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Agency-Client Bonding. How to be on the Same Page…and Stay There.
From ADV Magazine and ADVMag.com
By Allen Silveri
As any talk show or lifestyle magazine might preach, the secret of a strong marriage is communication. And the marriage of agency and client is no different.
In the present economy, where downsized marketers everywhere are clipping want ads, the agency-client divorce rate is high. What can an agency do to rejuvenate communication habits?
A tangible respect for each other’s knowledge, services and products is an integral first step. Each party has its own expertise that they bring to the relationship. Respect for each other’s expertise becomes visible when an agency demonstrates an understanding of the client’s business and industry at large, or conversely, when a client understands and actively supports its agency’s methodology.
Every now and then it is advantageous, however informally, to share your agency’s expertise, offering hints about why your agency is doing what it is doing. Delineate how a successful PR program first establishes goals, and only then proceeds with strategy and tactics. This paradigm may be obvious to PR agents, but it often falls outside of the clients’ expertise.
Once the sequence is clear, it may also be necessary to define the events themselves. "I think it’s easy for companies to confuse goals and strategies," says Rae Cook, President of Gorin & Cook, Inc. "Often, company strategies are merely a wish list of what they want to accomplish, such as ‘to gain market share’ or ‘to generate brand awareness.’ These are goals, not strategies."
Communication for Each Step
Your client’s needs and goals should be identified frequently. If this remains the focus throughout the relationship, it will never become obscured in the momentum of strategizing. Goals are a reminder of why the two parties collaborated in the first place.
Goals dictate what strategic direction needs to be taken and which tactics to carry out, yet according to Cook, it needs to be clear that the agency takes the lead. "It is vital that the agency be ‘the one’ whose decision it is to choose a path. You have to help them feel safer with the strategy you choose," says Cook.
Agencies also have to take the initiative to change strategies mid-course, when necessary. This involves increased research. Clients need to know that they are a valued resource in this endeavor.
It is gratifying for an agency to have a client that not only volunteers a wealth of information and assistance, but also one that possesses a working knowledge of marketing. In any case, proactively imparting PR knowledge to your client should be a matter of course. Cook continues, "I decided a long time ago to teach clients to ask the question, ‘is that part of our strategic plan?’ When I hear it, it’s an uplifting experience in my workday."
Here are some ideas for encouraging strategic thought in clients:
* Make your strategy simple; elaborate language blurs the transition from strategy to tactics
* Debrief on any emergencies that may arise, and illustrate how a lack of strategy might have led to that emergency
* Debrief on any success as well, and show how they relate back to the strategy
* Explain how having a strategy saves costs
Cook advises to have a worksheet of topics, issues or questions to cover when working on strategy. There may be times when the client contributes tactical ideas interchangeably with strategic ones. When this happens, post a flip chart, 3Msheet, or a portable and a projector to create "parking lots" of ideas to look at when you get to tactics. "Don’t make the client wrong for shifting to tactics. Ask them why they thought of the tactics, and that can lead you back to strategy."
Also, when creating a strategy, Cook is keen on having both a "luxury plan" (on-budget) and an emergency plan (low-budget – the minimum). She stresses the need to elucidate factors of success and differences between "need to do" and "nice to do." Clients are deeply grateful for this type of prioritizing.
Give And Take
Even though agencies are hired as experts, they must fully engage the client as a partner, not as a service recipient from beginning to end. The "give and take" quality of an agency-client relationship defines the agency as an extension of the client it represents. Be assertive in inhabiting your client’s ideals and attitudes, and make them your own.
If a prospective client sees proof of your ability to understand where they come from and to forge dynamic relationships, they will likely be impressed and intrigued. Remember, they are the ones who ultimately pronounce you "agency and client."
© 1999 Allen Silveri. All rights reserved Schubert Communications
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