Marketing agency client management can feel a bit like herding cats.
When you have a number of clients, each with multiple individuals on their teams, the amount of communication and negotiation necessary can feel overwhelming.
But customer relationship management isn't something you can overlook; it's vital to retain clients and grow your agency revenue.
Here's a breakdown of some of the common client management challenges agencies face, and methods to overcome them for smoother, happier relationships with clients.
Why can managing agency clients be so challenging?
Clients aren't a monolith
Unless your agency is made of entirely solopreneurs, odds are you have more than one contact for each client on your books. And though your clients may come from the same industry, they won't have the same ways of working and communicating.
The client relationship strategy that works perfectly for one client could fall flat with another. Effective marketing agency client management means being prepared to interact with different personalities, preferences, and expectations.
Your clients have a lot at stake
Your clients depend on you to help them achieve their business goals, and they've put a lot on the line by hiring you. Not only are they investing money and time, but they may feel their own reputation is tied to the work you deliver.
High stakes are stressful, and it's easy for clients' anxieties to impact your relationship with them. At the same time, your own concern about keeping them on the books can raise the stakes even more. This is why it's so vital to have iron-clad communication strategies that include methods to deal with high-pressure situations.
Without the right tools and processes, things go south quickly
Client relationships can be delicate. They are founded on trust and expectations, and if either of these things is broken, it can be an uphill battle to repair the damage.
Fortunately, the easiest way to keep client relationships from falling apart is to proactively build strong strategies for managing marketing clients. Here are 5 to consider.
5 Key strategies for managing marketing clients effectively
Have clear and open communication methods, and stick to them
Your marketing agency should have company-wide policies regarding communication. They should be well-known throughout the company, and once they're set, should be explained to every client (ideally at the start of the relationship).
Your policies can be specific—for example, you could have a policy of responding to all emails within 24 hours, or delivering reports on a certain day every month. But you can also have ethical communication rules, such as a commitment to mutual respect or rules designed to help your staff and clients maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Make honesty and transparency the cornerstone of client management
Trust is the foundation of any healthy client relationship, and it can only be maintained if everyone in your agency practices transparency and honesty at every level of communication.
Your clients will stay with you much longer if they know that you don't hide mistakes, and that you'll be honest when your campaigns aren't running as expected. It's far better to be transparent than try to explain dishonesty when your client inevitably discovers the truth.
Invest in your clients’ long-term success
If you want to keep your client agencies around, then you must demonstrate your commitment to their business success. This isn't something you can fake; you must fully understand the "what and why" of your client's goals, and then make those goals your own.
Be careful not to focus only on short-term goals. While those are important, you also want to frequently check in with your client about their one-year and five-year plans. Show your client that your dedication to their business won't waver.
Track everything, but make data digestible
Client expectations are closely tied to the results you deliver, and you need to be able to demonstrate hard evidence that proves their money is well spent with your agency.
To do this, you need data—a lot of it. And you must boil down that data into something your client can digest.
That's why having client management software that collects and organizes valuable data is such a key part of running a successful agency.
With CallRail, you can track important sales data for all of your clients, including which of your campaigns are responsible for bringing in the most calls or form submissions. These insights will show your clients how valuable your work is, in terms they can easily understand.
Ask questions, even the uncomfortable ones
If it was possible to read minds, then client management would be much easier.
Asking questions is the next best thing, even if it does feel intimidating sometimes. But asking insightful questions frequently can deepen your relationship with your client and uncover new opportunities.
It's hard to ask questions that may feel obvious or intrusive, but uncomfortable questions often reveal the most important information. You can use delicate phrasing (and a heaping portion of confidence) to make these challenging questions easier to ask.
For example, if you are worried you're asking a question that you've asked before, simply call yourself out. "I know we've discussed this before, but can you remind me..."
If you need to ask an uncomfortable question, perhaps about budgets, you can soften the query with phrasing like, "Just to be sure I can give you an accurate quote, can you estimate how much you expect to spend on this campaign?"
The more practice you have asking questions like this, the easier it will become—so don't be shy!
Recommended marketing software for client management
These tips should help you communicate more effectively with clients, paving the way for lucrative, long-term, pleasant relationships.
With the right client management software in place, you can take your client interactions to the next level. CallRail allows you to keep track of your client's business growth by monitoring the leads they get in detail. Call Tracking reporting also decreases the amount of time you need to spend on client management, because your clients can view their own dashboard at any time to check in on their data and analyze their leads.
Find out how CallRail can transform your agency with a free trial.
