An unresponsive, disengaged client can present a big challenge to a creative agency. Without feedback and direction from the client, you’re unlikely to help them deliver the results they’re looking for. Instead, you’ll face a host of issues, including wasting time and resources on revisions and unneeded work.
To help agencies improve their working relationship with inactive clients, we asked the experts of Forbes Agency Council for their insights. Below they shared their top strategies for getting an inactive client more engaged in the creative process.
Photos courtesy of the individual members
1. Set Expectations Early
In our segment of the industry, it is common for clients to anticipate that our relationships will be transactional. To counter that, our sales and customer experience teams partner and both are active in client onboarding, setting the tone for the relationship. If a client becomes disengaged, we make an effort by way of bi-weekly meetings, progress reports and campaign recommendations. – Melissa Chang, PureB2B
2. Hand Them The Steering Wheel
We want our clients to fully understand how key it is that they drive their own digital strategy every day. For this reason, with our multi-channel orchestrator, we ensure that they are sitting in the driver seat and make their own independent decisions. The results are extraordinary—when clients discover the power of digital advertising, they just want more! – Carlo De Matteo, Myntelligence
3. Actively Communicate With Them Until They Respond
Whether it’s a call, email, text or social post, be active on their communication lines until they respond. It’s up to you to keep their engagement up and communicate when you see a drop. If you haven’t done so in a while, ask your client to meet for coffee or lunch; if they’ve been busy, this will give them a chance to move away from their desks. Do not give up on your relationship. – Nicole Rodrigues, NRPR Group, LLC
4. Get Them Excited About Your Partnership
From day one of a client working with you, they should be excited to embark on this business partnership with you—excited about the results you’re about to deliver them and the service you’re going to give them throughout the journey. It begins in the first meeting or conversation you have with them and carries on throughout. Show you’re excited for them and it will elicit their excitement. – Tony Pec, Y Not You Media
5. Be Honest And Ask Questions
In order to engage with your customers, always be honest with them. Whether you’re talking about strategy, deliverables or anything in between—be honest. Sometimes the truth can be interpreted as criticism, but in the end it will be beneficial for both you and the client. – Jose Aristimuno, NOW STRATEGIES MEDIA GROUP
6. Make It A Win-Win
Work to initiate an active partnership with busy clients by providing them an incentive to become re-engaged. Offer them a complimentary opportunity to try a new product or service your firm is offering. Ask them to provide feedback and lean into their advice. Your firm can continuously improve its products and processes while improving engagement with the client. – Ana Miller, A2 Communications Group
7. Show The Benefits Of Active Participation
Few things are more frustrating than a client who is unmotivated and slow to respond. This is usually due to a lack of understanding of the ask and the results of their participation. Outlining the benefits and return to the client is often all it takes to provide motivation to engage in the process. If all else fails, show the client contact how they can be the hero by playing along. – David Harrison, EVINS
8. Ask Them To Voice Their Opinion
Always have clients engage in your process by giving them an opportunity to voice their opinions. It’s crucial to understand what they want and need. By giving them an opinion, it helps speed up the process where it becomes a win-win situation. Ask more questions and listen. Make your client be heard and let them know you understand. These are key points in having clients engage in the process. – Cagan Sean Yuksel, GRAFX CO.
9. Establish Set Check-Ins And Reviews
Clients need to be present for regular status calls, strategy sessions and KPI reviews. It’s also critical that all major stakeholders are looped in at least once a quarter on priorities, progress and wins or losses. This plays a major role in aligning efforts towards success and maintaining realistic expectations. – Zamir Javer, Jumpfactor
10. Share Strategic Opportunities With Them
Nothing inspires action more than an opportunity to advance the client’s brand and business than a strategically aligned opportunity. Sharing opportunities shows you are always thinking on their behalf and understand their needs. – Jim Heininger, Dixon|James – Rebranding Experts
11. Create A System Of Checks And Balances
Prior to onboarding a client, we let them know our service-level agreement so the client has their set expectation and we do, too. Alongside that, we also have consequences for both parties so there are checks and balances. Remember your client is like your business partner: accountability over trust. We also enforce deadlines for all tasks assigned to either party. – Zohaib Hassan Patoli, SnapWeb Services
12. Connect Everything Back To Their Larger Goals
Always connect on the bigger-picture goal—KPIs, success factors, ROI, shareholder value—to better understand why specific recommendations are being made. Sometimes the communication can get lost in the minutia of the day-to-day recommendations, but a reminder helps everyone to see the ultimate agreed-upon goal and focus on the forest, not the individual trees. – Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne LLC
13. Tap Into Their Emotions And Motivators
Find out what makes the inactive client motivated. Everyone has a story hidden somewhere. As an agency owner, our job is to be a creative director who knows how to use the best resources. Caution: Don’t give them too much, or you will also fail. If the client is lazy, your competitor will use this against you. Remember, others are fishing on these pain points. – Qamar Zaman, KISSPR.COM
14. Show Them The Direct Impact Of Promotional Power
Sometimes clients are so busy with everything else they’re juggling that they aren’t actively engaged until you show them how your promotional power can impact them directly. Can you line up a media interview with them as a source of expert commentary? Draft a bylined article on their behalf? Secure a speaking opportunity for them? These can all charge them up and get them more involved! – April White, Trust Relations
15. Build The Relationship From Day One
It’s hard to have an active partnership with a client if you haven’t built that relationship first. When getting started with a new marketing client, it’s important to make sure that you have a solid foundation to work with. If the client feels the commitment to a partnership from you, they are more likely to stay engaged themselves. – Dmitrii Kustov, Regex SEO
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Author: Forbes Agency Council, CommunityVoice
