When an agency masters the art of building strong client relationships, you know it’s well on its way to becoming a major success. A successful client-agency relationship brings you reliable income and a good reputation in your industry.
However, a recent survey reveals that only 56% of clients have an honest and transparent relationship with their agencies.
That’s why it’s best to start building a strong relationship with your client from the very first day of your contract. If you’re not sure how to do that, let us show you four practical ways to keep your clients happy and your business thriving.
Streamline client onboarding to set the stage for a great relationship
Client-agency relationships thrive when the information-sharing process runs smoothly. Sign up for Content Snare to impress your clients with the simplest content collection process.
1. Establish a clear definition of success
Your clients will be satisfied with your services if the time you spent collaborating was a success. The problem is when both parties aren’t on the same page about what that success looks like.
You need to be aware of your client’s goals from early on.
Related: 5 client onboarding best practices for making a lasting first impression
Before starting any projects, work together to establish expectations and a shared vision for the outcome. Make sure to create realistic expectations on both sides. Outline specific metrics for evaluating outcomes and communicate regularly to ensure you’re still moving in the direction the client wants to see.
2. Make communication a top priority
Like with any relationship, communication is the key to success in building a successful client relationship. Clients are happy when they’re well-informed about the work you’re doing and collaboration thrives when everyone is well-informed. Here’s how to achieve high-quality communication.
Stay organized
The last thing you should be doing is adding stress to your client’s life. It’s a recipe for disaster when your client has a cluttered inbox. Important files get lost in various email threads, and invites to meetings are hidden beneath numerous project updates.
Your job as an agency is to make your client’s life easier.
It’s crucial to keep all communication clear and organized. Often, that means moving communication away from email entirely.
For example, a client portal such as Content Snare can help you manage communications with ease. Our data-gathering platform makes client communication simple by allowing you to request and collect files or information from anyone without sending a barrage of emails. It does so with the following:
- Automatic notifications and reminders
- Client conversations within content collection forms
- Easy access controlsÂ
- One-click file exporting
Sounds interesting? You can sign up for a 14-day free trial to see first-hand how Content Snare supports organized content collection without the back and forth.
Create an efficient content approval process
A huge part of communication for an agency is the content approval process. This process not only ensures that the final product aligns with the client’s vision but also streamlines workflow, reduces misunderstandings, and fosters a collaborative environment.
For instance, you can:
- Define content approval guidelines
- Implement feedback loops
- Use a client portal to streamline collaboration
This is another part of work where Content Snare can come in handy. Rather than messy email chains, use Content Snare to send and receive files and track where they are in the approval process. Both the client and your own team will have a much easier time pushing content through the workflow when you use an organized content-sharing platform.
Respond quickly
Don’t test your clients’ patience when responding to questions or sending updates. Like you, your clients likely have busy schedules, so they won’t want to wait around for an answer when they ask a question.
Even when you have a hectic day, you need to respond to your clients on time. If you don’t have time to answer their questions right away, send a quick message letting them know when you can get back to them. This will show that even when you’re busy, they’re still a priority for you.
3. Build a foundation of trust
Trust should be the foundation of every good client-agency relationship. Relationships built on trust are able to accomplish tasks more effectively because neither side wastes time and energy second-guessing the other goals or motives.
Not only is a relationship built on trust more effective, but it’s also more enjoyable for you, the client, and all team members involved.
But trust isn’t automatic. It has to be earned.
The best way to earn trust is to place a high value on transparency and honest feedback.
Transparency
Transparency from both sides is necessary for building a successful relationship. As a digital marketing agency, you should be upfront about your strategies, compensation model, and any setbacks you come across during a project.
Don’t be afraid to communicate with your clients when a setback or delay occurs. Most people will be understanding as long as you give them updates about your progress and a plan for moving forward. However, you risk losing the client’s trust if you’re not upfront when issues arise.
You’ll also need transparency from your client to build a good relationship. It’s important to be aware of their objectives and budget. You can encourage this transparency by asking candid questions before beginning the work.
Honest feedback
Collaboration thrives when everyone involved is willing to give and receive honest feedback. You can’t be afraid of offending the client with your feedback. Let them know if you believe one of their ideas doesn’t work well with their overall vision.
You have to be willing to receive feedback as well. If a client doesn’t like an aspect of your work, open a discussion with them. Allow yourself to respectfully disagree, but always remain open-minded. It’s important to understand that you may have different perspectives.
The clash of ideas in a discussion and the corresponding compromise often creates the most creative outcomes.
Not all feedback should be negative either. If you only offer criticisms, your client may think you’re simply disagreeable. Let them know when you think their ideas are really working well. When you practice speaking openly in this way, both parties show mutual respect for each other.
4. Follow-through on your promises
Clients have to know they can count on you. That means when you say you’ll complete a certain task, you have a responsibility to follow through on that promise. Being reliable is one of the best ways to keep a client’s business in the long term.
Although objectives and strategies can shift over the course of a project and deadlines can change, your team needs to stay in close contact with the client’s team when these changes happen.
Keep the client a significant part of the discussion when these things happen. Contracts can be altered, but you should always follow through on the contract unless both parties agree to change it.
Successful client-agency relationships are a long-term process
The most reliable way to see your business succeed is to put relationships at the top of your list of priorities. With strong communication, clear expectations, trust between both parties, and reliable follow-through, your agency can build a reputation for total client satisfaction. Although this process requires a lot of time and patience, you will reap the benefits of it in the long run.
