AoR or À la Carte?

Think before you hold the onions.
À la carte can be great, but it doesn't always translate.

Choose wisely.

You like it à la carte? Then these are exciting times for you, neighbor, because you can get it à la carte.

And by “it” we mean just about everything. These are the days of ordering off the menu, and of selecting only those bits, bytes, and bargains that work for you. From your entertainment content to your purchased commodities, you’re empowered to skinny down your bill-of-goods to only those items you really want.

Nothing wrong with that, right?

Well, maybe. We’re most qualified and most comfortable talking about the marketing field, where we’ve seen the undeniable proliferation of à la carte empowerment. And although there’s nothing we like better than an empowered client, we must warn that the outcomes of à la carte marketing aren’t always what the clients go looking for.

Agency-based marketing, the traditional model, is about a lot more than advertising and business-card design. It’s about relationship-building. It’s a team of creative consultants and business-growth experts getting to know your company, becoming part of your team, and leveraging their skills, craft, and connections on your behalf.

On the à la carte side, you get freelancers and online print mills. You get low, low prices and fast turnaround. You get exactly what you ask for, nothing more and (hopefully) nothing less.

But you don’t get a relationship. You don’t get an Agency-of-Record to build the consistency and persistence which create marketing synergy. You don’t get motivated members to augment your team.

In this à la carte world, that choice is yours. No one can make it for you. Maybe, if you examine your marketing needs rationally and dispassionately, you’ll find that the no-frills, no-attachments providers are right for you. More power to you, we say.

On the other hand, perhaps you’ll see you need experience, tenacity, and collaboration. Maybe you’ll agree that you need a team.

If so, give us a call. We’ll show you how a collaborative agency creates a long-term marketing strategy. We’ll show how your business becomes our business.

And if you start missing that à la carte mindset, never fear. We’ll take you out for lunch; feel free to order off the menu.

The C4:

1. These are great days to be a consumer. Providers are gearing almost everything they sell for personalization, or for the à la carte buyer. “Don’t want the full dozen? Never fear — we’ll break bulk just for you.”
2. As cool as that is, we advise caution. À la carte isn’t for everyone. And it is not ideal for all industries.
3. Take marketing (please!). There’s no shortage of bargain-priced vendors. You can create business cards from online templates in minutes, and have them shipped in days, for a pittance. À la carte marketing is absolutely an option. You just need to ask yourself — is it the right option?
4. The value of the traditional Agency-of-Record is that it works. The business cards we create cost a bit more because they’re part of a synergistic whole. Your AoR builds marketing programs, geared to your business, monitored and managed in real time. You can’t get service like that à la carte, but we guarantee: You get all you pay for and more.

All About Process #1: Listen Intently

Certainly, you’ve been in a situation where your ability to articulate something important to you, to another person or group, has been put to the test. You want this expressed in such a way that it does justice to or captures the passion behind it, but wonder if those being presented to will “get it.”

Apprehension may then decide to take residence within you, as whatever you are trying to get across may be well laid out in your mind but when it comes time to transform those ideas into words, some of them get lost in translation.

As if the internal struggle of expressing something wasn’t enough, this inevitable question may arise: “Are they even listening to me?” Surely, your audience may be nodding in agreement or seem to be engaged, but a part of you most likely wonders if they really care about what is being said.

You’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating what you want to say, so it would only seem natural that the audience would be actively engaged in what was important to you. However, this assumption can prove to be false more often than not, and not because of malice or disregard for your time, but simply due to a lack of active listening.

This scenario is not solely reserved for an individual, as organizations can be subject to this when dealing with an agency. An organization may be passionate about their identity but enlists an agency’s help to better express it. While the agency likely has the organization’s best interest in mind, they might unknowingly don a set of ego-laced earmuffs that muffle what is being said, so they can present what they’ve already decided was best. They may be aware of the ideas the organization has, but remain steadfast in what their vision is, and instead of listening they only hear enough to seem engaged.

Fortunately, the Caler&Company team lends far more than just an ear — we provide the undivided attention a client deserves. It is not a coincidence that our process of delivering client service begins with the phrase Listen Intently, as this is where we distinguish ourselves by becoming an extension of our clients rather than a separate entity.

We listen first and then act accordingly, harnessing client’s passion as the driving force behind everything we do. Need someone to listen? Contact us today.