Beware the Freelancer

Spring has sprung and, along with it, new business meetings, it seems!  Great news for all those organizations and businesses that put their communications plans on hold for the past 18-24 months. 

We can almost feel their excitement as our new business meetings pick up to almost one per day.  From small projects, to large monthly retainers to 10-page RFPs, opportunities are sprouting for everyone. 

It's a good time, then, for a little advice from a communications veteran who has just lived through her second recession, and lived to tell the tale.  That's me.

Agencies of every size are starting to bump into each other again in corporate lobbies.  And, just like the end of the last recession of the early 1990s, they're running up against the smallest of competitors:  the freelancer. 

Now don't assume, just because I manage a top-five-in-size agency in this region, that I'm anti-freelancer.  To the contrary, as we welcome freelancers -- with very specific, finely tuned skills -- into our team when we need their expertise, particularly in specialties like video and complex SEO.  We refer business to freelancers -- real business, stuff that would suit their style, their budget parameters, and their experience...not because we simply aren't interested in the work.  And we keep a small list of freelancers who became such after the last recession and have been in demand -- and on their own -- ever since. 

So, full disclosure -- this isn't a rant against freelancers.  This is a list of what to look for and how to choose the right resource for your communications need.  Read on:

Ask a freelancer how long they've been in business and why.  The best resource is one that made a proactive choice to launch out on their own, not someone who is simply dabbling in consulting after being downsized or let go.  If your project is time-bound and brief, a new freelancer may be available, engaged, and ready and willing to work.  But, if you're looking for a longer-term partner, you will want to make sure this person will be in business, operating under the parameters you agree on, long after the job market heats up.

Ask an agency about its "sweet spot."  Beware the CEO or managing partner of an agency who says their larger firm can easily provide everything you're asking for...at the still-reduced budget you likely have.  If they do, and you're still interested, ask to speak with 2-3 clients who are working with the firm under the same budget you have -- to see if they get the senior-level attention they were promised, and if the results are high even though the budget is low.  After the last recession, agencies quickly abandoned or passed off clients to its B-team, when the big budgets came back on the scene.

Seek out freelancers with specific skill sets -- possibly those people who came from your competitors' companies.  If you're the brand manager at Maybelline looking to launch a new mascara, and the former manager of Cover Girl now has a niche business consulting in the cosmetic space, find them and work with them.  Then, ask your longer-term agency partner how they would integrate this person into their team for that specific assignment. 

Understand the life of a freelancer -- marketing their business by day, doing your work at night.  Will they be accessible to you (and the media) when needed?

Hourly rates may be less, but their access to expense resources is finite.  An agency invests in infrastructure and teams.  Their tools and their layers don't necessarily translate to higher costs for you -- smart agencies access and make decisions on ROI and value for clients.  And a media list, for example, can quite possibly be created in minutes, by a junior person more skilled in list development than a senior person, and given the latest in list technology.  This part of your project can be completed faster, at a lower hourly rate, with time-reducing tools.  That's important when the currency is the billable hour.

Understanding the mix of resources this recession has created is key to assembling the right team for your next assignment.  The community has more complexities, and it's vital to understand the new landscape not just for the work that's on your plate right now, but for the relationships you build that have the potential to last throughout the many good...and not so good...years to come.

Old Advice is New Again

I spent part of the holiday break reading over some advice I shared with you one year ago, when we were all facing a very tough year of marketing in a recession. Here's an excerpt from a 12-month-old white paper about how to align your brand's messages to the times... Still seems highly relevant, don't you think?

Only a recession can strip a purchasing decision to its very core. Consumers have nothing to lose if they tell you the truth about your company and brands. In fact, they may be even more motivated to provide substantial input if they believe you’ll use it to make their lives easier by satisfying the basic necessities they have right now – value, return on investment, simple pleasures, reassurance and comfort, safety and health. In the end, consumers want to know that their decision was smart and right for the times.

Spend the time and money to ask them some insightful questions. Assess your recent and current messages. Take a long look at the legacy you’ve built for your brand. Does it – or some of it – speak to today’s concerns and needs? Can your brand, and the products and services it speaks for, speak to the needs of your customers now?

What part of your legacy messaging will be most meaningful today? What messages that may have been relegated to the background of your brand story need to come forward to help carry the torch of the day? What new benefits and attributes can come to the fore because they warrant attention now?

A brand assessment is in order to reprioritize what you have to say with what the customer is ready and willing to hear. Let them tell you what influences them and how you stack up against alternative choices they have in the marketplace. Because you need to use your marketing dollars sparingly and smartly, you will need to refine what your messages are because there is a smaller margin for error. You’ll strengthen your brand’s own voice by listening to what your customers have to say about it.