How important are our clients? It's a rhetorical question: Obviously, they're very important, and for agencies, clients are our lifeblood. But how far are we willing to go to make them happy? Should we be afraid of them? Should we compromise our fundamental best practices? How do we push back on unreasonable requests and ideas we know won't work in the long-run? It's a delicate juggling act, balancing our ability to say no while keeping the client happy.
For those of us who work in client services, we understand this juggling act and are challenged by it daily. How do we manage client requests and expectations, make our contacts look like rock stars within their own organizations, and contribute to our own agency's revenue? The recent economic challenges and the perception that advertising agencies will do anything for the client make it difficult to feel we can say no, and our clients may know this.
But at the end of the day, we should feel empowered to say no. It doesn't do our clients any good for agencies to be nothing but yes men. In fact, this practice can backfire with lackluster results and relationships that go stale. While it is our job to make our clients look good, it's also our responsibility to challenge their thoughts, motives, and objectives. At the risk of sounding cliché, we're on a journey together -- one in which we work to achieve common goals. It's also our job, no matter the discipline, to push the creative envelope and keep our clients asking questions.
The following are a handful of scenarios and how you can work within these situations to gently push back and achieve a healthy balance between agency revenue and strong client relationships.
Burning the midnight oil. Or, as it's commonly referred to, "quick turnarounds" or "fire drills." Long hours and advertising agencies go together like peanut butter and jelly (well, maybe not that satisfying, but there's no question that agency executives haven't had one without the other).
What do you do with a client who's constantly asking for more time? How many of these last-minute requests are the result of the client communication funnel or the client's procrastination? All of the "quick turnarounds" can actually do more harm than good. Projects that are rushed or pushed through quickly are prone to errors, and let's face it: The agency is likely to shoulder the blame if there's a mistake.
There will always be fire drills, but you can minimize them by sitting down with the client to establish expectations, set realistic deadlines/timelines, and determine if additional resources need to be made.
Kill 'em with kindness. If we've done our jobs right in client services, we've built relationships that will weather most storms. We call more than we email, we know birthdays and anniversaries, kids' birthdays, and favorite adult beverages. We try the best new restaurant in town, and may even fight over who picks up the check.
It is in these relationships where saying no or pushing back might be more challenging than ever. You may very well run into a situation where you know the client is wrong, but telling the client so could jeopardize what you've worked so hard to build. Think about the open, honest, trustworthy lines of communication you have with friends and family, and try to approach this situation the same way.
The bottom line is that we're looking out for their best interest, and above all, it is our responsibility to arm our clients with the necessary research, strategic thinking, and recommendations that make sense for them. Trustworthy relationships (the ones built on those critical open and honest fundamentals) have a much better chance of surviving differences of opinions.
Torn between two agencies. In the digital world, we frequently find ourselves in a position where we are handling one aspect of our clients' business while another agency (in many instances, a competitor) handles another part. What happens when we run into a situation where we think our way is the right way?
These are golden opportunities to showcase what we know. Advertising is a brutal business, and not taking advantage of an opportunity to showcase what we know -- even if it means venturing into another agency's territory -- can mean the difference between being a trusted client advisor or not. Just remember, in these situations, baby steps always trump bulldozers.
BOGO (buy one get one). Tough economic times definitely call for drastic compromises. Maybe we shave time off of a project or throw in a campaign at no cost. With these situations, clients can get accustomed to this type of behavior and expect this treatment long after the economy rebounds. The problem with this situation is that you've established a pattern of behavior. Throw one project in at no or reduced cost, and before you know it, well, you know how this works.
First, if you're not budgeting on a regular basis and getting SOWs signed, sealed, and delivered, you should be. Second, it's about business, and at the end of the day, clients should pay for work. Desperate times may have called for desperate measures, but don't let your agency fall prey to freebies.
Oldies but goodies. We all have them: the great clients who have, when all else fails, provided us with stability. The problem may be that they are reluctant to change, try something new, or may even recoil when we approached them in the past with out-of-the box ideas. The way to deal with this client -- and get past the rebuttal -- is to keep the ideas coming. The point is to step up your game and avoid falling into a trap of complacency. Everything changes: client contacts, client C suites, and client business. When the changes happen, you won't be in a position where you're playing catch up. You and your ideas will be right where they need to be.
There you have it -- a few of the age-old scenarios and how to get past a client who's got you between a rock and a hard place. Say no -- say it nicely and say it smartly -- but empower yourself and your teams with the tools that keep "no" from ending your relationships.
Laura Long is director of client services for Nurun.
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