MR Agencies and the Service they give Clients

I have just finished listening to a great presentation by Suz Allen (R&D Director Sensory & Consumer Science Asia Pacific & International, Campbell Arnott’s) talking about how suppliers and clients can work together better (you can access the recording and slides here).

Whilst I found the presentation useful, informative, and entertaining, I was amazed at how low the bar seems to be. I think it is distressing that agencies are making such basic mistakes.

Here are some of the recommendations that Suz made:

• “No Surprises! Never!”
• For presentations, arrive early, ask (in advance) if you can have early access to the room to set-up, have spare cables, connectors, clicker, etc (we should not need to be reminded of this!)
• Match your staff to the client, some people work better together than others, this is a people business.
• Call your client, 1, 3, or even more months after a project to ask how it is going.
• The agency should seek to make the client look good, their “butt is on the line” when they hire us.
• Value and reward good clients, for example sharing ideas, papers, leads, and recommendations with them.

Suz Allen’s presentation has lots more tips on best practice, advice about how to get the client’s attention, and advice on some things not to do. You can access the presentation and slides of Suz’s presentation by clicking here.

What are your thoughts? If you are client-side (or have been client-side in the past), how do these points compare with your experience?