Forrester: Agencies Must Evolve Into “Value Exchange Mediators”

Consumers now have more control over their transactional experiences than they’ve ever had before. The how and the when of researching, engaging, and purchasing is now largely decided by consumer preference, and that power shift is changing the ways digital agencies must operate.

In Forrester Research’s recent report “The New Interactive Agency Landscape,” the idea is simple: The current “channel-centric” services offered by many interactive agencies is simply not up to speed with market demands. Instead, there needs to be a shift to “a firm that blends strategy, creative, technology, media and data offerings to connect brands and their audiences in ways that balance satisfying customer needs against achieving business goals.”

We firmly believe that customer needs and business goals go hand-in-hand—improving the customer experience and enhancing brand interaction in the digital channels consumers prefer will pay off in revenue. But we also know that value must be proven in hard metrics, so if a strategy isn’t boosting the bottom line, it’s a strategy that must be revised. Becoming a “value exchange mediator” isn’t simply a good idea for the modern agency—it’s a must. Agencies that can’t prove their worth in valuable brand interactions that boost sales will find themselves falling behind the curve.

How are you evolving with the constantly changing digital landscape?