If you’ve ever worked with us before, you will have been invited to a Discovery Session with us – whether it took place online via Google Meet, Zoom, Teams, or in person.
Most agencies don’t bother going in-depth with this kind of call – but for us, it represents an essential stage in the Candy onboarding process – a vital opportunity for us to get to know you, your business and your target audience better.
Not familiar with a Discovery Session or how it works? Here are just a few reasons why we think this initial meeting is so important.
They enable us to understand how we can help you
As the name suggests, first and foremost a Discovery Session is a fact-finding and exploratory stage in the onboarding process which informs our approach and helps us to formulate the next steps to get you to where you want to be – whether you’ve come to us for fresh branding or a shiny new website. Building on the information we have from your initial enquiry or brief, this allows us to really get under the skin of your business. During the Discovery Session we ask a number of questions and discuss the why, what and how of your upcoming project. This includes:
- Exactly what you’re looking for us to help you with (and perhaps most importantly) – why? What are your objectives? What does your new site/branding/marketing need to deliver for your business?
- Understanding where you are now, and where you want to be
- Your brand story up until this point and what’s next on your journey
- Company culture and values – what’s your why, and what do you stand for?
- What competitors you would like to emulate, and which ones leave room for improvement?
Although we have some set areas to cover on each call or meeting, each Discovery Session is unique and no two look exactly the same, as they are guided by the client and tailored to their needs.
They centre the client in the conversation
Before we started Candy, we worked with a fair few agencies. And what we noticed was that too many times, client meetings during the important initial stages of a project weren’t focused so much on the client, but more on the agency and what they could offer. This often led to stale meetings saturated with the voices of one or two people from the agency. In the worst case scenario the client barely had an opportunity to speak or get a word in edgeways. Boring for the client, and ultimately not so productive in terms of moving your project forward.
Often agencies will use these initial meetings to talk about themselves – to boast about what they can do, show off their skills and share case studies to prove they’re worth your time. This is relevant information of course, but at the end of the day, you want to understand what we’ll be working on and how we’ll be working together, rather than highlight the reasons you chose to work with the agency in the first place. It’s also a creative connection – we’re listening, sharing ideas and dropping prompts so that we can obtain vital knowledge which helps us put forward relevant suggestions.
To be able to formulate an effective strategy for you, it’s important that we listen first and allow you to share this information. At this stage it’s our job to learn as much as possible about you – so we want you to talk about you. It’s a collaboration after all and without intimate knowledge of what’s required to make your project work, we can’t develop a successful strategy that’s specific to your needs. That’s why at Candy you’ll find we let you do the talking (whilst we do most of the listening) during a Discovery Session.
They help you get clear on what you need (and what you don’t)
The final (and often underappreciated) benefit of the Discovery Session is the clarity it can bring for clients themselves. Often it’s not until you’re asked certain questions and begin talking through what you want that you really begin to understand what’s required and what direction you want to go in. We’re there to listen, but we’ll also advise – offering options and suggestions you may not have considered previously. It’s an incredibly valuable and important process, as not many business owners or employees get the chance to sit down outside of their role and really consider what direction they’re going in and how they’re going to get there – alongside day-to-day marketing activities.
Areas of focus include identifying and understanding your target audience, looking into your industry and market and how clients are finding companies like yours, and what type of branding, website and marketing activity will be needed to present your offering in the most appealing manner. This is even more important when you have a sizeable budget to spend – exploring what’s possible and getting clear on what type of design, content and even colours will truly engage your target audience ensures optimum results and ROI from whatever project you’ve requested our support with.
Fancy booking a Discovery Session to explore what’s possible with us? Get in touch today: hello@candymarketing.co.uk
