Managing clients from an agency can be a challenging task. There are several points that need attention; otherwise things can get out of control and bring endless headaches.
If you’re going through or you’ve been through this, you definitely understand what we’re talking about. However, many problems can be avoided by the point of good management.
In this post, we will cover the main challenges of this work and some tips on how to do it. Check out!
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What are the critical challenges of customer management?
Tight deadlines and increasingly demanding customers are a dangerous combination for any agency. Undoubtedly, these are the main challenges when conducting customer management.
Most problems begin the moment a contract is closed, whether it is a work or a monthly fee. To ensure its end, it is common for the seller to promise things that are beyond the agency’s delivery capability.
This kind of attitude raises expectations about the service that will be provided. The problem is that deliveries do not always match what was promised, causing customer disappointment and discomfort in professionals.
For this reason, you need to keep your sales staff well trained and always with your feet on the ground, understanding the agency’s limitations and selling only what is deliverable.
Another critical point to note is the contact between the client and the agency’s commercial. It is common to find relationships shaken by the constant friction between the parties, especially when deliveries delay.
Also, perfect internal alignment is required for sectors to exchange information clearly, after all, they are interdependent. This avoids repeating jobs and delays. If the service does not make a good briefing, the creation will not be able to execute the art correctly.
For everything to work out right from the start of negotiations, you need to have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) or Service Level Agreement.
What is an SLA?
A service level agreement is nothing more than a document that clarifies the services to be provided, the agency’s delivery capabilities, production deadlines and the responsibilities of each for the smooth running of the business.
In other words, we can say that it is a set of rules that govern relations between agency and client in a transparent and fair way, and must always be observed by the parties during the contract period.
It is not difficult to find cases where an agency was hired to manage social networks, for example, and ended up making magazine ads for free. This is due to the lack of a well-defined SLA.
If your agency has been contracted to perform service X, anything other than that should be charged. Of course, you do not want the customer to find another supplier to do the same job, but doing it for free will only result in a loss.
To create art, simple as it may be, it takes time in meetings, briefing, study and gathering of references, etc. All this generates costs, and who pays is you. Therefore, price your services properly and cover the customer.
How to properly price services?
Setting prices for services provided by an agency can be a challenge. Many make the calculation based on the time/man to arrive at a fair price. However, it is based on a weather forecast that is not always followed.
Let’s say that to make a brochure the estimated total time is 5 hours between service and creation. However, due to communication failures or the complexity of the art, the term ends up extending. In addition to the contingencies, you must take into account the time of adjustments or changes, the costs with tools and equipment and the fixed expenses of the agency.
So do not be afraid to put high prices on your services. Make sure the customer sees value in them and thus remains willing to pay them without complaints.
Delivering the promised quality and on time will ensure customer satisfaction and stay in the agency’s client portfolio. To meet these requirements, you need to closely manage customer relationships and organize the tasks to be performed.
How to manage time and organize tasks?
Do you know how much time your team takes to complete each activity? This answer should be on the tip of any businessman’s tongue, but we know the reality is not quite like that.
To identify and adjust the deadlines of each job, a task-organizing tool is required. Preferably a template that has an integrated timesheet for performing efficient time management.
There are a number of specific tool options for managing tasks and time in agencies. Many of them also have an integrated financial management system that allows you to group all the solutions in one place. Here are some examples:
Runrun.it
Runrun.it is a tool that enables the management of projects and workflows, and also generates a series of reports that allow you to evaluate the deadlines, costs of projects and the performance of each professional.
Operand
Operand has a proposal slightly different from the above tool: it seeks to meet all the needs of an agency in one place. It is possible to create projects, check the hours worked, manage finances, make integrations and analyze all this.
Asana
Asana is an online team management tool that allows you to combine the communication and task management features in one place. There are web version and apps for Android and iOS.
By choosing to adopt these tools, you will have the means to monitor and measure each stage of service delivery. It will also prevent tasks from falling into oblivion, which leaves any client highly dissatisfied.
Managing customers is not a simple process. But by choosing the right tools, pricing your services correctly, and setting clear processes, you will not have much trouble retaining customers.
Now that you know a little more about it enjoy the visit to our blog and see an article on digital project management and the mistakes that should be avoided!