1. Consistently losing talent…
Agency heads gulp when team members hand in their notice. Yes it’s because they will ‘miss you’ but more often than not the client will miss you more. Perpetual motion pushes people along and those who are responsible for great work frequently go out and start their own agencies or get head hunted. Clients understand this but even so it frustrates the hell out of them.
Clients need to know that as an agency you are taking measures to nurture staff within your organization and encourage them to stay put for the long haul.
Constant turnover of staff is a massive point of frustration. Don’t allow it to happen. Think about who is communicating with clients and think about creating and communicating an open and appreciative agency culture.
2. Don’t nickel and dime
There’s nothing more annoying to clients than having to be charged for every tiny request. Assuming that you are good, and that your work is good you should invest time and it will pay back in spades.
3. Don’t be an old school Diva
Don’t act like a big corporate monolith, even if you are one. Clients like it if always try to behave like a small agency - lots of energy, lots of flexibility, and saying 'yes' a lot
4. Don’t patronise
Yes, what they think is a eureka idea is absolutely terrible, but you still don’t need to patronise. They may have worked in an agency or not but as soon as a member of your team assumes the client doesn’t know what they are talking about, that equals relationship failure. You must balance this with constructive criticism and if you get to a good positive state where can contribute but be honestly critiqued, well we all know that is what triggers the best ideas.
5. Don’t fail to manage expectations
Straight talking goes a long way. Don’t let the idea run away and allow the client to expect unreasonable results from a campaign. This was the single most common grumble from clients. Even if the idea was great the fact that it had been so over-egged from start to finish really got on their nerves…
