How to Manage the Creative Supplier Landscape in 2021
To stay competitive, organizations must be able to manage their supplier relationships in an effective and streamlined way. This starts with identifying the best suppliers for the company's needs and building a working relationship with them over time. But to unlock the true value of a supplier, the company must have a healthy and long-term relationship that takes advantage of the supplier's full range of capabilities.
This is true for suppliers of goods and products, but it's also true of creative suppliers, such as marketing agencies, freelancers, and design firms. Outsourcing creative development is increasingly popular among various types of organizations. According to one study by Merkle, 46% of firms were outsourcing creative development in 2020 and 27% had shifted from working on creative development internally to outsourcing it in the previous 12 months.
In many ways, supplier relationship management has become easier in recent years. That's thanks to the widespread deployment of communication and vendor management tools, enabling businesses to partner with creative agencies around the globe.
Still, managing many creative supplier relationships can be a challenge. Here are a few insights into how companies can move forward.
Build Well-Tailored Contracts
Most creative suppliers will approach the organization with a ready-made contract. Sometimes, these contracts are enough to start a working relationship.
But to unlock the true value of the supplier, companies need to consider building a contract that is tailor-fit to their needs. This often requires a push and pull between the two parties, as forming an agreement requires negotiation. However, the result is often worth the struggle.
Marketing procurement teams must keep in mind that the company will be stuck with a long-term contract once it is signed. If the company can create a custom contract that both parties can agree to, it will be better for the relationship and the parties' processes moving forward.
Procurement can use contact management solutions to efficiently manage multiple contracts at once. Intelligent contract management software can provide the function with more visibility into their contracts with creative suppliers as well as performance insights, audit trails, and more.
Be Specific with Freelancers
The workforce is experiencing a significant shift as many people leave their traditional workplaces in favor of contracted and freelance work. Professionals with creative skills, such as writers and graphic designers, are in high demand across industries, and there is more incentive than ever for individuals with these skills to strike it out on their own.
Increasingly procurement organizations are managing relationships not only with agencies but also with a host of individual suppliers. This can be challenging, as individual freelancers may bring their standards and processes to the relationship and generally don't work under the supervision of an internal manager.
First, procurement teams must be specific with their needs when working with freelancers. They should understand their exact requirements for each project to be able to count on signed agreements in terms of pay and compensation. A project like building a website often seems straightforward when it's mapped out beforehand, but the cost can escalate if a single freelancer or group of freelancers are working on the project, and it goes out of scope.
The company should also have a clear system for dealing with freelancers. Using a technology platform or contracting freelancers through an established network enables the company to establish a rules-based relationship from the start. Regular check-ins, deadlines, and established rules for the delivery of projects are also key.
Set Clear Goals with Agencies
Managing agency relationships takes a similar track to relationships with freelancers, but they typically7 depend on other metrics. Freelancers are generally responsible for delivering a product, such as ad copy, a website, or a graphic design. Agencies are typically responsible for results.
When managing agency relationships, organizations must set clearly defined goals. Many agencies are familiar with SMART goals—goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. These often serve as the best goals to hold agencies accountable for.
For example, a goal like "Increase webinar sign-ups by 15% by May 20th" is both clear and attainable.
The organization must also assign individuals internally to manage communication with the agency. Lines of communication can be established through traditional channels like email, but digital channels can provide more opportunities for collaboration. Some agencies can provide access to technology platforms that make collaboration and communication easier and more streamlined.
Use Vendor Management Solutions
There are many other types of creative suppliers that need to be managed effectively. Whether the company is partnering with a host of freelancers, a few boutique marketing agencies, or a multi-national advertising company, procurement professionals need tools in place that make managing these relationships easy.
Vendor management software can centralize communication between the organization and all its vendors. Some tools, such as agency management solutions, work specifically for marketing procurement professionals who need to work with large numbers of creative suppliers.
The creative supplier landscape has become more digitized, but this might be good news for companies. It's not easier than ever to identify, vet, and partner with a wide range of creatives all over the world.
Creative supplier relationship management is set to be a hot topic at this year's ProcureCon Marketing conference, taking place this December 6th to 8th at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla in San Diego, CA.
Be sure to download the agenda for more top insights and challenges facing the industry today.