot about “the right amount” around here and looking for that sweet spot between “too much of this” and “not enough of thatR
The Right Amount of Business
Well here’s a post we never expected to make – we are actually booked solid until the middle of May and won’t be taking on any new clients until the beginning of
Myth of the “Ocean View”
I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words “Ocean View” I get a picture in my mind pretty similar to one above. There are certain expectations that go hand
The Right Amount of Electricity
This series will be a bit of a departure from our usual fare, at it really has little do with our core business/industry – however, it’s a pretty common topic for debat
The Right Amount of Runways
So, time will tell whether this is a good idea or falls into a very crowded category we like to call “what the heck were we thinking?” Essentially we’ll be testi
Artist vs. Designer – what’s the difference? (Pt 2)
Based on some feedback we received from Part 1 (which was supposed to be more like “Star Wars” rather than “A New Hope”**), we couldn’t leave well eno
The Retainer Phase
That new marketing project has finally been completed and moved into your production environment with great fanfare. The accolades pour in and you are rightfully hailed as a forward-thinking visionary, richly deserving of that corner office with a view of the country club. As you relax in your high-backed leather chair gazing over the manicured fairways below, you suddenly realize that all the past successes that brought you to this point will be forgotten unless you can deliver again.
However, you were wise enough to prepare for the next phase.
The Retainer phase ensures that the various digital initiatives we created with you will continue to be effective over time. Results are tracked, analyzed, strategized and modiified to keep them working at peak efficiency into the future-assuring you that the corner office will remain in your possession for a good while to come.
The words “agency retainer” have gotten a bit of a black eye over the past 4 or 5 years due to a variety of factors and misconceptions. Agencies have used retainers to line their own pockets while not delivering enough quality work to justify their premiums. Client companies look around in the marketplace and see hungry potential vendors, apparently willing to work for a song in order to get a foot in the door in exchange for potential future projects.
The potential benefits are huge:
1) You now have a partner completely vested in your success. When fees are solely project-based it’s only natural for a vendor to be looking ahead. (“Will there be something for us to do next month?” “How big or small will the next project be?” “How late will we get the requirements?” “Will the next project be well conceived or simply a knee-jerk reaction to some market perception?”) As a partner, we know that we are continuously under the microscope and need to provide you with results to justify our relationship.
2) Unless your business is so simple and generic that a fifth-grader could do it, industry specific as well as company specific knowledge is critical to success. Think about the individual stakeholders in your own company. Which ones need to be consulted on which part of a project? Which ones don’t need to be involved? Which ones need to be handled a certain way? That’s knowledge only you possess and it can be very difficult to communicate the various complexities and subtleties needed to move a new initiative through the hierarchy to a new vendor. You’ve spent years learning how things work at your company-why should it be any different for that agency you’re bringing in to support your indicatives?
3) Strategic-decision making is key to long-range success and by being a partner, we can help provide answers that benefit you and your company rather than simply increasing our own profile. We can make recommendations that might seem contradictory to our own short-term gain as our focus is on your long-term success instead. We might suggest using a different vendor for a project that’s slightly outside our core expertise because it’s the right move. When was the last time a vendor did that for you?
4) The convenience of having a quality agency on retainer cannot be overstated (although that won’t stop us from trying!). Digital marketing has literally exploded in the past few years, although precious few outside of your office truly understand and appreciate how complex and time-consuming it has become. The landscape for SEO alone seems to be constantly shifting and you don’t have time to keep up with the latest whims of Google and Bing to try and maintain your position.
5) Finally, a retainer demonstrates a level of commitment on both sides that truly allows for growth and innovation. If Team “A” has been designated to your company, guess what they’re thinking about and devising ways of improving results? When you have an emergency and need to get something out on a ridiculously tight schedule, who drops what they’re doing to put your needs at the top of the queue? Frankly, when push comes to shove and we’ve got a client on retainer vs. a one-off project from a potential new client-who do you think gets our first level of commitment?