How to Work Better With Clients

“You Can Always Get  What They Want.”

By Victor Nikolenko

Of course, The Rolling Stones sing it the other way: “you can’t always get what you want.” However, talking about advertising agencies, we should forget this rule. They believe in other things. Agencies believe they actually can reach the desired goals.

In the ad business, getting what the client wants is not only a nice motto for a corporate mission, but a daily routine. To ensure that the advertiser’s message is properly perceived by the customers is the agency’s job.

An advertisement message is information your audience will get in the half minute they’ll spend on your ad.

So, a good advertising idea should be represented clearly, briefly and elegantly. The main principle is as plain as a pikestaff. If you’ve drawn an apple and someone recognizes that it actually is an apple, you’re on the right path. But if you’ve drawn an apple but everybody says it is a sliced alligator pear, something has gone wrong.

The result of an advertising campaign should be relevant to your intentions and actions. An agency and a client need to coordinate with each other in order to reach this. In this case, the agency CAN get what they (clients) want. But how can you promote the coordination? Here are some tips.

Understand

First of all, ascertain the aim of a campaign accurately. You should do it during the first stage of your work on the project. .Go slow. Try to understand your client:

clarify the rules of the game. Define the goals a client wants to reach with his ads. State these aims precisely and even write them down. Using first the client’s task brief, create a basic document that will outline the direction of your work. You should follow the documents instructions when making any decisions concerning the project. Introduce this guideline document to each member of a creative team - the more information you give them, the more effective feedback you’ll get. This is the basis of all further development.

find out more information about your client. Make sure you properly understand the positioning of the company you work with. It is a rare occasion to advertise a company from the ground up. Most of the clients already have some history of promoting their products. Analyze it thoroughly in order to be aware of advertising traditions and preferred work methods.

Set up you priorities for certain. Never pursue your own creative or business goals which could be detrimental to the client’s interests.. If you’re simply more interested in getting piles of awards for yourself, you’d better switch to charity. There you’ll bring more benefit and sooner satisfy your desire.

Don’t skip the preparation work. Even though it looks unnecessary, it will help you save lots of effort in the long run.

Cooperate

In you have chosen the direction for the advertising campaign, make sure that there would be no problems along the way. Therefore, cooperate with your client:

listen carefully to the client at the early project stage. Prepare a few conceptions and let the advertiser decide which one to take. Let him know what you think about each one to make his choice easier. This way, you’ll create foundations of trust for the future work and help the client to understand his needs better. Many clients don’t know clearly what they want, so help them make up their mind.

combine your knowledge and skills. Advertisers have the most insight into their own product. Take advantage of that: try to get as much information as possible. It may help you find some creative solution. On the other hand, you have a broad knowledge of advertising techniques. So use it

keep focused. There is a temptation to start working on a number of concepts at once. Clients always have a lot to tell about themselves. Nevertheless, the message that consumers receive, should be effective and easy to understand. Therefore, do not let the discussion deviate substantially from the chosen direction.

evaluate the project from the “final product” point of view. And bear in mind that the consumers will not find everything that the advertiser likes appealing. Have the courage to tell the client about this and explain the possible consequences of such actions. Companies and consumers always find themselves on opposite banks. Agencies are like bridges between them. Therefore, make sure that you are open for both sides.

anticipate each other. Do not turn work like a game of table-tennis, with documents, briefs and comments playing the role of a ball. Always remember that you and your client are on the same side of the table. External activity doesn’t always mean productivity.

Make your joint meetings as effective as possible: prepare a list of questions, which you would like to discuss.

Appreciate

Establishing a close cooperation with your client is very important for developing a successful advertising campaign. Therefore, appreciate the client’s efforts. Every advertising agency constantly tells its success story. Everybody is happy to show their portfolio. Everybody boasts of the names of their clients. And very few are really proud of them. Remember: you not only sell your skills to the clients, you also gain experience with them. And since you work side by side, victories in the field of advertisements should be split at least among the two.

Lee Iacocca, one of the most successful managers the automobile industry has ever seen, made the representatives of the advertising agency members of the Chrysler marketing department not long after his arrival at this company. It was a clever decision, which is, however, not always possible and appropriate. The main thing that one should remember: cooperation between the agency and its clients is the most important thing. Since both of you are in the same boat, it is necessary to row in the same direction together. The opposite will take you down the stream, toward the waterfalls.