IndustrySupporting a Successful Client/Agency Relationship

Supporting a Successful Client/Agency Relationship

"Soft skills" have become more and more important in the ways agencies support clients. Here are a few that provide great results.

Working in the world of digital marketing, especially search, we as marketers are often held to a higher standard of “show me results.” Creative agencies, TV buyers, and social media managers still face strict judgment, but often not as strict as the likes of digital marketers.

Many clients are bottom-line driven; the success of your digital marketing efforts is directly tied to the amount of revenue or sales generated. It’s easy for your client to take monthly reports up to senior management and show them the growth in revenue and sales.

While many digital marketers focus these topics to provide support that campaigns are being managed successfully, there is another part of the agency-client relationship that needs to be nurtured. “Soft skills” have become more and more important in the ways agencies support clients. Here are a few that provide great results:

Thought Leadership: Content marketing has taken the world by storm over the past few years, and one of the major ways it can be leveraged is from a thought leadership perspective. The world of search is constantly being influenced by Google algorithm changes, new ad formats on Bing, attribution, and even connecting your efforts to CRM programs. The point being, there is always something new happening and as an agency partner, your clients often look to you for updates on these topics.

Creating thought leadership pieces and providing them to your clients not only reflects positively on your knowledge of the industry, but it also arms your clients with the ability to answer questions on some of the most recent digital marketing tactics. This makes them look good in front of their peers, which is a win for you and when they are unable to answer a question, they know you are the person to go to for the answer.

Turning Around Tight Deadlines: We have all received the “I need this by EOD” email. At times it can be frustrating, but it also can be seen as an opportunity. It depends on the structure of your client’s business; it may not be them asking to have something turned around in an unreasonable amount of time – it may be coming from their superior.

By supporting your client and being able to turn deliverables around in a short period of time, you make them look good. They are able to deliver what is needed to their superiors in a timely fashion. This shows you are dependable and willing to put forth extra effort to make them successful.

Awards: A significant amount of the work that goes into digital marketing efforts goes unnoticed. But there still are plenty of industry awards that could potentially win you some big points. Nominating your client or their company for the work they have done can be a great way to support them and take your relationship to the next level.

ROI in Your Services: ROI of your marketing efforts is something we all know needs to be delivered. But ROI in your services also should not be neglected. When taking on a new client, simply asking the questions “what do you see as success?” can provide deep insight into what your client is hoping to get out of your relationship. You will definitely be told improvement in performance of the campaign, but there may be additional ways you can support your client that fall outside the traditional CPA and revenue goals most clients have.

At the end of the day, you need to support your client. Support them through optimizing your campaigns is only half the battle. Growing a relationship that supports them in their daily life is key to an optimal relationship.

Resources

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