Power Agency Company

Why a small ad agency may be just what you need.

Trying to decide whether you need the services of a big ad agency? Here are a few things to consider, before you hand over your marketing plan (and budget) for the coming year.

Big ad agencies are great. In their own little way. They take care of big budget projects, in a big way. But smaller jobs, like sell sheets, brochures, buck slips and direct mail? Forget it. You’re going to wait. And wait. And wait. On the other hand, a small agency has the time to give your business the one-on-one attention it needs. Thanks to lower overheads, a small agency it also much more flexible when it comes to both pricing and I-need-it-by-end-of-day timing.

Big agencies are renowned for two things: big egos and big bureaucracies. The Creative Director and Senior Account Manager who pitched your business? Odds are they’re off pitching another new business account somewhere and you’ll end up working with juniors. Or trainees. When you work with a small agency, you work directly with the President and Senior Creative talent. People with the experience and knowledge necessary to help you actually sell more and raise brand visibility.

Big agencies have a lot of layers. And mouths to feed. This means that unless you have a big advertising budget they can’t afford to service your account profitably. Conversely, a small agency will service the heck out of you. Even in the evenings, if need be. Without having to deal with all big agency politics, a small agency is free to focus on the task at hand – building your business and profitability.

Big agencies move painfully slowly. A small one moves at lightening speed. Without multiple approval layers to contend with, projects get executed efficiently and quickly. What’s more, without the typical agency divide between “creative” and “suits”, a small agency can be much more imaginative when it comes to both executional tactics and how to stretch your advertising dollar.

Small agency or big agency? I’d go with small. You still get big ideas. Just without the big, big price tag.

Dean Campbell, President, Catalyst Advertising

Small Ad Agency – www.catalystads.ca

Swiftness is the key to collecting past due commercial accounts because commercial accounts depreciate more faster than consumer accounts.

In creating and implementing a billing system, a credit grantor should recognize that time is the safest refuge of any debtor. The more time they are given, the less likely they are to pay. Hence, sales documents should be explicit about payment terms, return privileges, interest charges on overdue accounts, guarantee and service costs.

Various Commercial Collection Programs Used

A series of letters used together with an account aging sheet or data printout will help to track slow-paying accounts.

All systems should have an organized and mechanical follow-up of accounts at regular intervals, for instance, 30, 60 and 90 days past due.

It is essential to establish regular billing and commercial collections procedures. Follow up on every account to the point where contactor lack of contactwith the customer indicates some alternative action should be taken.

Help Commercial Collections From The Beginning

Built-in commercial collections controls at the time of sale often assist in receivables recovery and help avoid delinquencies. These include such items as sales contracts or a well-defined vendor’s purchase order with conditions of sale clearly spelled out. Appropriate terms should be printed on sales documents (contracts, invoices, statements) clearly and without fail. Such terms will include notice of interest charged on overdue accounts and discounts granted for prompt payment.

Internal control of receivables should include an aging which permits periodic evaluation. This should fit together with commercial collections routines. The time for referral to a professional commercial collection agency should come from the aging at 60 or 90 days past due, and sometimes sooner.

After a first statement has gone unheeded, start your commercial collection procedure. Any program that permits three statementsor a two to three month time lagbefore the first collection step is taken will result in a lower recovery ratio.

Any procedures for handling slow-paying accounts should emphasize speed in contacting the delinquent bill payer. A company with a past-due account on your books is probably in the same condition with a number of other suppliers. The debtor may be on the verge of serious financial trouble, and the creditor who moves first is most likely to recover their money.

Get free information and advice on commercial collections.