11 Ways Your Marketing Agency Can Maintain Good Client Relations

Landing a client for your marketing agency is only the beginning. You must know how to foster good client relations for your marketing agency to be successful.

There is both an art and a science to maintaining good relationships with your clients. Here’s some advice we’ve learned from years of experience.

1. Do the work to gain understanding of your clients’ needs and wants

You need to lay the foundation for marketing projects. Take the time and demand the client take the time to discuss their goals, objectives, and challenges.

Did deep. Ask questions. And if their goals and objectives seem off kilter, discuss tweaks or alternatives that would give their business better results.

Get the hard information you need to understand their business so you can properly market it.

Finally, be sure you are clear on who in their organization is making the marketing decisions and who are influencers.

2. Set boundaries and realistic expectations

Ensure that you and your client have a clear understanding of project timelines, deliverables and expected outcomes. Be transparent about what you can realistically achieve within the given resources and constraints.

Managing expectations from the outset helps build trust and avoids potential conflicts down the line. Put it all in writing to avoid project creep. You cannot maintain a good client relationship if you do not set clear boundaries.

3. Educate your clients

Clients may sometimes have unreasonable expectations because they do not understand the process or the implications of their requests. It is the agency’s responsibility to educate them about the market, strategies, best practices, and realistic outcomes. By providing insights and sharing your expertise, you can help manage their expectations, guide them towards more reasonable requests and foster good client relations.

4. Communicate regularly and well

Set up consistent, reliable communications processes. Be proactive, and regularly update your clients about progress rather than making them hunt you down. Provide them with metrics reports. Be available and responsive when they contact you.

Mistakes happen. But people understand that if you address their concerns and make it right.

5. Under-promise and over-deliver

Go beyond meeting the basic requirements of the project by offering additional value to your clients. This can include sharing industry insights, recommending improvements or suggesting new opportunities to help them stay ahead of the competition. You want your clients to consider you a trusted advisor rather than a greedy vendor who is trying to nickel and dime them.

6. Be aware of your image

It’s important to maintain your client’s trust and their view of you as an expert. Showcase your agency’s expertise and professionalism through high-quality work, innovative ideas and consistently met deadlines. When clients have confidence in your capabilities and see tangible results, it strengthens their trust and satisfaction with your agency

7. Seek feedback and act on it

Regularly seek feedback from your clients to understand their level of satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. Actively listen to their suggestions and concerns, and take appropriate actions to address them. Clients want marketers who listen to them and have their companies’ best interests at heart. Demonstrating that you value their input and are committed to continuous improvement helps foster good client relations with your agency.

8. Be adaptable

When it comes to serving marketing clients, one size does not fit all. Pay close attention to their needs and their preferences. If you think a different direction is warranted, get their buy-in before proceeding.

Not only that, but your clients’ needs may change. Constantly test and take the temperature of your marketing efforts. Be ready to change direction as the market and your clients’ needs change. Remember that the mission is to help your client succeed, not just complete a project.

9. Don’t just say no

If a client expects an unreasonable outcome, or if they demand work that is beyond the scope of the project, it is important that you don’t just shut them down with a “No.”

Instead, propose alternative solutions that align with their goals and budget. By presenting viable alternatives, you demonstrate your commitment to finding a compromise and reaching a satisfactory outcome.

10. Don’t be bulldozed

While it’s good to offer extra value to your client, you cannot allow yourself to be bulldozed. If you do not stay within the bounds of the project, you may actually lose money on it.

Ask yourself if the client’s request is reasonable, whether you have the resources to meet that request and how it will impact your time and work for other clients. If it is going to cost you more than what you originally agreed to, you must discuss budget modifications with the client.

11. Revise the contract when deliverables change

If your client is demanding more than you agreed to in your contract for the same price, it is time to revise your contract. You cannot afford to keep adding on deliverables without being compensated.

Need Guidance in Maintaining Good Client Relations?

When Umbrella provides you with white label marketing services, they can also manage the client relationships for the project if you like. For a free consultation to discuss how Umbrella can help, contact Umbrella through this website form or by calling 1(866) 760-2638.