By Lindsay Jameson (Seven Events)
Lindsay Jameson discusses the relationship a client has with its event agency, and why it’s important to get it right.
Working with an agency is not a leap of faith, but it does require putting your trust in the people you choose to work with.
There are a number of key elements to a successful relationship – starting with good communication.
We always want to get under the skin of our clients and having honest conversations about objectives, pain points and business goals allows us to really work as an extension to them and for them to utilise us, and our skills, to the fullest.
Building those relationships so that everyone feels comfortable to speak honestly is part of my role. It isn’t something that happens overnight, but continued dialogue ensures clients see we’re listening to their needs and are being agile in how we work with them.
One thing that did show through the pandemic, and the ever-changing way in which we needed to work, was that relationship building could still happen without meeting in person. In fact, relationships started earlier with ‘face to face’ meetings happening virtually instead of an initial phone call, already putting a face to us as a company.
I feel that learning how to build rapport with clients within the hybrid working space is key to ensuring both new and existing relationships continue to flourish.
I still love meeting in person. Getting to see a newly refurbished office, or seeing our clients new branding in situ, is just another layer of us understanding what is important to them as a brand and by talking and learning, we are inspired as to how we can integrate this into the work that we do together.
We want to have a proactive relationship with our clients. Being one step ahead with creative ideas and seeing the challenges they may be facing, allows us to work collaboratively, bringing ideas to them so they understand the importance of their business to us.
Our industry is built on people and the relationships we continue to build.
Never taking for granted the time and effort that goes into a long term partnership, on both sides. We never assume that a client is always going to use us. We have to work hard for the trust to continue and strive to make projects bigger and better than they had been previously, all the while conscious of any challenges our client and their brand may be facing.
Moving forward we all need to be brilliant communicators. Never being afraid to give an opinion or accept feedback means the agency / client relationship thrives and long term we will all be successful because of it.