An agency out of the ordinary: how The Marketing Pod transforms an understanding into a relationship

What is client relationship management and why should marketing businesses set aside more time and effort for it? 

This week, The Marketing Pod gave me the opportunity, as a Journalism student and an aspiring PR specialist, to see the inner workings of their business and to skill up in the marketing sector. This is one of the key questions that they answered during that time.  

Choosing to work with an agency over an in-house team may be an intimidating prospect for some businesses and, initially, I was equally intimidated by the prospect of completing work experience at one. Thankfully, I soon learned that The Marketing Pod has nothing of the soulless nature often attributed to agency dynamics. Despite the fast and continuous growth of both their team and client base, the nurture that client relationships receive at The Marketing Pod surpasses the ordinary. 

Here’s what I learned about how they achieve this:

An initial introduction to The Marketing Pod’s methods 

My induction did not begin behind a screen. Instead, my first impression was established as soon as I set foot inside the team's workspace - a uniquely bright environment, not only in the sense of natural light that enters the building each morning, but also the people. While some agencies continue to embrace the once enforced isolation of Covid with remote workforces, the Pod has settled on a hybrid working pattern, giving The Marketing Pod’s clients the option of in-person time with their account teams in the lovely space that is Pod HQ. In fact, the client services team and delivery teams place great value on completing initial brand on-boarding face-to-face. Real-life liaisons allow the Pod specialists assigned to your business to build a sturdy rapport with your team from the outset, and best understand which steps will maximise brand growth. The Marketing Pod is not solely focused on bringing their clients’ ideas to life, but also helping them to understand what value those ideas can deliver. Every brand is considered unique and individual, and, at this agency, it is always a priority that the proposed marketing approach reflects that. 

What happens behind the scenes can shape how your brand is perceived by the world

A really great brand identity allows the world to see for themselves what makes you stand out. With as many as 50 businesses putting their faith in The Marketing Pod, this can only be achieved through attention to detail and commitment to quality assurance. I learned that the better the Marketing Pod can get to know your business, the better they can sell it to others. 

The workshopping process that the staff at Pod walked me through on my first day gave me a deep understanding of how a marketing campaign is brought to fruition - sometimes from a completely blank canvas (or a completely blank whiteboard, as it is the tradition at the Marketing Pod).

Agencies VS AI

The reason why one will always outshine the other may not seem glaringly obvious. After all, what can a team of human beings do that this admittedly incredible technology cannot? 

Spoiler: the answer is *quite a lot*. 

Platforms like Chat GPT, despite ongoing debate as to the jobs it may replace, do not provide brands with the custom and specialist knowledge of experts from any of The Marketing Pods’ five centres of excellence: content, creative, PR, strategy and digital. You may need input from experts from every pillar, or perhaps from only one, but it’s great to have the option, right? 

The centres of excellence provide not only a strong foundation for every aspect of your marketing campaign, but also a refreshing sense of structure within the agency - something that I found especially useful as a communications student trying to determine my own place in the world of marketing. Though the various specialists work seamlessly alongside one another, there is a useful sense of separation between each of the centres that has allowed me to understand the different roles that must be undertaken within The Marketing Pod, each of them equally important in their own right. 

Just as these pillars have allowed me to formulate ideas on how I would like my career to evolve, they provide clients with a clearer sense of how they may choose for their brand image to evolve and grow. If the client is unsure of which marketing service, or combination of them, will best boost their engagement, they need not fret; the Pods’ onboarding workshops are designed to figure this out for those who need it. 

Despite the small handful of lonely souls finding solace in chatting to AI bots (this really happens), the truth is that they cannot get to know you - at least not beyond the patterns in your activity. So why would you trust the bots with the introduction of your brand - and all of its complexities - to the rest of the world? As delighted as the team at the Pod are to get to know new clients, it is not a selfish endeavour- it benefits everyone.

From the perspective of The Marketing Pod, the future does not look artificial. While it can never hurt to seek out efficiencies provided by the innovation of technology, and it’s important to have a good understanding of the tools available, it is an injustice to brands to deprive them of the authenticity and original ideas of a human team of marketers. After all, it’s the people who make Pod what it is, what clients keep coming back for, and what made my time with the agency so enjoyable.

Want to chat to this lovely team? Get in touch.