Clients rarely fire an agency over something big. It’s actually a build up of little things that erode trust and begin to wear on the relationship. Over time, the relationship is so damaged, no one inside the client organization is willing to fight to keep you. Are your account service teams focusing on the little [...]
Developing outstanding customer service. Inspiring unwavering customer loyalty. Creating passionate customer advocates. We all want it. We all need it. But how do we get it? “I think at the end of the day all you have to do to be different and be remembered is just be a little bit better than what we [...]
Short of losing out on work, I'm not sure there's anything more frustrating then when a client is stalled on a project. You know how it goes. Client calls with their hair on fire. You move heaven and earth to get the resources ready to help them solve their crisis and you're knee deep into [...]
One of the most annoying and expensive aspects of running an agency is when you do a lot of groundwork on a project and then the client pulls the plug before you've been paid. The phrase is actually an American idiom that originated in the 19th century. Back in 19th century America, toilets had plugs [...]
Every agency wants to be their client’s go to partner. It’s not enough to deliver top notch creative or marketing strategy. Today’s clients (as we learned in our CMO research study) want an agency who can think beyond marketing and help them with solving wicked problems. My podcast guest, Gareth Kay, and his company Chapter, [...]
You help your clients do it every day but have you defined your values, mission and vision? As you preach to clients, it’s vital to every business that they have a clear idea of who they are and what they’re all about. Usually the owner has some vague (or maybe very defined) vision for their [...]
What do CMOs and other decision makers say is the final decision point when it comes to hiring an agency? Chemistry. Many agencies believe that chemistry is not really in their control but actually, there are definitely some things you can do to connect at that level. In a recent podcast, I had a conversation [...]
As an agency owner you know how valuable effectively managing the client-agency relationship is. But it's getting tougher every day, as clients choose to work with multiple agencies and push for measurable metrics that proof that they money they invest with you is turning into leads and sales. So how do you earn that loyalty with your clients? [...]
An ad agency creative brief is one way to get your creatives to stay on target when they may be struggling. In today's digital, data driven agency environment -- many agencies struggle to keep their creatives on target. We're evolving from the Mad Men era where creative was king to a time when results, ROI and [...]
Building client relationships is vital to the success of any agency -- but -- this doesn’t necessarily mean agencies always treat their clients in such a way that the agency is regarded as a partner in the client’s business. I hang out with agency owners all the time and over and over I hear them [...]
