Subscribe in a readerThe High Steaks of Customer Service
Mike Marn | B2B Ad Agencies | March 20th, 2008
Advertising agencies have been known to take their clients for granted. They believe that since their clients are usually not marketing experts, and are busy operating their businesses, they are somehow less inclined to evaluate agency performance or consider a change. We get too comfortable, thinking they wouldn’t want to have to bring someone else up to speed, learning about their business.
Obviously a very smug and dangerous assumption. In this day and age, everything is assessed constantly. Regardless of the industry, or the lack of sophistication of your clients, if you don’t serve them as well as you once did, someone else will get the chance. (more…)
Oh, I see. It’s the client’s fault!
Mike Marn | B2B Ad Agencies | February 15th, 2008I’ve worked at a number of advertising agencies of varying sizes in small and large markets, and I’ve heard the same wistful joke voiced at most of them: “This business would be great if it weren’t for clients.” Of course it’s just sarcastic humor, and those saying it were kidding. But a recent Client Quality Survey conducted by SCAN International suggests that at many agencies, that may reflect a prevalent point of view.
Study results showed that a significant number of the nearly one hundred agencies surveyed were quite critical of client performance as it impacted agency performance. Indeed, 45% of them said that clients needed to work on providing better input and direction, and 35% expressed the need for better client decision-making.
I doubt there are many rookies reading this, so it’s safe to assume almost all of us have been disappointed or even frustrated with a client at times. And it’s certainly beyond argument that a client who offers precise, timely, and thorough input will likely get better work as a result. (That old “garbage in, garbage out” cliché applies to most situations in life.)
But resting the problem on your client’s doorstep does little but ensure that a new agency will be walking through that door soon. And for that, you can blame no one but yourself. In the B2B realm in particular, (more…)