Clear and direct communication between clients and the agency is a key success factor.
I will start by saying that I am against the saying that “The client is always right”, what we should say is that the client always has to be listened to.
We have in mind, and stubbornly, that being the customer who pays this makes you master of being able to demand how you want things to be done. When he appears before us, he shows us his need and what he is looking for; but we must understand that the client is looking for something. You do not always know what is the best solution to your need. This is why we are professionals, who have to guide him, advise him and change the way if we think he is going wrong and not follow the flow without raising our reflection and professional approach to their ideas.
We must have very clear roles, the client is the one who asks for a solution to a demand and the provider is the one who solves it. However, many times this “division of competencies” tends to be stepped on by both parties. Not only the client begins to ask for changes or show the route he wants to take, but we as providers give in without thinking if it is the best decision, we only see it as “what is paying us, therefore we must do it”, serious error
We have to take a minute, analyze what is being asked, see other options and find out if this is the ideal solution. The client hires us to help us as professionals in the subject, and will certainly appreciate more if we investigate the consequences of what is asking us and we recommend not doing so, giving just reasons and showing possible poor results. It is not just saying no, it is teaching alternatives to what you are looking for. Proposing options more adapted to their needs and above all solutions designed to achieve the objectives set. There we truly give an integral service and do not simply become a production department.
We have to teach our clients how they can get the most out of our services, advising them to look beyond the project they ask for. We have to convince them to let themselves be advised by our extensive experience and not only focus on very short-term results. We have to show them how to frame actions in a medium and long-term strategy.
As professionals we have to generate trust so that clients leave the project in our hands. This is achieved not only by saying yes to everything, but by demonstrating how. The experts, we consider ourselves as such, we listen, paying attention to their ideas and taking the best decision, to become an added value for your company.
It is indisputable, that we must take care of our clients above all, and that they are the center of the whole strategy. But we must not forget that we are the ones who have to guide them, show them the way and reach solutions that end in good results.
When we admit everything that the client asks us, and we give him the reason, immediate, not only shows that we have a limited vision of your business, but that we are taking the easy way, where we do not apply any effort and we can not understand what really need. This is where we must stop, and think about the true service we want to offer our client. If we want to be professionals, we must analyze several factors, for example, if what they ask us is closely linked to the strategy we are developing, if we are optimizing the investment or if we really bet on a necessary action.
It is essential to have a clear and direct communication with our clients, where we are open to listen to you and to listen to you, where there truly is a research and analysis of each proposal or decision.