For any marketing agency, having a partnership-like relationship with clients is all that matters. If the client and agency work together in harmony, all projects will likely be a success. Sadly, according to a survey, only 56% of clients feel satisfied with the relationship with their agency.
In most cases, a client-agency relationship turns sour when expectations aren’t met. This guide explores client-agency relations and provides tips for helping them thrive.
Instead of building an onsite marketing team from scratch, brands prefer hiring agencies to take over all their marketing work. This is a plus as it can save on time and resources. Besides, agencies specialize in marketing and have the skills and cutting-edge tools to meet the client’s expectations.
For this relationship to start off on the right foot, the client and the agency have to play their roles effectively.
For an agency to carry out its marketing work successfully, the client should adopt the following roles:
For an agency to execute its duties successfully, they have to carry out the following roles:
A client-agency relationship goes through various stages and requires both time and effort.
Much like in the dating world, both the client and the agency must check if they’re a good fit for each other. Prospecting forms the foundation of a good client-agency relationship and collaboration.
During this stage, ask questions. During this period, you can ask as many questions about the agency as possible. This helps you dig deeper into whether you have related core values and if you have the resources to afford the agency’s services.
Integrating the client into the agency is also called onboarding. It involves both parties signing a contract for the work to begin. The agency then incorporates the client’s business into its workflow and clearly defines the objectives agreed upon.
In this stage, the agency team does an in-depth analysis of the client’s business. The team closely examines areas such as competitors and stress points, the client’s marketing assets, the brand, and goes over raw data.
All the insights put together from this process guide the agency in coming up with an advertising plan that suits the client’s business.
The agency now creates an extensive marketing strategy that is tailored to address the needs of the client’s business and tables proposals for discussion and evaluation. Some of the most important components of the strategy are KPIs and deliverables.
They allow the client and agency to track and measure the performance of the marketing campaign.
Once the client accepts the campaign plan, the agency rolls it out on the agreed-upon channels. Typically, executing the marketing strategy entails generating content for social media platforms, launching email marketing campaigns, managing social media accounts, and collecting data.
Evaluating the campaign performance comes after implementing the marketing strategy for a set period. Both the client and the agency analyze the data and metrics collected against the preset goals and objectives. By doing so they are able to identify successful areas and those that require more improvement.
Deciding whether to renew or end the collaboration is the last stage in a client-agency relationship. Both parties take time to evaluate the results of the advertising campaign. They might opt to extend the contract if they are mutually content with the outcome of the collaboration. The client can also part ways with the agency if they aren’t satisfied with the results.
For a client-agency relationship to run smoothly, it must have the following aspects.
Both the client and the agency need to have a firm grasp of the party’s business. In this case, it will be easier for them to resolve issues, complete marketing initiatives with greater satisfaction, and build lasting relationships. Furthermore, it will help set realistic expectations on either side.
On the one hand, the client needs to know the agency’s timelines, processes, and outcomes. This way, they can find another agency to work with should these fail to align with their business needs.
On the other hand, the agency should know how to tailor its services better to match with the client’s industry and business goals. If they don’t understand the client’s business, the agency might fail to map out marketing campaigns to the client’s desired objectives. It’s no surprise that a survey shows 80% of businesses prefer hiring an agency that fully understands their operations.
Though clear communication sounds obvious, it’s one of the elements that strengthen a client-agency relationship. Each project should have an in-touch point where the agency sends an update to the client. Doing so enables clients to clarify points, ask questions, and propose changes earlier on rather than when the project is complete.
To keep communication flowing for all clients, an agency can look for a reliable Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool like Bonsai. With a client portal, you can manage all communication with clients from a central place. Besides making communication easier, it keeps a history of all conversations should they be needed in the future.
A spirit of collaboration in a client-agent relationship goes beyond mere cooperation. It involves sharing ideas, leveraging on each other’s strengths, and working together towards similar goals. Using this approach from start to finish gives clients control of their marketing projects under the watchful eye of experienced professionals.
However, for collaboration to flourish, both the client and the agent should respect each other’s perspectives. The agency should acknowledge the client’s understanding of their domain and the client the agency’s expertise in marketing. Each party should also be flexible and open to exploring new ideas, modifying strategies, and pivoting when necessary to respond to changing circumstances.
A laid-out roadmap paints a clear picture of what the agency will be working on to achieve the desired goals. It also shows the resources that will be needed. This way, it’s easy for the client to understand where they’re going and what the results are going to be. During execution, clear timelines and deadlines ensure the client and the agency work harmoniously.
Ultimately, the aim of a client-agency relationship should be results. The client should be able to record growth in terms of leads, conversions, and sales, depending on their goals. They should see how the agency is using resources to help their business grow. Though the agency might experience failures along the way, it shouldn’t be a recurring situation. When projects are successful, the client will naturally entrust more projects to the agency.
Client-agency relationships can be complex if they’re too formal. Be that as it may, watching how your agency relates with brands for a certain period can tell you whether the relationship is okay or not. Generally, client-agent relationships can fall into either of the following categories:
A good client-agency relationship represents a win-win situation for both sides. The agency’s marketing success translates to more profits for a client’s business. As such, a healthy relationship between the two parties is crucial to achieving set goals.
Here are some other factors that help a good client-agency relationship to flourish.
Like many other relationships, clients and agencies need trust to thrive. A good relationship helps to create a rapport and build trust between a client and the agency they are contracting. Clients can trust agencies to have their best interests at heart in terms of service delivery and maintaining the confidentiality of their data.
Successful partnerships bloom with effective communication. In this case, a good client-agency relationship ensures there are open communication lines. This results in a better understanding of expectations, goals, and timelines, as well as honest reporting of results on both ends.
A good all-around relationship encourages both parties to be more efficient in their work processes. Clients tend to become more proactive in supporting marketing agencies to implement tasks while the latter provides high-quality, result-driven services.
As an agency, having a good relationship with a client is a long-term investment. Happy and content clients will continue contracting you with more business or give referrals, which means more revenue for your agency. In turn, this helps to elevate your reputation as a marketing and advertising hub.
A healthy relationship between clients and their marketing agencies inspires creativity. Agencies are bound to be more innovative and creative in brand campaigns when they have their clients’ backing and support. Likewise, clients are open to risks and new ideas when they have trusting agency partners.
Building and maintaining a good client-agency relationship is paramount if you want your business to thrive in the market. After all, a poor client-agency relationship means a bad reputation, no customer retention, no growth, and no results. Nonetheless, building a good business relationship is easier said than done.
A relationship map gives a visual representation of connections, interactions, and changes in the client-agency relationship. It can improve the relationship in many ways. For instance, it helps you identify the stakeholders in the client’s business involved in marketing decisions. With this information, you can tailor communication and engagements to the right people.
By channeling communication to the right person, you show the client that you have a deeper understanding of their business. Moreover, you build trust and create an avenue for showing you are interested in helping the client succeed.
The onboarding process is the period between when a client says they would like to work with you and the start of the actual work. During this time, you want to make the client feel valued and confident in their decision to work with your agency. Since you’ll be dealing with multiple clients, having a laid-out onboarding process goes a long way in ensuring each of them gets the best experience.
For that reason, you might want to:
If you treat your clients like a business, your relationship will be too formal and purely transactional. Similarly, making your relationship too casual might leave room for unmet expectations and miscommunication.
The right way to treat your clients is like partners. This way, there will be a balance between work and personal relationships. As a result, you’ll be able to work as a team, respect each other’s boundaries, and deliver results.
A client might choose to work with an agency for different reasons. Some might be seeking to increase sales and generate more leads and conversions. Unfortunately, despite your efforts to carry out campaigns on their behalf, they might fail to see tangible results.
When they complain, you should let them explain their concerns. Afterward, position yourself as a part of their business and suggest some proposals like working with the sales team.
It’s your marketing team that sends reports to clients, asks questions, and gives clarification to them on a daily basis. They understand what kind of standing your relationship is on with clients better than anyone. Plan regular meetings where every member of the team shares the relationship status of the client they’re working with. Make the floor open and honest so that the team can communicate without being judged.
Marketing agencies have become too many in the market. If an agency wants to always have its plate full, it must create a good relationship with incoming and existing clients. However, there’s so much that goes into building and maintaining such a relationship. That’s why agencies need to have great strategies for interacting with clients from the first meeting to the completion of projects.
Equally important,, you must have the necessary tools to make the client management process easier. A tool like Bonsai’s software for agencies can come in handy, as it allows you to do all client management work from a central point. You can manage projects, clients, finances, and collaborate with teams. Reach out to the Bonsai team for more information.
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