Backpocket Partners

Scene:

An agency owner is networking at a tradeshow. Some new contacts mention they have a large website that needs to be redone. Like a lot of agencies, there is not a full DevOps team in-house… maybe none at all. But instead of having to tiptoe through an offer to help, the owner can answer confidently that the site upgrade will be no problem.

There’s a development partner in the agency’s back pocket.

The nice thing about partners is they can be anything an agency wants. Agencies are more specialized now so there’s a partner for everything. And the good news is that partnership doesn’t mean “wedding ring”.

And that includes SaaS and web development partners. These types of outsources can be on-again, off-again. Same time next year.

Think of the service offerings that might make a good selling point for an agency (but that also might be inefficient to have in-house.) Maybe it’s videography or PR or programmatic media buying. Flexible partnerships that can be taken off the shelf and put back on.

Clients respect that. They’re going to hire separate, specialized agencies anyway. And they are all going to have to demonstrate in advance that they will play nicely together in the sandbox.

So, isn’t it better to be partnered with those contacts already so the rewards from those relationships can be maximized and shared? Versus being dispersed elsewhere without much say from your agency?

Forming these strategic partnerships doesn’t require decades-long commitment. But it does require trust, which takes time to develop. But once a level of trust is established, an agency can enjoy the luxury of knowing it can call upon specialists to help deliver complete digital packages to clients.

So where does one find these potential partners?

The place to meet strategic contacts is at, well, strategic conferences, trade shows, networking events, and the like. Agency-specific organizations are a strong resource. And you can always find one that matches the agency profile. If yours is a small to midsize agency, associations such as AMIN or AMI (and there are others) might be a better fit than some overarching global association that caters more to the Omnicoms and Publicises of the world.

These associations offer more than cocktail parties at the major annual get-togethers (although those are important). They also provide workshops, panels, and forums in between. Take part. Be an active voice. Be seen and heard. You’ll soon find your future partners.