Become the agency of the future: get responsive

I love to exchange knowledge and thoughts with other experts. The conferences of our worldwide agency network ECCO facilitate these conversations. While meeting our fellow network partners in Warsaw, we focused on the agency of the future. Insights from different cultures help to put the future in context. I've distilled three insights.

Manage conversations

In our line of work, we have many tools that can enrich conversations.   Communication democratizes and is a great leveller and we get the opportunity to jump right in. Whether it's social, online platforms, VR or a large amount of very useful data which is accessible for all of us. This evolution will continue, which makes it even more important  to keep up with new technologies and opportunities  to keep on driving conversations with target audiences and keep up to speed with their needs and wishes.

Peer groups: use foot soldiers

Who can we trust nowadays? We all turn to our peer groups. They're able to share stories and advice based on own experiences or stories they've heard or read in their own peer group. These foot soldiers are key to spreading the word in peer groups. Like opinion makers in TV shows, but with the benefit of trust and credibility. It's our job to listen to these groups and stimulate them to give feedback.

Be proud of your expertise

We're constantly looking for quality in products and service. This matters in   communication as well. Sure, we can help our clients with almost any situation whatsoever. But we need to make choices: what do we do best? In which field of expertise are we king? And in which activities do we need to call on expertise from others? Our aim should always be to gather the right experts for the job.

It's my firm belief we need to keep listening to everybody around us and act on it. This responsiveness will help our work be relevant  in different markets with fast changing business models and ways of consuming. However,  we're only able to become responsive when we ask for response from others and dare to make choices based on these insights.

Find out more about our ECCO Network on www.ecco-network.com.