In Scott’s article “When Push Comes to Love,” he talks about our responsibility as an agency to lead our clients in the right direction, even when our clients may not know it’s the right direction. As a team of marketing professionals with years of experience and expertise, it is our duty to use our skills to help our clients be as successful as possible. It would be easy to simply complete what a client wants, cash their check and call it a day. However, if our work isn’t going to produce results or a return on the client’s investment, neither of us are going to be happy. Here are five tips for maintaining a positive, productive agency-client relationship:

  1. The Power of Expertise – With any industry, the more you do something, the better you get at it. As marketing professionals, we will never have more expertise than a client when it comes to the ins and outs of their particular industry. Similarly, a client will never have more expertise than us in aspects of marketing, such as consistent branding, high-quality graphic design, strategic media placement and web development or programming. The key to a quality agency-client relationship is recognizing and respecting each other’s expertise to make the best decisions.

  2. Stick to the Process… Most of the Time – As Scott mentioned in his article, the first step of working with a new client is to sit down for what we call a “discovery session.” It is here that we get to know the client and find out exactly what their wants, needs and goals are. From there we have a set process, depending on the type of project, for completing it. Results tend to be better when our process is followed step-by-step. However, nothing goes as planned every time so there needs to be some flexibility from both parties to accomplish a client’s goals.

  3. Address Problems Sooner than Later – In a perfect world, every project would flow smoothly with no hiccups. Unfortunately, this is rare. There are always going to be problems and hurdles that arise and if ignored, they can completely sink a project, leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. To combat this, it’s a good idea for an agency and client to sit back down for a review to figure out a solution before it gets out of hand and more money is spent.

  4. Empathy: Take the Place of the Other – It can be easy to let anger and frustration get the best of you when a project goes wrong, but it really accomplishes nothing. It is important to put yourself in the other party’s shoes and realize they are most likely feeling a similar way. This tip goes both ways, meaning we as an agency need to realize that the client is trying to do what they think is best for their business and the client needs to realize that we are trying to help them avoid a common mistake or wasted budget.

  5. In the End, We All Have the Same Goal – When it’s all said and done, the client and the agency have the same goal: to see their business succeed. In order for a client to be successful, they need to make the best use of their budget when marketing themselves. In order for an agency to be successful, we must help our clients meet and exceed their goals as we deliver services that improve their business and their brand. When we take a step back and realize that we are striving for the same things, true collaboration and results can take place.

If your business needs help with any of your marketing needs, give us a call at 701-478-1111 and ask to speak with a Marketing Advisor or visit absolutemg.com/contact.