The Client is Not the Enemy

I’ve had two conversations with employees at the Penticton, British Columbia Safeway store this week. I’m on a wild goose chase to get an American juice brand into the hands of a former hockey player turned Instagram sensation who was supposed to be located in Nashville, but took off for Holiday somewhere east of Vancouver. There is a package of plastic juice bottles warping on his front porch in the Tennessee sun and a mess of international imports laws keeping me from getting this one, particular type of juice into his hands and onto his feed.

This is not my job.

Or is it?

Depends on how you define my job. Technically this client was supposed to handle all the shipping on this project.

But really, the “client” is me. Because if I’m doing my job, doing it the right way and to the full extent of my abilities, then I know that my reputation in this industry is as tied to the delivery of this damn case of juice as it is to all of the final campaign metrics, deals won, or any other measurements.

I’m on the same team as my client. If they lose, I lose.

In marketing land (especially agency world) “client” has become something of a dirty word. A placeholder for other choice expletives when the account team finds out that the deadline has jumped up or the artwork isn’t quite right (again) or they were “wondering if we could get another logo on this brochure”…

Yes. I am acutely aware that clients can be a wellspring of frustration, but they are also the source of everything else. Your money. Your good or bad reputation. The reason you’re doing the projects.

Here’s the thing that is forgotten when we think of the client in an us-vs-them way… your relationship started somewhere and that somewhere was a place of profound trust. A client trusted that you were the best crew for the job. They placed their money, their reputation, their time and energy in your hands.

The easy reaction to frustration and delay is to vent on the client. But the smarter move is to reflect on the gravitas of your role. You are trusted. You are a partner. And if you’re thinking about the true sense of partnership, then you should be constantly thinking how you can make your client’s lives better and improve their businesses. You should be striving to live up to the trust they’ve placed in you.

Partnership Can Set You Apart

Brian Regienczuk, CEO at Agency Spotter, reports that there are more than 120,000 agencies in the USA. How you differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace is the difference between business and bankruptcy. You get no gold stars for doing the job to spec, that’s just the price of entry.

Example: I was pitching to a private aviation company recently and asking them what set them apart from their competitors. They mentioned the safety ratings of their planes and the extensive training of their pilots. But if you were spending the kind of money it takes to rent or own a private jet, wouldn’t you assume that the safety regulations were at least up to par? Safety is a baseline expectation in that industry, not a point of differentiation. If you’re renting out private jets with defunct parts or crappy pilots, you just shouldn’t bother showing up.

When a project is finished and you’ve checked all the boxes and held up your end of the bargain, but the client perceived frustration, disorganization, or callousness in your service, then you’ve lost. The sour taste in their mouth will not be fixed by any positive metrics — and at the ass end of a project is the wrong time to start delivering exceptional service.

Remember that a bad reputation is nearly impossible to shake, even if you deliver good results on paper. Strive to be memorable for good reasons.

Whenever you have those moments of frustration or annoyance with a client. Try your best to put yourselves in their shoes. Remember the covenant of their trust in you. Figure out how to go over and above.

Call British Columbia. Even if it doesn’t pay off, you’ll know that you’re the kind of person who takes partnership seriously and stands to deliver exceptional service.