How collaboration impacts agency profits

Smarter collaboration makes a major impact on agencies; as an agency leader, you’re faced with not just internal collaboration challenges but also with the navigation of myriad client and vendor relationships. Sometimes the benefits of a more collaborative approach to agency work may seem important but hard to pin down from an ROI perspective. What’s the price tag on higher morale, smashed silos or even increased productivity?

In talking with forward-thinking agencies, we’ve seen a few clear themes emerge in terms of impact on revenue. Here are two of the biggest:

1. Collaboration helps you spend more time working for your clients

The more inefficiencies you can cut out of your day-to-day workflow, the more opportunities you’ll have to devote to revenue-generating work (and, presumably, the work that makes you most excited to come to your job in the first place).

FleishmanHillard uses Central Desktop to create a secure and centralized location for their files – and the feedback and conversations surrounding those files. By eliminating the headaches associated with long email chains, shared Excel spreadsheets and Word documents, the agency caused a boost in productivity and accountability. By analyzing reports from Central Desktop, the agency also identified additional opportunities with certain clients.

“We attributed a good bit of our success to Central Desktop,” said FleishmanHillard senior vice president Brandi Friel. “I think it’s a huge factor in the revenue growth of this department, absolutely.”

Read the full FleishmanHillard case study.

Javelin Marketing Group prides itself on a combination of big data analytics and compelling storytelling. For them, the revenue impact of smarter collaboration is tied closely to a high-level understanding of the myriad moving pieces around any given client or project. Allocation reports help them identify any hiccups in their task management. The agency’s project managers “live and breathe” within Central Desktop to track progress and collaborate across departments. The end result? Less time wading through internal process and more time to tackle new work.

Read the full Javelin case study.

2. The right solution potentially cuts software licensing costs

Left to their own devices, agency workers will cobble together their own little Frankenstein packages of tools and software; that’s particularly true in the BYOD era. A major advantage of a collaboration tool designed specifically for agencies and marketers is that you can solve multiple problems with a single solution. Sometimes it’s better to order the house specialty than to tear through the lukewarm buffet.

During an audit of the full-service marketing agency Engauge, Raj Choudhury discovered an overwhelming amount of overlapping tools: SharePoint, Dropbox, WebEx, Fugent, Yammer, Ning, Basecamp, and on and on. Not only did that create obvious challenges with document version control – is the updated document the one in Dropbox or Basecamp or in my inbox? – but it rang up an unnecessary bill for the tech team.

“We were able to replace more than 10 different collaboration tools with Central Desktop,” he said. “In software licenses alone, we’re spending roughly 45 to 50 percent less than we were before.”

Read the full Engauge case study.

Post by Adam McKibbin

Adam McKibbin is the content marketing manager for iMeet Central. His writing has been featured in Adweek, the Chicago Tribune and The Nation, and he’s produced content for some of the leading tech brands on the Fortune 500.