One of the many famous remarks by former President Ronald Reagan, who died June 5 after a ten-year battle with Alzheimer's disease, was "Trust, but verify." The comment by the
"Great Communicator" was Reagan's way of characterizing his relations with the then-Soviet Union in the 1980s. The same might be said for PR agency-client relations, which, even
in good times, can be a delicate dance. Invariably, there's a push-you-pull-me aspect to agency-client relations.
But what can both sides do ensure the relationship doesn't lack for understanding and is truly built to last? PR NEWS posed that question to a handful of agency veterans, who
operate in the trenches, and came up with some insightful answers. In the current climate measurement from both sides is strongly recommended, but other tools can be deployed to
transcend the times.
Steve Cody
Managing Partner- Peppercom, 212.931.6114; [email protected]
"The average client-agency relationship lasts five years." That's what one of our larger clients told us when he first hired us. We thought it was a tongue-in-cheek sort of
comment and filed it away. Year-after-year, we excelled on the business, scoring outstanding results and vastly succeeding the previous year's performance in every respect. We
handled national PR, coordinated local market events and enacted a host of online initiatives, helping to significantly re-position the company in the process.
Then, sure as rain, as we entered our fifth year with the client, they put the account up for review. In explaining their decision to us, the client used phrases like,
"...we're like an old married couple" or "...we seem to be taking each other for granted." There was nothing rational or more specific than that. Just a vague feeling that the
relationship had run for its five-year limit and that was that.
Since our results were first class (and award-winning), we decided to defend it. We threw a significant amount of resources against the pitch and, during the process, had the
client tell us on several occasions that we had demonstrated far more creativity than our competitor. But, in the end, we lost.
In retrospect, we should have paid more attention to the verbal and non-verbal clues. This particular client was absolutely convinced that no client-agency relationship should
last longer than five years. And, they were hell bent to prove the point, regardless of how creative we were or how good the results to date had been. Every client relationship
needs to be examined and re-examined as it progresses from year-to year. But if, and when, we ever run across a mind-set like this one, we'll take a pass.
Victoria Shire Dinges
CEO-The Dinges Gang, 847.864.6815; [email protected]
(Prior to launching her consulting practice Dinges served as senior VP/corporate communications for R.R. Donnelley.)
While intuition is a valuable tool, in today's world of business, nothing speaks louder than hard-core proof. And it is the wise corporate communications professional that
builds formal measurement of the value delivered by their PR agencies into their strategic communications plan.
You can break down the evaluation process into two parts: Current performance measures things like media placements, message integration and Web site hits; Future expectations
for performance is an assessment of the agency's proactive actions, such as researching consumer trends and adding new expertise and competencies consistent with market
changes.
But measurement is a two-way street. You should insist the corporate communication team evaluates the agency members and the agency evaluate the corporate communications team.
There are several questions to frame the conversation: Do members of the team trust one another? Has the agency demonstrated a commitment to understanding the business? Has the
agency assigned the best, most appropriate professionals to my business? Does the corporate communications team provide the agency with the information and time it needs to do
good work?
If your intuition and/or measurement system tells you the agency's greatest, most consistent result is the on-time delivery of its monthly bill, you're relationship is probably
in big trouble. Get help before it's too late. A new agency search is worse.
Ken Makovsky
President- Makovsky & Co., 212.508.9601; [email protected]
In any economic environment, evaluating "quality"--the ultimate intangible--in agency/client relationships is difficult. But as we emerge from a difficult economic environment-
-with clients still watching their dollars and the cost of a new client win far in excess of retaining an existing client--satisfaction has never been more important. Instituting
a quality process can be an effective way to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Makovsky & Co. introduced its Quality Commitment Program (QCP) in 1988. Two times each year, we solicit written client evaluations of our performance. Then, the
respective account teams meet with the firm's senior management to compare the client report cards to written account team self-evaluations and perform a gap analysis. The
questions we ask are a no-holds-barred attempt to get to the heart of the matter. Are we achieving agreed-upon objectives? How does the client rate our work? Is there anything
we should be doing that we're not? Our analysis includes a creative session in which we examine new ways to add value to the relationship with the client. Results are shared
directly with the client by phone and, on a quarterly basis, an independent auditor contacts those clients for follow-up feedback.
This type of program is integral to client satisfaction. It demonstrates a client-centric culture in a very tangible way. Not incidentally, QCP has resulted in an average 20%
increase in client retention annually and relieves clients of the time-consuming and costly task of hiring a new agency.
Mike Paul
President-MGP & Associates, 212.595.8500; [email protected]
Waiting in the green room at Fox News studios in New York, I had the opportunity to meet Kenny Rogers, the legendary country singer. He was there to promote a new album and I
was there to give commentary on both the Martha Stewart and Michael Jackson crises. We discussed his music and he asked me many questions about crisis PR and reputation
management.
During our conversation, I told Mr. Rogers I was not a gambling man, but his song, "The Gambler," had it right for how to handle clients in public relations too. As the lyrics
say, "you've got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em; know when to walk away; know when to run."
As in any relationship, PR agency and client relations is a two-way street. Both have expectations and most also have huge assumptions. To clarify the expectations and
assumptions, there must be clear communication and a solid plan for every phase of the relationship. Unfortunately, there are many PR "professionals" who work for the money first
and turn their heads by putting what is best for their clients' and their firm's reputations second or sometimes last. For all types of relationships to truly be successful it
takes honesty, humility, transparency and accountability by all parties involved.