The Performance Perspective: Aligning Teams & KPIs in Today's Digital Landscape
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The document discusses the alignment of agency teams and KPIs in the digital landscape by identifying successful team structures, communication strategies, and performance metrics. It highlights the importance of flexible team structures that mirror client teams, balanced team personalities, effective communication cadence, and tailored reporting to enhance client-agency relationships. Recommendations include hiring analytics experts, conducting regular in-person meetings, and focusing on overarching digital marketing strategies to meet dynamic client needs.
The Performance Perspective: Aligning Teams & KPIs in Today's Digital Landscape
- 1. THE PERFORMANCE PERSPECTIVE Aligning Teams & KPIs in Today’s Digital Landscape Written by Maira Grylli, Analytics and Technology Analyst
- 2. To understand how changes in digital have impacted client and agency alignment, Performics interviewed internal teams with the greatest successes in achieving client objectives. After studying these teams, we discovered four common elements associated with team alignment, and three associated with KPI alignment.
- 4. Team structure & client mapping All successful agency teams mimicked the client’s team structure in terms of expertise and function. Speci!cally, for every contact on the client side (e.g. Brand Analytics Manager), there was at least one lead contact person on the agency side (e.g. Marketing Analyst). Agency teams with direct analytics points-of-contact working with the client-side analytics leads helped drive innovative strategies, bring further understanding to the client about cutting edge technologies and supporting complex measurement initiatives. RECOMMENDATION Agencies should build "exible teams that can shift as clients’ needs change. Hire analytics experts with a consulting background and integrate them in client discussions to provide thought leadership and share case studies on measurement strategies, data solutions and more sophisticated analytical approaches to day-to- day issues.
- 5. Balancing PERSONALITIES Agency teams that consist of thinkers, feelers and doers show stronger performance. Thinkers help move the business forward, feelers sustain client relationships and doers execute on client initiatives. Balanced teams prove to provide more holistic services and strategies and hold stronger relationships with clients. RECOMMENDATION Agencies should consider personalities during interviewing. Existing employees should take personality tests to better understand how they contribute to their team to help drive more thought leadership and "awless execution.
- 6. DEFINING COMMUNICATION CADENCE And TOPIC AREAS AT EACH LEVEL Regular in-person meetings are crucial to building strong relationships. In addition, agency teams that meet in person with the client are more likely to be involved in internal business discussions and consult on strategies to move the business forward. RECOMMENDATION Agency teams should set up weekly in-person meetings with day-to-day contacts and monthly meetings with key client stakeholders.
- 7. Shared learning agendas for the client & agency Agency teams that are willing to limit their internal meetings and spend more time creating great priority lists with achievable deadlines are far more efficient than other teams. RECOMMENDATION Agency teams should set up objective-driven meetings which will enable them to limit unnecessary internal meetings. Internal team members should be "exible on deadlines based on client feedback and needs.
- 9. BUSINESS OBJECTIVE FOR THE CLIENT & AGENCY MARKETING KPIS TO MEASURE PERFORMANCE Clear objectives, tied with strong KPIs that merge channel speci!c numbers with CRM metrics, help agency teams optimize program efficiencies on a larger and more efficient scale. RECOMMENDATION Create channel-speci!c focus areas with goals and objectives agreed upon with the client. Agency teams should work towards gaining access to “down-funnel” data to optimize the program against back-end metrics as well as better understand client goals.
- 10. REPORTING ALIGNED WITH STAKEHOLDERS/KPIS DESIGNED FOR INSIGHT AND ACTION Many times, agencies can fall into a “reporting trap,” where they assume that the more reports being sent to the client, the better. Multiple reports can muddy waters and actually slow down performance. Reporting volume is not important, quality and audience orientation is the key. Agency teams that automate and create customized reports for different levels of client contact reach clearer understandings of program objectives and produce better action items. RECOMMENDATION Agency teams should produce daily and weekly reports with action items for the day-to-day contacts and a monthly report for key stakeholders. Action items and metrics should mirror the client’s main internal objectives.
- 11. Agencies win when clients win Agency teams help clients break down brand silos. Agencies that work with clients with complex organizational structures or multiple lines of business may face communication and efficiency challenges. Agencies should collaborate with clients to break down silos to better understand consumers, execute on marketing strategies and enhance conversations within internal business units. RECOMMENDATION Agency teams should focus on overarching digital marketing strategies that help support the client’s business as a whole.
- 12. seven elements of success should be adopted into all greater digital marketing strategies. As the digital environment and consumer continue to evolve, agency and client "exibility is key to aligning and meeting business objectives. For more information on Performics, please visit us at www.performics.com. For more informa+on on Aligning Teams & KPIs in Today’s Digital Landscape, contact Maira Grylli, Analy+cs and Technology Analyst at Maira.Grylli@performics.com.