The Art of Client Service, Revised and Updated Edition: 58 Things Every Advertising & Marketing Professional Should Know

Résumé de The Art of Client Service, Revised and Updated Edition

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   The Art of Exceptional Service: Where Advertising Magic Happens

   

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   What makes clients stay with an agency-or leave? When Robert Solomon was unexpectedly fired as CEO of a troubled agency office, he discovered something profound after joining a smaller firm. It wasn't creative brilliance that built enduring client relationships-it was exceptional service. This revelation transformed his career and became the foundation for wisdom that major agencies now consider required reading. The advertising landscape is littered with cautionary tales of brilliant agencies losing major accounts despite iconic work: Ammirati and Puris lost BMW despite creating the "ultimate driving machine" tagline; TBWA/Chiat Day lost Taco Bell. Meanwhile, some agencies retain clients despite mediocre work because they've established deep trust. The truth? Great relationships lead to great work-not the other way around. Clients take risks only with agencies they trust, and risk-taking enables breakthrough creativity. This three-legged stool of trust, partnership, and exceptional work holds up everything else.

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   Building the Foundation: Starting Right and Creating Clarity

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   When a client calls with an urgent request, always ask: "What do you want this advertising to do?" This fundamental question begins every successful relationship. Understanding both company and personal goals is crucial, though they sometimes conflict. Some clients prioritize protecting their turf over collaboration, while others avoid risk so thoroughly they only accept safe work. In today's fragmented landscape, you must speak multiple languages to serve clients effectively. While television was once advertising's dominant "hammer," today's toolbox includes countless approaches. You don't need complete fluency in every discipline, but should understand enough to recommend the optimal combination. Creative teams view overly detailed briefs as unengaging. I learned this when our creative director confronted me: "This isn't a brief; it's the anti-brief!" He outlined just nine essential points. Though I initially resisted, this approach transformed our work - briefs became sharper and more focused, liberating rather than constraining creativity. Creating brevity requires hard work - not in initial writing but in relentless rewriting to distill ideas to their essence. A brief that isn't brief helps no one. The reader can't distinguish important points, the client won't embrace it, and the creative team won't follow it. As Martin Puris noted, 80% of creative work fails before one word is written because if the strategy is wrong, there's little hope of getting the advertising right. Strategy development is a team sport, with creative crews as partners in creating the brief, not just receiving it.

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   The Creative Journey: From Good to Great

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   The difference between good and great work? Good work makes you comfortable; great work makes you uncomfortable. Good work is strategic, smart, respects viewers, and meets deadlines and budgets. Great work remains strategic but achieves something special - connecting emotionally with viewers while potentially challenging budgets, timelines, and requiring more client convincing. I once fought with my boss over a concept our team loved but he deemed too risky. Though reluctantly included in the presentation, the client chose a safer option despite laughing during our pitch. We delivered good advertising everyone liked, not great work we loved. What often masquerades as great today is merely clever execution or unusual technique - creative self-indulgence that sacrifices client objectives. When critiquing work, explain specifically why it fails strategically, doesn't engage viewers, or communicates poorly. Beyond using your client's products, immerse yourself in their brand: learn their history, people, and culture; talk with customers; monitor press coverage; form perspectives on their strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge becomes invaluable when personnel change - your institutional memory provides continuity that helps new marketing managers succeed.

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   The Art of Presentation and Preparation

   Why do agencies meticulously prepare new business presentations yet neglect the same care with existing clients? Client presentations deserve equal attention, as losing a client is worse than losing a pitch. Good presentations require proper casting, thoughtful preparation addressing client concerns, and sufficient rehearsal. Many avoid rehearsing because it feels awkward, but rehearsal reveals holes in arguments, helps anticipate questions, polishes delivery, and builds confidence. Even a quick run-through is valuable. The "umbrella theory" applies perfectly to account management: anticipate potential issues and prepare for them. Create a checklist of possible questions and compile necessary materials beforehand. It's better to have unused materials than need unavailable ones. During a presentation to a prospective client, we recommended a celebrity spokesperson but had no supporting data when questioned - offering only opinions instead of facts and research, which made us look unprofessional. Always verify claims that might face challenges and support your opinions with solid evidence.

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   The High-Wire Act: Balancing Client and Agency Needs

   Martin Puris called the account executive role "an intellectual high-wire act." The fatal mistakes? Becoming either the client's person at the agency or the agency's person at the client. A good account person provides objectivity, commitment, insight, and truth while balancing client demands with agency realities. The core challenge is having the judgment to do and say exactly the right thing at the right time to the right person. Like Stanley Motss in "Wag the Dog" who complains no one understands what a producer does, account executives rarely get credit. If recognition matters to you, consider another career. Your job is to give credit to clients and colleagues, not take it. Once, before presenting edgy work, I asked a client to keep an open mind. When she approved it and the creative director was surprised, I simply credited the work and his presentation. Helping achieve the right outcome was satisfaction enough. Some account people develop such close client relationships that they're said to "own" the account, sometimes even taking clients when switching agencies. This is unethical. While strong client bonds are essential, your obligation is to your agency. You don't own the client relationship; you're merely its keeper.

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   Building Trust Through Adaptability and Engagement

   When clients arrived late once, my team struggled to compress a 45-minute presentation into 20 minutes, resulting in poor delivery. Remember: clients have their own priorities, and you must adapt. Always check in first: "Are you comfortable with this plan? Anything we've missed?" In another case, we delivered what we thought was an impressive 90-minute presentation without pausing for client input until the end-only to be met with silence. We lost the account a week later. The goal isn't flawless delivery of prepared content-it's engaging clients in dialogue that builds shared understanding.

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   The Heart of Service: Gratitude and Excellence

   Two simple words-"thank you"-hold remarkable power, yet they're often forgotten in business. Expressing gratitude requires minimal effort but delivers tremendous benefit. It builds appreciation and softens necessary criticism. I've witnessed contrasting management styles: a demanding boss who regularly acknowledged staff earned lasting affection, while one who rarely expressed thanks generated only anger. Exceptional client service rests on four principles: integrity that builds trust, judgment to navigate complexity, communication (both written concision and verbal clarity), and problem-solving that capitalizes on opportunities. The art of client service isn't merely a professional skill-it's a philosophy transforming business relationships into partnerships built on mutual respect. When mastered, these elements create conditions for breakthrough creative work that drives results. Exceptional service turns transactions into relationships, and relationships into legacies of shared success.

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