For those of you who don’t know, I’ve recently made the switch from the agency side to what some might call “the dark side” or client side. The post below is a reflection of my decision to make the jump. I’m hoping that both long time readers, as well as newcomers can find something they can use when deciding to make this decision on their own.
Let me give you a bit of background. I’ve been working at Slack Barshinger for the past three years. I started there in February of 2007 and it was and has been a fantastic job until the day I left. I was able to work on clients too numerous to name them all, but a few included Google, Fellowes, ArcelorMittal, Dow Corning, AEM, SourceForge, Tellabs, and Diebold. I was able to take on as much responsibility for projects as I wanted and had the freedom to test and try as much as I wanted including tactics, strategies, tools, and processes. Each time learning something new about our internal structure, my clients, and my own strengths and weaknesses. And recently, things have really started to take off, so much so that we had to hire several people to keep up the demand. In spite of all of this, there came a point about a few months ago when I found out about a local business, JC Whitney which changed the whole plan.
JC Whitney is an automotive aftermarket retailer based in Chicago who sells both in catalogs as well as online. JC Whitney, part of the larger Whitney Automotive Group, was looking for a search and social media manager who could come on and support their organic search efforts as well as grow their social media presence online. Now, being from Detroit, this position both intrigued me, but also caused some consternation. Primarily, the reason I left Michigan to move to Chicago was the plethora of opportunities available for employment, but secondarily, it was to avoid affiliations with the automotive industry which has decimated the Michigan economy for the last decade and, from what I assume, will continue to do so for the coming one as well.
Having been at Slack Barshinger for three years, I was extremely comfortable in my surroundings, the processes in place, and how to work in my overall team. I met some of the best friends I’ll ever have and I was able to learn from some of the sharpest people I may ever meet. So why did I decide to make the switch? Well, there are a few reasons.
Hours & Weekends
The agency life doesn’t lend itself to 9-5 or Monday through Friday. When a client says “Can I have this point of view tomorrow?” and it’s a choice of getting them the point of view when requested or they start shopping around for another agency who can get it for them tomorrow, you deliver. This means giving up personal time with friends, family, loved ones, or just your own time to decompress or pursue interests outside of work. With the recent passing of both my grandmother and grandfather, the priorities in my life have definitely changed. And as I prepare for my wedding in July, I expect that other things will continue to change as well. I’m not saying that I’m going to become an old man all of a sudden, but when presented with the realities of an agency lifestyle, I’ve made a decision that it’s not for me right now. There may come a day down the road when I yearn for the run, run, run lifestyle associated with the agency world or an opportunity may present itself that is too good to pass up, but I think I need to take a break right now for my own mental and physical health.
Different Experiences
One of the biggest reasons, if the not the biggest, I decided to take this position is because it affords me an entirely new set of opportunities. First, it’s business to consumer. I’ve had a bit of experience doing B2C, but that was a few years ago and I feel that I’ve grown substantially as a marketer since then. Doing business to business marketing, there are just certain types of projects you’ll never get to work on or buying behaviors you may never see. Second, it’s entirely e-commerce. Again, something I’ve dabbled in from time to time with various clients, but this is a whole new ball game. The scale of the site itself and the amount of topic areas to be monitored and optimized is a whole different ballgame. And lastly, it’s client side. It’s definitely one thing to write a point of view as to what the client should or should not do and walk away. It’s entirely another to actually receive the POV, digest it, add to it, summarize it, and then live with the business decisions associated with it. Granted, I’m going to still need the subject matter expertise that comes from the client-agency relationship, but for lack of a better metaphor, the shoe is now on the other foot.
It’s automotive, but not really
Yes, JC Whitney is an auto parts company at its heart, but as it shifts gears from a catalog company to an e-commerce machine, it’s becoming more and more savvy everyday, taking all the best tools, tactics, and thoughts from all sectors and combining them into a…well oiled machine (sorry). But really, when you look at it from a macro level, it doesn’t really matter whether JC Whitney is selling ice cream or auto parts, the search and social media fundamentals are fairly similar.
It just felt right
And at the end of the day, my decision to go client side just felt right. After meeting with the folks at JC Whitney, hearing how they talk about marketing and what projects they had waiting for me, everything just clicked. I had a fantastic time at Slack Barshinger and will always think fondly of my time at the agency, but at some point, you have to rock the boat a bit and get outside of your comfort zone. I would recommend this type of evaluation to anyone. Think about your current employment situation. Think about the things you want to accomplish in your career and think about what experiences you want or need to make that next step. What would be the next logical step for you? That was the point I was at and that’s really why I made this decision.
Lighthearted point of note
And through all of this, I’m trying to not turn into the client everyone hates (pictured above). I’m trying to be understanding and reasonable with all of my agency partners and I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know I wanted it when I was on the other end of the phone call. Apparently, the stereotype is that people who move from agencies to clients are the worst clients ever. But from anyone who knows me personally, I probably couldn’t be the worst client ever even if I tried.
So what happens from here? Well, I’ll continue to update this blog with my own thoughts about marketing both online and off, but with a slightly different twist. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.