A little healthy competition.
To be in business, I think you must possess a healthy competitive streak. It is what makes you strive to have the best product out there. As a business owner, I consider myself to have more than my fair share of the competitive gene. True, some people may have suggested I get therapy, but what do they know. I admit to gritting my teeth when informed we have lost an account to a certain competitor or if the owner of that certain company was asked to speak at a conference over me. This is a normal, healthy response, right? Since it might not be classified as healthy, I deny all rumors that I have a dartboard in my office with a picture of that certain company’s owner on it.
I am puzzled then at my reaction when I got the news that this certain company has closed its doors. Considering my competitive nature, one might expect me to be pumping my fist, smiling and feeling smug. On the contrary, I feel deflated and somewhat shaken.
This isn’t the first agency we have heard that has shut the lights off. It is, however, the last one I would have ever guessed. Interestingly enough, of the recent companies that have decided to call it quits, they all had one thing in common. They all worked with development companies that could no longer pay their bills. This hits so close to home.
Speaking as someone with first hand experience with this, this is becoming a very unsettling trend.
Warning: Soapbox tirade coming up…Marketing agencies are left holding too many bags and do not have enough legal precedence on our side to fight back. Agencies have learned the hard way that we are not afforded the same legal rights, as say a landplanner or architect, when it comes to being able to collect fees owed. When an agency invoices go unpaid, it usually means that agencies can’t pay the vendors they owe on behalf of that defaulted client. There is no lien that you can put on the land. There is no judgment that you can file that is a sure thing. If the agency isn’t profitable enough to absorb that loss (and who is theses days) there are not a whole lot of options left.
Amy
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I’m not in the real estate niche, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the many years I’ve done this it is to diversify. This is a tough challenge in the current market, because every sector is affected, but certain sectors are more vulnerable than others. Real estate being chief among them. That said if I were niched into the real estate arena, I would look to other industries that need the same PR skill sets and deliverables and network aggressively, all the while reducing as much exposure as possible to cost liabilities. Sounds like common sense and it is, but it is surprising to me how many agencies have remained inflexible during this time.
I agree with your take—some agencies need to be more flexible. We are very fortunate in that within our industry, and possibly even more so because of the economic climate, we are sought out because of our choice to specialize. Budgets are leaner than we have seen them in a very long time. To partner with someone who knows what is working and what is not within your own industry is invaluable. We can bring more relevant, timely experience and insight to the table than agencies who handle everything from the health industry to automotive. Thankfully, we haven’t had to make the difficult choice to compromise our specialization. But, never say never, right?
amy
Enviable position. I concentrate in the corporate area with a range of disciplines. I once worked with a lawyer who was both a dealmaker and a bankruptcy attorney. This was how he kept busy in good (dealmaking) and bad (bankruptcy) times. I sort of do the same thing. During good times, I tend to do lots of growth-oriented corporate work (i.e. transactional support, media relations, financial communications and annual reports, etc.), and when times get tight, my crisis work gets a little busier. Right now, unfortunately, I would not be surprised to do a bankruptcy sometime this year. At the same time, the new administration in Washington may trigger more activity in the labor relations area.