Sometimes businesses new to working with an agency think marketing success is simply a matter of “handing over the keys” to the agency professionals. But for an agency/business strategy to be successful, the partners have to work together. If they don’t, miscommunication, frustration and disappointment—on both sides—is the inevitable result.
Establishing a genuine connection in which both parties provide input is what businesses and marketing agencies should be looking to achieve. To this end, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council have offered their insights into how an agency can develop a strong working relationship with a client and encourage them to take an active role in making their marketing plan a success.
Members of Forbes Agency Council offer strategies to help agencies build strong working relationships with new clients.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Emphasize That You Are Partners
One thing we work to instill from day one is that this is a partnership. The goals and vision stem from the client—after all, they know their product/service better than anyone else. However, the expectations and strategy come from us. They have a choice to be as hands-on as they’d like in order to keep the business relationship healthy and results flowing. – Bernard May, National Positions
2. Be An Extension Of The Brand
An agency/business relationship works best when the agency really functions as an “extension of the brand”—almost executing as an in-house department—and understands the brand DNA and the long-term and short-term goals so deeply that they can always make the best decisions for them. This is how you can truly build and create something together. – Maddie Raedts, IMA – Influencer Marketing Agency
3. Set Expectations Early And Often
It can be dangerous to assume everyone is on the same page and all is clear when working with a new client. For this reason, setting expectations on day one is vital to ensuring that your clients maintain appropriate and realistic expectations. Managing your clients’ expectations will foster a loyal customer base, which will result in higher client retention and even more referrals. – Randy Soderman, Soderman SEO
4. Foster Client-Team Relationships At Onboarding
Onboarding isn’t just between a client and your company’s CEO—it involves the rest of your team as well. Ensure each member of your team who will be working with a new client has a clear understanding of their needs, goals and expectations prior to your initial kickoff call. Fostering this client-team relationship will make a great first impression and encourage client retention in the long run. – Adam Binder, Creative Click Media
5. Adopt A ‘Consulgency’ Mindset
If agencies want to develop strong working relationships with new clients, they need to adopt a “consulgency” mindset from pitch forward. We must view ourselves as consultants, not order takers. Our value is in helping CMOs and others have the insight, strategy and execution they need to achieve organizational goals. – Mary Ann O’Brien, OBI Creative
6. Understand What Motivates Them
Understanding the motives behind your client’s initiatives is crucial for an effective working relationship. If you are able to understand their story and their motivations, you will be in a much better position to translate their brand into an effective strategy. That understanding will help resonate with the right audience and be in line with their vision, building the appropriate affinity. – Michael Smith, iTribe Social Inc.
7. Define Success Together
Starting with clear goals, measurable objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) is critical. While some clients have an idea of what those could be, there’s always an opportunity to refine by reviewing what’s working and what’s not. Set expectations that every campaign begins with research and recommendations. That process, paired with thoughtful onboarding, creates a collaborative environment and defines success. – Carey Kirkpatrick, CKP
8. Leverage Video Communication
Communication is the key to developing a strong working relationship with a new client. And video communication is the best means of communicating with clients because it is convenient and demonstrates that you care deeply about your relationship. So we send our customers weekly videos in which we update them on their campaign progress. Our clients love it and look forward to it each week. – Adam Guild, Placepull
9. Establish Trust, Credibility And Rapport
Even though the client has signed on with you, you must always remain in “prove yourself” mode. Let them see very quickly that you care about their business, you clearly understand the audiences and objectives and you’ll work tirelessly in the interest of their brand, not your own. Establish a collaborative tone from the outset, including frequent use of video chats instead of just email and phone. – Bill Gadless, emagine
10. Know Their Business Strategy
The agency’s work must be informed by the client’s business strategy, so we always want to be briefed on their business plan. Before we start working, we research the information that’s publicly available, but often the actual organizational focus is deeper or even different than what we can find online, so it’s always helpful to gain a clear understanding of the client’s key success metrics. – Kathy Broderick Selker, Northlich
11. Look Them In The Eye
When starting an agency/client relationship, begin the relationship in person. The parties will soon be in the trenches together, and it requires shared trust to do that effectively over time. Humans are still primal beings who use visual senses to assess and connect with others, and phone and emails do not achieve that. The trust built early will pay dividends when deadlines may add stress later. – Erik Clausen, CG Life
12. Determine Their Boundaries
Working in digital, it can be dangerous to assume a client’s level of tech savvy. Some clients are wizards on social media, while others have trouble navigating LinkedIn. It is important to find out from the get-go what the client is comfortable and uncomfortable with. That way, we can know what to expect from each other. When everybody understands each other’s abilities, trust is easily built. – Jenna Ahern, Guardian Owl Digital
13. Share The Wins And The Losses
The communication level with our clients is a top priority. We know all of our clients are offered alternative resources by other agencies and the countless one-person startups. We communicate with our clients exactly what our responsibilities are, and then we pass off some “homework” for the clients as well. Together, we share in the wins and the losses, but as a team, we understand the next steps. – Jason Hall, FiveChannels Marketing
14. Share Knowledge
To build strong relationships with clients, it’s important to make them able to trust you as an expert. However, if they don’t understand your area of expertise, they may feel ignorant about your processes and disconnected from the value you try to create for them. Share information! Explain what you do and why. This will allow them to feel in the loop, and it’s a good opportunity to build trust. – Daniela Pavan, The Ad Store New York
15. Have A Marketing/PR Partner On The Inside
We tell clients from the get-go that we’re happy to be the “arms and legs,” so to speak, but that they need to be there to help drive our marketing and public relations efforts. While we embrace the freedom to think creatively and share our strategies and point of view with every customer, we feel that the least-successful partnerships are cultivated when we don’t have a day-to-day contact on the inside. – Philip A. Nardone, PAN Communications
