Last year, we started the process of productising our offering and making it easier for brands and agencies to access and buy our services. The hypothesis was that smaller productised offerings like workshops, programmes and monthly/quarterly services would lead to long-term retainers and would prevent the usual agency “feast or famine cycle”. However, after 12 months of trial and error, it became apparent that productising our agency services wasn’t the best strategy for us – it might work for other agencies or propositions. The primary reason was that, in general, sales of smaller products required the same level of resources and a similar sales cycle length, but for a much smaller project.
We pivoted to using our new products and a range of “free” offers to deliver value, build relationships and boost inbound leads.
The focus on adding value helped us become thought leaders in helping agencies and brands understand Gen-Z and diverse communities. Instead of spending our finite time, resources and energy on outreach, we focused more on helping prospects understand the world of young people. And that way, when they needed help with research, strategic direction or ideas – we would be top of mind – and they’d get in touch.
Sharing Gen-Z insights for “free” wasn’t easy because it can take months, if not years, for thought leadership and trust to translate into new business opportunities. The transformation doesn’t happen overnight. We needed to have patience and trust the process. Months of content creation and promotion with little to no data at the beginning to prove the approach is working.
But it has meant that most of our projects and partnerships come from inbound leads, recommendations and word-of-mouth.
We have built a reputation as a trusted partner helping companies futureproof through cultural insights, co-creation, innovation and foresight.
You should experiment with different business models until you find a proposition that people want and need.