Only one company can become an agency’s biggest client. But all have the opportunity to become your agency’s best client. Biggest or best means that you will get extra attention, time from the leading team/s and prioritization when the planning is full. And it’s not hard. It’s mostly a matter of understanding the client/agency relation and what each of you are best suited to do.
To start with, don’t fall into the trap of making wrong prioritizations when starting the relation with an agency. It’s often said that there are three key factors that clients in many cases demand:
- It should be good
- It should be delivered quickly
- It should be cheap
Unfortunately, you can never have all three – you must choose maximum two.
What many customers don’t realize is that agencies also operate based on three factors:
- It should be profitable
- It should be fun
- It should be a strong reference
And again, you can rarely get all three – two out of three is the norm.
So, how do you become the agency’s most important client?
Once again, three key points:
- Show that marketing communication is something you care about and enjoy. Enthusiasm and passion are contagious, so have many open discussions. And the opposite. If the agency calls you a Saturday with a great idea, take the time to listen. They have spent a part of their weekend thinking about your challenges
- Be clear and transparent in your brief (and always make sure there is a proper written brief). What’s the business challenge? What’s the goal? Who is the target audience? How does the decision process look like? And who internally needs to approve the proposal, and how will we (you as the client and the agency) handle that together?
- Respect the agency’s competence and work processes, but be clear about what you need and what you think. The agency is your partner, and the team your extended arm – so make sure they have a fair chance to create the creative masterpieces you want. But it’s a partnership, so open and honest feedback is crucial.
Follow the above simple rules and you will be the agency’s best customer. And with a good agency as a partner you will create amazing results for both your company and yourself.
Finally – if you get the chance to switch sides, I think you should take it. If the agency team has client-side experience, they often provide sharper ideas, smoother execution and better results – simply because they understand the corporate challenges better. And as a client, having agency-side experience and understanding how an agency works will undoubtedly make you a better client. Perhaps even the agency’s most important one.
Do you want to know more about what agency to work with, just reach out to ulf.vanselius@comprend.com