Feeling The Love: Agency-Client Relations Still Need Some Couples Therapy
It could be a runaway best-seller for PR and marketing types. Call it "Agencies are from Pluto, Clients are from Neptune."
If umpteen pop-psychology books about the interminable battle between the sexes can continue to populate the shelves, then a similar tome addressing how PR agencies and their
clients can learn to speak the same language is long overdue. Like "Men Are From Mars, Women Are from Venus," it could address how to spread the love in what is often a
tempestuous relationship.
Sure, things may be improving between agencies and clients, as both sides learn from their mistakes, but there still are major gaps in the relationship, according to a new
survey sponsored by PR News and the Counselors Academy.
The survey, which received 80 responses, addressed myriad sticking points inherent in agency-client relations, ranging from cost to turn-around time. For instance, 53% of
respondents said clients' overall expectations are too often unrealistic or demanding, while 52% said cost of services is higher than the client expects.
There are "new challenges for our clients at every turn: emerging issues and threats, increasing competition and the need for stronger performance," says Elise Mitchell,
founder and president of the Mitchell Communications Group Inc. (Fayetteville, Ark.), who sits on the Counselors Academy marketing committee. "As a result, the bar is
constantly being raised on what agencies need to do to help their clients be successful."
(Counselors Academy members meet in Phoenix next week for its annual conference; look for follow-up coverage in the May 25 issue of PR News.)
1. What are you doing at your firm to gain a better understanding of your clients' businesses? (Sample)
Respondents: 79
- Listen well, make notes, study the competition, read their industries' trade and professional publications online or by being put on complimentary lists; interview them on
their business plan, mission statement, weaknesses and strengths and goals, and meet or talk to their clients and employees. - Physically go to the client's site and spend a day or two meeting with different departments, seeing what they do and how they do it. We find by experiencing the client's
culture first-hand, we are better able to fit their needs. - Participating in industry associations more and more; monitoring and sharing industry media coverage; talking to industry analysts; asking our clients for industry updates.
2. How are your clients responding to your learning their business?
Respondents: 80
You negotiate some level of compensation with clients on the front end of a new project or a new account. Response Percent: 18%
You are compensated by your clients in an ongoing manner. Response Percent: 22%
Your clients appreciate it and acknowledge it but are unwilling to pay for it. Response Percent: 5%
You consider this a part of doing a good job on the business and do not point it out specifically to your clients. Response Percent: 55%
3. How are you helping your clients' inexperienced PR managers? (Sample)
Respondents: 77
- They seem to respond to advice from us better when paired with examples from other clients we've worked with that they've heard from. We also try to make them look good --
so we'll help them craft memos and plans and they can get the internal credit if they so choose. People know the agency they're working with so we all benefit. - Giving them all the resources we can -- editorial calendars, media contacts, information on different publications/outlets as well as helping them to monitor stories to see
how they could fit and creating messages for stories as we go along. - Teach them how to work with us. Give them history on the client. Demonstrate research and evaluation experience and stress importance of this. Invite them to agency team
meetings on occasion. Counsel them on how to present a proposal or idea to their supervisor.
4. How are your clients helping you retain good talent and address your gaps in talent?
Respondents: 77
Infrequent informal discussions on staff performance. Response Percent:40%
Frequent informal discussions on staff performance. Response Percent:32%
Formal evaluations at least once a year on staff performance. Response Percent: 16%
You don't ask for feedback in any way on staff performance. Response Percent:12%
5. What are the sources of friction between you and your clients? (Indicate all that apply.)
Respondents: 79
Client wants higher level of talent assigned to their account. Response Percent: 19%
There is not good chemistry between the agency staff and client. Response Percent: 10%
Turn-around time on work is not sufficient. Response Percent: 23%
Cost of services is higher than client expects. Response Percent: 52%
Disagreement on strategy. Response Percent: 11%
Disagreement on tactical delivery. Response Percent: 9%
Client's overall expectations are too often unrealistic or demanding. Response Percent: 53%
6. What approaches are you taking to remedy the friction? (Sample)
Respondents: 75
- There is no way to make a cheap client feel better about spending money, so if a client is consistently unrealistic about expenses, I very diplomatically part ways and
recommend a less expensive firm or a freelancer who can do the work for less. - Over-communicate our "investment" in their programs (in other words, we show them our actual costs vs. what we really bill them).
- Constant communication about expectations, budget and strategy. Setting the stage from the beginning by addressing these issues at the beginning of the project/relationship.
Having candid conversations with clients about what can and cannot be accomplished within their timeframe and budget.
7. If you lost accounts during the past 12 months, what were the reasons your client gave you for losing the account?
Respondents: 67
- Not enough time spent pitching the client; not enough press garnered.
- Reduction in budget, too much turnover on account.
- Ran out of money for the "luxury" of our services. Sales not made quickly enough (our client did not give our efforts enough time) Client would not respond to our needs, copy
and ideas submitted. Lots of agency work, few results because client did not approve things (no time, they claimed). - Staff was not proactive enough.
8. When you are negotiating with clients, what criteria are they using to evaluate successful agency relationships?
Respondents: 76
- Media results and/or business development.
- Measurement and objectives are the same; level of talent assigned to team; previous experience in industry.
- Access to senior staff (often 24/7), familiarity with their product/service/industry, quality of counsel, results (different measurements for different clients -- sometimes
lines of coverage, sometimes placement of specific messages, sometimes butts in chairs, sometimes changes in key audience attitudes). - What we've done for other clients; how we've helped other clients realize their business objectives; media coverage we've achieved for other clients. We work with several
clients in manufacturing sector; new prospects are always interested to see how we've positioned other manufacturers and what (trade) media coverage we've generated for them.
9. What are your clients asking you to deliver more of in the current climate? (Sample)
Respondents: 72
- More media relations on the lower end and more strategic business consulting on the higher end.
- Publicity that isn't based on real newsworthy happenings. Great Web sites, ads, brochures, direct marketing programs, research, branding and public relations programs for
which they can't pay enough for us to work with them. - More financial services, and investor and industry analyst support.
- Market intelligence. Business development in emerging sectors. Carefully selected philanthropic connections and cause related marketing (fewer dollars, more bang).
- Bottom-line impact, e.g., increased sales, more business referrals.
To view the entire survey, please go to http://www.counselorsacademy.org/news.htm.