The modern marketing agency faces many challenges when it comes to dealing with clients, building a positive reputation, and maintaining success. With some agencies, the challenges are winning. Consider these findings from HubSpot's 2018 Marketing Agencies Growth Report:15 percent of agencies surveyed do not personalize their service offerings and do not deliver services on time. 60 percent of respondents have difficulty finding new customers. 16% of respondents find it difficult to retain customers. Part of the challenge in the agency-client relationship is expectations: Agencies are bound by realities that fall short of the lofty goals the client assumes achievable. While there's nothing wrong with aiming high, expectations should be anchored in practicality – and when they're not, the working relationship between the two parties can become strained.
Understanding client expectations and requirements, setting and achieving powerful goals, and delivering on time is imperative for agencies looking to grow. Here are some practical tips for managing customer expectations and building a collaboration that benefits everyone:Get off to employee email database a good start when setting customer expectations First impressions count. Once the contract is signed, the first interactions between your team and the client's team can make all the difference in the tone and, ultimately, the success of the project or mandate. If the onboarding is organized, professional and friendly, everything is more likely to happen afterwards. If onboarding becomes difficult or contentious, the customer may become suspicious of every decision and action you take. A successful agency-client relationship starts with both parties being on the same page from day one. An effective onboarding assures the customer that they are a priority and can trust the skills, decisions, experience and passion of your team. Great onboarding also benefits the agency, as expectations around timelines, processes, and communication are set for both sides of the relationship.
When onboarding, include these three best practices to impress clients and prepare for the project ahead:Introductions : Communicate with the client about how your team works. Introduce each person who will be working on the account so the people in the client can put a face to the rock star who designed their latest landing page or wrote that web copy. Gather information : knowledge is power, so learning everything about the client in relation to the project or mandate provides the means for a more precise and impactful integration. This information should be general, such as the company's mission statement and goals, and specific, such as contact lists, social media connections and brand guidelines, etc. Brief your team : Brief your agency's relevant team members on everything they need to know about the client and the project, then hold an internal orientation meeting to ensure they clearly understand what is being discussed. expected of them from the outset.