Ambitious agencies take inspiration from summer school.
Not everyone is taking a break at the end of the academic year. Whether it’s to play catch up, get ahead of a tough semester, or explore other interests, for an increasing number of students summer school is just getting started.
Like student, agencies too can benefit from an investment in summer study as a strategic means to keep and/or gain a competitive edge.
What is strategic summer study?
Proprietary research designed to accelerate the productivity and promotion of the agency by informing new approaches to work and delivering value added insights that:
- Drive new growth
- Strengthen client relationships
- Transform service offerings
Agencies that benefit the most from summer study are those looking to:
- Catch up to shifting trends in technology, consumer behavior, and business environments.
- Fuel forward the thought leadership efforts and IP generation needed to strengthen institutional knowledge and competitive advantage during tough business cycles.
- Pursue white-space opportunities by developing unique points-of-view that connect with clients’ needs in new markets and industries, expanding agency services offerings.
While its insights can have significant impact on future growth, few agencies engage in summer study.
Budget isn’t the only barrier to realizing the benefits of summer study.
As much as we love it, agency life can be unrelenting.
Keeping up with the day-to-day client work and demands of pitching and coordinating RFP responses often leave no time or talent for activities not explicitly in a client scope.
* This is specially true for small to medium sized firms.
Often, it takes getting a little outside help. Extra expert hands can provide objective perspective to get started, go deeper, and transform.
To get started:
KEEP IT SIMPLE AT FIRST
Engaging in a little primary research, such as conducting a brief online survey to generate answers to a few key questions can have a significant impact.
Key activities
generate objective data points to add to client presentations and pitches.
Key outcomes
strengthens recommendations and supports decision-making.
To go deeper:
ESTABLISH YOUR AGENCY PRESENCE.
Engage in in-depth study exploring more robust quantitative and qualitative methods to layer in the voice of the customer on topics salient to client challenges, concerns, and opportunities.
Key activities
craft podium worthy thought leadership, media-ready points-of-view, and cross-platform content.
Key outcomes
attract new business and strengthen client relationships.
To transform:
INTERNALIZE INSIGHTS TO IMPROVE DELIVERY
Go beyond the podium to operationalize insights and thought leadership to build agency-wide institutional knowledge.
Key activities
generate enviable ways-of-doing by creating IP through standard operating procedures for proprietary offering that leverage agency thought leadership.
Key outcomes
increase margins and accelerate the next stage of agency growth into new markets and/or services.
Can your agency benefit from starting, or building on, summer study?
Investing in that first step can generate meaningful returns and lead to transformative growth.
If time and available talent are holding you back, we are there to help.