When Bigger Isn’t Better: The Advantages of a Smaller Agency

In today’s world, it seems that bigger is always better. Portion sizes are larger, cars are larger, homes are larger, and in the United States, people are even larger than they were decades ago. Warehouse stores like Costco allow you to buy bigger quantities of household products and foods. Super-sizing is available at almost any fast food chain. The ‘bigger is better’ mentality is everywhere.

But how big is too big? When do we stop paying attention to quantity and size and start paying attention to substance? Marketing agencies exist to deliver solutions to their clients that help them solve their marketing problems. Is a prerequisite to this being large?

Below are five advantages that smaller agencies have over larger ones:

1. Easily adaptable to changing marketplace

David Baker of ReCourses, Inc explains that within a smaller agency, you can react quicker to changing trends and market expectations, similar to the difference between turning a tanker and a rowboat. You can take more chances and make more mistakes because it’s easier to bounce back from them.

The implementation of new ideas is also much more feasible as there are not as many steps in the approval process. As Andy Gould stated in ‘The Beauty of Being Small,’ “Fewer layers means bureaucracy is almost nil.” At BBI, we are encouraged to introduce, share and discuss new ideas with our co-workers. Open door policies with upper management allow us to frequently have conversations with them about industry trends and how to apply them as solutions for our clients.

2. Employees work directly with executives and principals

This fosters an environment of growth and collaboration and allows for a quickly expanding knowledge base for all employees. As account managers, project managers and designers, we are lucky to have direct access to our creative director and client strategy directors who are actively involved in all of our accounts. They participate and contribute in brainstorms and review our concepts, proposals, and presentations on a daily basis. This type of access is not possible in larger agencies.

3. Transparency

In my opinion, this is one of the best benefits of working in a smaller agency. There is no ‘man behind the curtain’ calling the shots. I see our president very regularly and monthly company meetings allow us all to be informed on the company’s health and upcoming activities. It becomes very apparent that your contribution counts. Mr. Gould got it right again when he said, “You don’t have to fight to get your work ‘noticed’ because it’s impossible to be unaware of what everyone else is working on.”

4. Culture

The company culture we have here at BBI is unlike any I have ever experienced. The balance of work and play, the influx of creative thinking and expertise and the drive to succeed create an environment that is extremely easy to work in. There is openness, not just in our seating arrangement, but in our ability to depend on our co-workers to pull their weight. I’ve never trusted my co-workers more than I do here.

This culture is easier to maintain than it would be in a larger agency. Duncan Bird said to Business Week in 2007, “When companies get to a certain size, despite everyone’s best interests and ambitions, they lose their clarity of vision and culture.” The contact that our principles have with us makes communicating easier, gives them more opportunity to influence and makes it easier to see when things are off-track (David Baker). They lead by example not just in expertise; they are also active participants in the company events that make our culture what it is.

5. Customer service

Large agencies generally rely on volume of work to maintain their profitability. Smaller agencies have less clients and more time to focus on those clients. We are able to develop deeper relationships with the clients we have and produce more effective work. Working on multiple accounts as opposed to being pigeon-holed into one big account keeps us mentally stimulated and constantly changing things up to avoid boredom and stale ideas.

Principles are able to be more selective in the hiring process, too. When positions open up, it is usually only several spots they are looking to fill as opposed to 15, 20 or 30. This allows them to hire truly qualified people that are onboard with the company’s positioning, are experts in their field and, of course, contribute positively to the company culture.

In conclusion, I feel that smaller agencies aremore flexible and foster an environment of openness, expertise and creativity that contribute to producing better work and delivering a higher level of customer service than that of a larger agency. At the end of the day, servicing our clients with effective solutions to their marketing problems is why all agencies, both big and small, exist. What are your thoughts? Is bigger really better in the realm of marketing agencies?

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