Daniel runs Sowing Seeds, a digital business consultancy that helps companies grow, by picking and using relevant digital technologies and platforms for them. You can also follow him on Twitter.
“Clients just don’t get digital” is an often heard statement made by many from both the traditional and new advertising agencies, media agencies, digital design houses, digital advertising technology providers, and digital media outlets.
It’s a statement that has been muttered since almost 10 years ago when I first started dabbling in digital businesses, marketing and technologies.
But are they right to make such a statement?
Here’s my take: I think it’s too sweeping to say all clients, marketers and communications professionals, don’t ‘get’ or see the true value of digital businesses, technologies and operations. BUT I do agree there’s a sizable number of those here in Asia, which isn’t surprising considering that the IT and Internet are still in early adopter stage in many developing economies.
Where does the fault lie? Quite honestly, it often lies with the people behind the above mentioned firms. They have some issues juggling their business interests and being truly client-centric. Here’s what I mean:
1. Conflicting business interests.
If you run a company that makes money from producing advertising assets, what would you say if I told you I have a strategy that could improve market share and revenue for a particular client but it wouldn’t involve any production? In other words, what would you do if there’s something out there that could replace what you do for a living?
2. Lack of deep knowledge.
Many people who are currently working in the digital industry crossed over from traditional communication background i.e. television and radio, magazine and newspaper etc. These include many members in top advertising and media agencies.
Many of the strategic planners, account directors and managers aren’t even well versed in the various digital media platforms, not to mention online businesses and their various models, revenue streams etc. Clients often rely on these guys but the specialists themselves are still trying to come to terms with the digital mix as well (also, agencies aren’t exactly environments where you’ve got lots of time for training and orientation.) This is worsened by digital media or solutions sales staff who only focus on hitting their targets; adding to the confusion as some clients get swayed into buying something that yields no results.
3. Prospect of losing authority.
There are some who think that educating, sharing and being transparent with their clients is a scary prospect simply because clients might be less dependent on them in the future. They want to be looked at as the ‘guru’ for as long as possible. But if they don’t share, someone else would, and guess who would the client want to work with?
Okay, before I start getting death threats from everyone in the agency and consultancy world, clients aren’t completely innocent in all this. If you’re buying a can of soup in the supermarket, every can on the shelf claims to be the best, but it’s up to you to know what to believe isn’t it? Say what you want, many clients just haven’t taken the time nor are bothered to spend time familiarizing themselves with the digital mix.
Ask any recruitment company and they’ll tell you digital jobs are still the hardest positions to fill. Why? Most marketing communications professionals have cut their teeth in splashy ads in magazines rather than flashy rollover banners online. They are choosing witty 1 line copy taglines that float across a television over 25 characters in a Google text ad title.
So agencies, design firms, consultancies, providers etc. definitely have a part to play, but clients can do quite a fair bit as well. Help Us… Help You. 
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