Michael Farmer, a management consultant who has studied creative agencies for 30 years, said this during our recent interview:
“Account managers need to be more like Bain consultants”
He was referring to the fact that clients aren’t seeing an ROI from working with agencies.
His tip for account managers was to have a critical perspective on the client’s brief and ensuing scope of work and ensure it really addresses the client’s business problem.
Spotting & solving client problems is an account manager’s job.
I’m impressed by account managers who:
- Spot problems that fall out of the current scope
- Proactively take action to solve them
It’s a win-win.
- The client sees the value & ROI from the agency relationship.
- The AM and agency build trust and (potentially) grow the account.
I see examples of this all the time from participants on my Account Accelerator™ programme who are positioning themselves more like business advisors than service providers.
Here’s a recent example from one of the programme’s participants working in a performance marketing agency:
- Current client scope: SEO service
- Client problem: Drop in conversions highlighted by SEO tracking data
- AM’s suggestion (initial step): Install heat mapping/screen recording tools
- Benefit of initial step: Understand user behaviour & identify friction points
- AM’s suggestion (2nd step): Agency analyses data pinpointing where improvements are needed & provides recommendations e.g. simplifying navigation, enhancing CTAs, optimising page layouts etc
- Result: Client & agency discuss: a) Findings of analysis b) Benefits of investing in a CRO programme to address issues and c) Cost of doing nothing to fix it
- Outcome: Agency positions itself as strategically relevant and more valuable leading to increased client retention (and account growth). Client addresses a business problem & sees an ROI on the agency relationship.
There is so much additional value the agency can bring to current clients, and those managing the client relationship are perfectly placed to unlock this value.
