Creating a Positive Client-Agency Connection

You could argue that the quality of the client-agency relationship is the single biggest predictor of success. Get it right, and you’ll enjoy fame, leads, customers, and awards. Get it wrong, and you’ll waste heaps of money, miss incredible opportunities, and probably end up hating your job. It’s just not worth letting this relationship fail. Read on for the web’s most comprehensive guide to building an amazing client-agency relationship.

What exactly is a client-agency relationship, and why is it so crucial?

A client-agency relationship is an agreement that is both tangible and intangible between an organization (the client) and the company that provides marketing, video, animation, search, advertising, or public relations services (the agency). The client briefs the agency, and the relationship continues through the pitch and selection process until the work is awarded and a contract is signed.

However, the relationship extends far beyond this to include how the client and the agency collaborate. This includes the agreement's deliverables, the cadence of meetings, reports, and interactions, how ideas are developed, agreed upon, and executed, how much collaboration exists between the two sides, how feedback is supplied, and how the contract concludes.

The client-agency connection is a huge driver of how successful the job is, how satisfied the client is with the results, and how much team members on both sides look forward to coming to work in the morning.

What factors contribute to a positive client-agency relationship?

In the formation of a successful client-agency relationship, both the client and the agency play an equal role. Trust, collaboration, chemistry, mutual respect, accountability, and honesty are all characteristics shared in the best relationships.

The agency's mission is to assist the customer in achieving its objectives. And it's critical that the client collaborates with the agency to make this happen.

The agency’s role

• Learn about the client's business: In order to offer the finest work, an agency must first understand the client's business, objectives, USPs, why their customers decided to work with them, and what the client expects from the partnership.
• Set clear KPIs: These should be thoroughly considered, practical, and agreed upon in advance with the client. If success hasn't been defined, it's quite unlikely that the agency will offer great work that delights the customer.
• Hire and train experts: clients choose agencies with specialized skills, networks, and knowledge. As a result, it is the agency's responsibility to guarantee that its personnel is up to the task.
• Have the right systems in place: The only way for an agency to continuously provide a high-quality service is to have the correct systems in place. Effective systems (from filing to approvals to onboarding new team members) help avoid costly errors.
• Make it in writing: Whatever piece of work the client agrees to, make it in writing. Everyone is on the same page as a result of this. If an approach is decided verbally or in a meeting, the agency should follow up with an email describing their understanding of what was agreed upon and not begin work until the client has verified this.
• Report back honestly. Keep the client up to date with regular reports. These should include progress toward KPIs as well as qualitative input on how the project or account is progressing. If a journalist disliked the pitch, the agency should inform the client and explain why. Hold a focus group and provide feedback to the client if the designer believes their brief is too boring for the target demographic.
• Be creative, enthusiastic, and opportunistic: The best agencies are constantly challenging the status quo (such a cheesy phrase—we found it used a million times online while researching this piece and just had to include it), looking for ways to delight their clients, and generally enjoying their work.

The client’s role

• Trust the agency: In order for an agency to do the best work possible, the customer must trust them enough to disclose confidential information with them, knowing that it will be kept confidential (remember, there is a contract in place with a confidentiality clause).
• Assist them: Working with an in-house marketing agency can benefit both sides. The client understands their company better than any agency ever will. They remove hurdles and assist in gaining access to the relevant people in their company to make the marketing strategy a success. A good client-agency relationship benefits both parties.
• Give honest feedback: When you spend a lot of time with someone, there will inevitably be disagreements. Couples argue, and (presumably) clients and agencies will as well. The client-agency relationship isn't always easy, and hiccups are to be expected. Being honest about any concerns that arise is the best way to fix them.
• Be responsive: Clients should reply to agency inquiries and provide input on ideas. Accept or disagree with the copy they send over.
• Pay on time: Chasing clients for money is uncomfortable. There is a contract, and the agency is keeping its half of the agreement. The client should meet their obligations and pay on time.
• Respect the business: Agencies, like any business, cannot provide their customers with infinite resources to work on disorganized projects. The contract will include a specified number of hours or deliverables as well as some leeway for flexibility. However, it will not be limitless.
• Respect the agency's relationships: Agencies spend years cultivating strong bonds with journalists and influencers. These connections are critical to the agency's capacity to provide work, but they may be quickly harmed when customers fail to show up for interviews, are impolite, or fail to deliver on a commitment. This has ramifications for the entire agency.

Things both the client and the agency should do

• Socialize: It is essential to socialize. It fosters trust and relationships while providing the agency with information about the client's business that they would not have received otherwise.
• Be human: Recognize that you are dealing with human beings on the other side of the client-agency interaction. These mere mortals may slip up now and then, but be generous, gracious, and polite in your interactions with them.
• Allow the relationship to develop: A healthy client-agency relationship should never become stagnant. It should evolve to keep up with changes in the marketing landscape as the customer base expands.
• Budgets should be realistic: The agency should not over- or undersell its services, and the client should be adequately compensated. Budgets can be calculated using our PR cost guide.
• End the connection maturely: Even the best client-agency partnerships don't last forever. Things shift. Companies evolve. Agencies evolve. Requirements shift. Budgets fluctuate. Sometimes the chemistry is off. Perhaps the brief simply needs to be updated. Whatever the cause, either partner should leave the relationship gracefully. Begin with a phone call. Send an email to follow up. Thank you, and work like adults to reach a joyful ending.

What variables might jeopardize agency-client relationships?

When an agency-client relationship is doomed, you can usually tell a long time in advance. Here are some of the most common red flags:

• The brief is too vague: if the client does not know what they want, the agency will not know. Clients must nail the PR brief: What are the goals? What is the financial situation? What is the situation? How will success be measured?
• There isn't enough collaboration: If a client hires an agency and then waits for results, or if the agency runs a creative marathon with the brief without really understanding it, the relationship will collapse. The client is an expert in their field. The agency is an authority in its field. When these two areas of competence are combined, the best outcomes are obtained.
• Someone appears to know more than they do: No sensible customer expects their agency to be an expert in every aspect of their company and industry. And no reasonable agency expects its customers to comprehend the technical nuances of their area of expertise. It's fine to state, "I'm not sure" or "Can I schedule a product demo to fully grasp what your program does?"
• Everyone is too polite: Every now and then, someone needs to hear the truth. Perhaps the story that the client is so passionate about will never be covered by the media. Perhaps the agency misunderstood the client's message in a piece of copy. Or perhaps someone in a meeting misspoke. Whatever it is, be courteous but not too polite; communication is crucial, and honest and straightforward feedback is required.

It's exciting to work with a new client. However, it is best to avoid jumping into the relationship headfirst. Take the time to focus on these critical factors right from the outset to maximize the likelihood of a successful client-agency relationship.

Source: Definition Agency ; Gain