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CREATING HARMONY BETWEEN YOUR CLIENTS AND YOUR AGENCY

Adam Dince, Head of Organic Search & SMO, Deluxe Corporation

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ADAM DINCE

2

Head of Organic Search & SMO

@adamdince

ww.deluxe.com (yes 2 “ww’s”)

Facebook.com/DeluxeCorp

adam.dince@deluxe.com

Deluxe Corp

#C3NY

MNSEARCH.ORG

3

Director of Communications, PR & Social Media

@MnSearch

www.mnsearch.org

Facebook.com/MnSearch

MnSearch.org

adamdince@gmail.com

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12 YEARS EXPERIENCE AGENCY SIDE & CONSULTING

Source: http://www.jewishjournal.com/images/bloggers_auto/mad-men.jpeg

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1 YEAR EXPERIENCE CLIENT SIDE

Source: http://www.rapgenius.com

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FROM A STRATEGIST

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TO AN EXECUTIVE

Source: sciencefiction.com

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I’VE LEARNED THAT CLIENT / AGENCY RELATIONSHIPS CAN BE CHALLENGING

Source: vimeo.com

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BUT WHY?

Source: stratify.co

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WE ALL WANT TO GROW REVENUE…

Source: everyinstrumental.com

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WE ALL WANT RAISES Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

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AND WE SHOULD ALL WANT TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE WORK WE DO

Source: www.westernfreepress.com

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IT SHOULD BE EASY TO MAKE IT WORK, RIGHT?!

Source: http://revolutionarypaideia.files.wordpress.com/

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WELL, IF YOU’RE IN THIS SESSION, YOU KNOW THAT CLIENT AGENCY RELATIONSHIPS CAN BE

TOUGH

Source:

http://staff.bath.ac.uk/ensdasr/SleepingStudents.JPG

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AND IT’S TIME WE HAD A FRANK DISCUSSION ABOUT IT!

Source: www.arts-wallpapers.com

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CHALLENGES CAN PUT A STRAIN ON SUCCESS

Source: aspiringbackpacker.com

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ANY OF THESE SOUND FAMILIAR?

• Client has unrealistic expectations

• The agency is nickel and diming the client

• Accounts aren’t staffed properly for success

• You’re expected to do more with less

• Google screws you up

• Your account people suck

• Your client has a low SEO IQ

• Too many client ad-hoc requests

• Turnover on both sides

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TODAY, WE’LL BE DISCUSSING HOW TO CREATE HARMONY WITH YOUR CLIENTS

Source: squidlife.blogspot.com

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THE FORMULA

Source: flickr.com

SOW COMMUNICATION QUALITY

DELIVERABLES RELATIONSHIPS HARMONY

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SOW FINE POINTS • Build your SOW costs on # of hours

• Assign the right resources

• Charge enough to pay your employees what they deserve

• Hire or staff as you promised in the SOW

• Define all projects in detail

• Build in time for rework

• Build in time for extra requests

• List all vital assumptions (e.g., CAPEX)

• List all dependencies (e.g., on-time approvals, implementation, etc…)

• Include a meaningful travel budget

• Disclaim appropriately (e.g., you are not responsible for rankings or performance)

• Set the right expectations

• Do what you said you were going to do

• Don’t assume a signature = client understanding

• Modify SOW for client strategy shifts

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COMMUNICATION TIPS

• Daily 15 minute stand-ups

• Weekly 30-60 minute meetings

• Monthly, quarterly and annual reviews

• Respond to client emails ASAP

• Return phone calls

• Create informality

• Avoid account gatekeeping

• Share content with your clients but don’t content market them

• Connect with your clients on LinkedIn

• Report bad news immediately, but bring solutions

• Document and communicate non-implementations

• Stop selling!!!

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QUALITY DELIVERABLES

• Beautiful presentations

• Be thorough

• Use proper grammar and punctuation

• Before delivery, have non-niche professionals review your work

• Know your audience

• Deliver on time!

• If you must deliver late, give client plenty of notice

• Always provide a +1

• Make sure your client knows deliverables are coming before you send

• Don’t deliver too much at once

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REPORTING MADE EASY! SEARCHLIGHT MAKES DELIVERABLES PRETTY AND MEANINGFUL

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BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

• Support client performance goals

• Truly care about your client team—it will show

• Listen for and address emotional cues

• Take clients out when making visits

• Be human and personal---not just business focused

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IN SUMMARY

Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/

SOW COMMUNICATION QUALITY

DELIVERABLES BUILDING

RELATIONSHIPS HARMONY

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Q & A

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15JssBJf1xo