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In our office “R.G.B.” stands for Relationship, Goals, Budget. I created and started using that acronym a few years ago to help our digital marketing team remember how important relationships, goals, and budgets are when trying to achieve success in an agency. The acronym made it easier for everyone to remember; after all, many people on our team have come from a creative background and are familiar with the RGB color model. In a sense, I hijacked RGB and applied a different meaning to the acronym.
To this day, my team practices RBG. We repeat it to one another, tell it to new team members, we even say it to our clients, and our clients love it. I’ve even had a few CEOs ask if they could steal RGB and introduce it to their team. In fact, I think it helped us close a few deals. I guess it makes clients feel good that the team they’re working with is professional enough and dedicated enough to come up with and use acronyms like R.G.B. on a regular basis.
Now that you understand what R.G.B. stands for in my office, let me further break down the meaning of the three words that make up R.G.B.
Relationship
There is nothing more important than the relationship between you and your client. Especially when you provide a service like digital marketing. Half of the sale is what you know, and the other half is how much they (the client) likes you and your team. Success starts with the relationship. The better both parties communicate, the better results, and the chance of re-signing your client. Heck, clients have been known to stay with agencies just because they love the team. After all, who wants to work with someone they despise and can’t stand to be around. And who wants to work with someone they can never get a hold of?
I can’t emphasize enough how important the relationship is. That’s why it comes first in R.G.B. This should be emphasized throughout the company, to every employee, and of course, don’t forget to tell your clients.
Goals
I shouldn’t have to break down why goals are so important, but I will for the sake of communicating the message of this blog post. Imagine you’re running a race. But, you have no idea where the finish line is. It could be a couple miles up the road or ten miles up the road. How hard are you going to run not knowing where that finish line is? You may just start walking because what’s the point? If you could only see that finish-line, or know that you only have 1.5 miles left, wouldn’t you run so much harder? Goals in a digital marketing campaign are the same way. You need something to shoot for at all times to bring out the very best in you.
If you see it, you can achieve it. (wow, that’s cheesy but true!)
Budget
Having a small boutique agency brings many different challenges than a large agency has. One of those challenges is cash flow and cash on hand. Your team needs to be reminded that this is a business. You can’t afford for them to not pay attention to the bottom line. I have seen this so many times. Account managers not reading the contracts and not abiding by budgets. That can’t happen! You can’t afford to give free hours away. You can’t afford for your team to go over the budget, while thinking you have endless pockets of cash. However, it is your responsibility to remind them of the importance of budgets. Also, try flat budgets like 10% on all projects. That way there is never any confusion.
Conclusion
There you have it. R.G.B.: Relationship, Goals, Budget. Please feel free to use it in your digital marketing agency, or any industry you see fit. The important thing is that you give your team something to remember. Something they can always fall back on if they become confused with the policies or culture of the company. Maybe one day we will see R.G.B. on a poster or in books. Time will tell. Until next time. Good luck.