Has anyone ever told you to treat your agency clients like family? Chances are you’ve probably been given this advice before.
While this advice is perfectly fine, I prefer to look at my business relationships a bit differently. In my experience, the best way to approach a relationship with an agency client is to treat them like a business partner.
Business partners are invested in the success of your company because your success means their success. Sure, your parents or siblings may want you to succeed, but the stakes usually just aren’t the same.
Treating your agency clients like business partners means you’re looking for ways to make the relationship mutually beneficial for both of you. While some agencies may simply do the work and collect their fees, approaching your agency clients with a more solid relationship can actually help your business take off — and get your clients invested in your overall success.
But how exactly can you treat your agency clients like business partners? Here are some tips.
1. Get to know your clients’ problems, beyond how you can help.
As an agency owner, you probably already spend some time getting familiar with your clients’ problems and needs. However, that discovery is often limited to the problems you can solve.
To treat your clients like partners, get to know the struggles they’re facing, even if you can’t provide a solution. By having a more holistic view of the challenges your clients are facing, you can better understand what results they might need.
You can also get your clients in touch with additional agency owners or businesses who may provide solutions you can’t. Showing that you care about your clients’ success, even when it doesn’t involve cash in your pocket, can boost trust and create stronger long-term relationships.
2. Communicate openly and honestly.
When talking with your agency clients, you always want to maintain a professional image. Unfortunately, sometimes that image can go a bit too far. If it feels like you’re lying to your clients to prevent them from finding out about problems or issues that your agency is facing, it can be difficult to build trust.
Sometimes, you just need to be honest — especially if you’ve hit a hurdle or roadblock that’s delaying or affecting your work. While you don’t want to make excuses, viewing your clients as partners means being transparent about what you need or want.
Trust your agency clients, and they’ll likely do the same. While you never want to give up that professional persona, it’s important to realize that you’re both humans. Mistakes can happen or plans can get sidetracked. When you communicate openly and honestly, you can build stronger relationships.
3. Work with clients who are valuable to you.
Sure, we all like to work with clients who are able to pay, but that isn’t everything. If you truly want your agency to succeed, work with agency clients who can provide some additional value — just as you would want to work with business partners who provide value.
One of the most common ways a client can be valuable is through offering referrals. If your clients have a large network that they’re willing to connect you with, this would be an incredibly valuable relationship.
While it’s a bit of a luxury to be choosy about the agency clients you work with, having a set of priorities can ensure that you make strong connections. Look beyond just their ability to pay when trying to identify clients your agency might want to work with.
Conclusion
Building strong relationships with your clients is important for developing long-term connections for your agency. However, if you simply view your relationship with clients as transactional, it can be difficult to dig deeper and create a sustainable connection.
Think about how you might turn those relationships into partnerships. When you’re both working toward achieving a common goal, you can see greater success and start to reach your goals faster.
