Six traits of a marketing agency client service leader
Account managers, client managers, business managers, suits, client guys, yes men…
The male members of a typical marketing agency client service team have been called many things over the years.
Some good, some not so good.
There used to be an old adage that client service were only there to carry the bags, pour the tea, and pay for the taxi. Harsh words for a role so critical in the modern marketing ecosystem. The internet and tech revolution have changed things dramatically for client service and the agencies they work in, but do agencies (and their clients) have a good enough understanding of what makes a contemporary account handler?
Here are my six most important traits of a modern marketing client service leader.
1. Drives, leads, and owns the process
The modern marketing and communications process can be incredibly complex. Launching an integrated campaign will often involve multiple disciplines, multiple agencies and multiple client stakeholders, working across multiple channels and technology platforms and with multiple creative assets. Add in the complication of multiple markets, and you enter a whole new world of difficulty.
Clients are also looking for the above to be delivered at the speed of light and with some kind of demonstrable saving / added value they can point to when asked by their internal procurement teams.
The process is intricate and nuanced. Managing it is an art form in itself requiring a relatively unique skill set: leadership, diplomacy, emotional intelligence, process management and stakeholder management, and precise decision making across multiple and concurrent briefs.
An accomplished, superstar account handler, will orchestrate this process for their agency and client like a world-class conductor delivering at the end of it:
● Best-in class work that will be proven effective
● A set of delighted clients
● An upbeat and proud internal agency team
● Profitable agency revenue
● Potential for future account growth
Not much to ask then.
Given the rise in complexity clients are actively
looking to employ simpler agency solutions
2. Fosters collaboration through a set of trusted relationships
Modern marketing is undoubtedly a team sport.
Creative success is dependent on the willing collaboration of a large number of distinct and disparate skills, all working together for the greater good. Fostering this kind of environment in which this group of people can thrive is fundamental to the success of any marketing process. Brilliant client service people understand this dynamic and do all they can to cultivate an environment that allows for this kind of collaboration: open lines of communication, clear understanding of the goal, tech that facilitates collaboration, and respect for the expertise are some of the design principles that should be put in place.
Client service should set the conditions for brilliant work to thrive, whilst using their enormous amounts of emotional intelligence to listen, to debate, to influence, to get what is required to move the process on. There is no easier way to facilitate this than with a set of strong and bonded relationships.
Creating a positive, open culture, and an environment that nurtures trusting relationships has the power to smooth processes, unlock creativity and innovation, and generally make life feel great for everyone.
The ability to foster collaboration amongst a diverse set
of characters and skills is both an art and a science
3. Interrogates the work
Client service sit at the very heart of the campaign development process and therefore are gifted a unique position in that they are able to view the process from all angles. Given this position, one could argue that their opinion on the work is critical, after all they know what each stakeholder is looking for more than most.
Is it on brief? Is it best in-class? Is it right for the client? Is it right for the agency? Is it on budget? Will it elicit the response we want? What could make it better? These are just a few of the questions client service should be asking throughout the process.
Nothing bugs me more than seeing a client handler shuffling briefs and work from pillar to post without offering a valid opinion. I see it all the time. There is a skill to giving that opinion though, and an experienced account handler knows how to get what is required without bruising trust or denting egos.
Without offering a valid opinion on the work,
what value is being added to the process?
4. Focuses on the commercials
Outside of finance, account handlers should own their account commercials ensuring the agency receives (and the clients pay) a fair price for work completed. How each specific job is scoped and managed through the agency directly impacts the profitability of not only that job, but also the wider account, and ultimately the agency. The more agency people that are required to deliver that particular brief, the more income that is needed to allow the agency to make a profit from the job. The maths are as simple as that.
Seasoned account handlers use people wisely knowing that their time is precious, only over investing when they need to, and always with a close eye on profitability. Not only will your agency FD love you, your client will too.
With the current pressure on agency margins account
handlers must continue their laser focus on the bottom line
5. Knows how important it is to ABC
You may not necessarily think it, but all account handlers work in sales.
It’s not traditional sales, but consultative sales; sales that require a degree of long term dialogue and ongoing relationship. Each meeting, each phone call, each interaction with a client they are typically asking them to buy something. Whether it be a brief, a strategy, an idea, a scope of work, a media plan, a meeting time….
Whatever it is, they need to close, and they need the client to say “Yes”. Superstar account handlers put themselves in the client’s shoes and make it easy for them to say yes. By the way, it’s not just clients that need closing. When managing a complex marketing process with multiple stakeholders, they all need to be saying “Yes”.
You should never, ever, be afraid to ask for what you need.
6. Is committed to the cause
If you want an easy life, I can say with confidence that you should not become an agency account handler. It’s the toughest job in any agency. Perhaps even in marketing. But it can also be the most rewarding.
There is a saying in client service circles that not everything is your fault, but everything is your problem. Brilliant account handlers understand this dynamic and therefore pay particular attention to every single, little, last detail. Problems can arise when you least expect them and from the least expected places, but when they do a positive set of relationships and a quick solution to the problem will usually suffice.
Superstar account handlers are committed and tough individuals that exude confidence and positive energy. Their work is never done so they prioritise their time wisely, not wasting it where it is not adding value. Contemporary account handlers are a rare breed, a unique blend of left and right brain ability, coupled with positive energy, and a willingness to make things work for the greater good.
Keir Mather is an ex-agency MD that now helps marketing agencies gain a competitive edge through tailored and impartial client listening programmes.
Learn more at keirmather.com
