Satisfied With Your Agency’s Performance?
If you’re not asking that question on a regular basis, then maybe you should be. At AFFIRM, we recently initiated a client survey as a follow-up on projects to make sure we’re meeting our clients’ needs in a number of areas. This covers everything from whether we met the project objectives, to delivering the project on-time, and on-budget.
Client or customer satisfaction surveys have been around forever and you probably have completed your share. I recall being at my first agency years ago where we would arrange to have the owner, who usually wasn’t involved in the day-to-day work, call the client to run through a list of questions. Today, with the ease of setting up an online survey, phone calls aren’t needed and they also help to keep the responses honest and more accurate. That said, nothing can take the place of meeting face-to-face with a client once or twice throughout the year to discuss overall performance. Consider it an annual review for your agency, and if you haven’t met with them (or us), then maybe it’s time you get it on your calendars.
I recently took a vacation to a resort area and am always astounded by the level of customer service in the hospitality industry, including the time before and after the trip. Between multiple emails, text messages and phone calls, the company was doing everything to ensure that every aspect of our trip met or exceeded our expectations. Even in the few instances when they fell short, they were responsive and tried to make accommodations to overcome the issue. Granted, businesses in the hospitality industry have a lot to lose if they get even one unhappy or outspoken customer given the speed at which a bad review can travel on TripAdvisor.
Based on client responses from the marketing and advertising industry, we know that while being on-budget and on-time are important, most clients say that the three qualities considered extremely important to agency performance are: understanding the client’s business objectives, being aligned with those objectives, and constantly thinking about the client’s needs.
Of course, it can be almost as important to provide clients with new ideas to grow business, solutions that are measurable, as well a clear understanding of how digital and social media will impact their business. At AFFIRM, we know that as expectations of agency performance continue to change, we’ll make sure we’re keeping track of our efforts with clients so they can be satisfied, get more out of us, and keep coming back.
Want to learn more about being a satisfied client? Contact Steve Stocker, AFFIRM Principal – Creative Director, at sstocker@affirmagency.com or call 262-650-9900.
