With tools like Skype, web cams, web conferencing, IM and e-mail, how important are face-to-face client meetings? Lee Roberson thinks nothing can replace an in-person meeting. Due you agree? Read my agency/client relationship interview with Lee and let me know your thoughts.
Q1 Name:Lee Roberson
Q2 Location: Headquarters are in Cupertino, CA with several other offices.
Q3 Website: CKR Interactive
Q4 Bio
Lee Roberson is the Co-founder and Vice President of CKR Interactive since 2001. Lee has over 15 years' sales, marketing and business development experience in Silicon Valley. Immediately prior to CKR Interactive, he was Director of Sales and Business Development with CareerWorkStation. Lee has a BS in Business Administration/Marketing from California State University, Sacramento.
Q5 Do you work on the agency side or client side?
Agency side
Q6 What makes a good agency/client relationship?
Several things come to mind: mutual trust, treating the agency as a partner and a virtual extension of the recruiting department, including the agency on all recruitment media discussions and negotiations; and then on the agency side, there is honesty and ethics, providing excellent customer service, being a consultative organization to the client, thinking strategically, having outstanding creative abilities, the list can go on and on.
Q7 What’s your best tip for building a good agency/client relationship?
There are so many, but to boil it down to just one thing that agencies can do to build and maintain a good relationship, I would say visit your client on a regular basis. Phone calls, emails and web presentations are not enough. Regularly scheduled, in person meetings will cement a good working relationship with the client, as well as uncover ongoing recruiting needs and challenges where we can respond.
If I can cheat and add a second tip, I would say to push for an annual strategic review of the account, which will lead to a thorough recruitment marketing plan. A strategic plan is essential for the agency to be proactive and not reactive, and to enable the most efficient use of the recruiting budget.
Q8 Have you ever been in a difficult agency/client relationship? If so, were you able to improve the situation? How?
There was a situation with a large client who had worked with us for a few years then had a new person come in to the decision maker role. That individual decided to make a switch and work with another agency, really just for the sake of change. I truly believe we had been doing an excellent job with this client. After working with the other agency for only two or three months, everyone in the client’s large recruiting team missed working with us and the level of service we provided. So things worked out well in the end, as we got this client back and they now have a better understanding of the quality of work we provide.
Q9 Agency-side: What do you wish clients understood about agencies?
I would like clients to understand the amount of time involved in what we do. A client may see one concept mounted on a board and presented to them, but behind that one concept there are two to three weeks of work, involving competitive research, brainstorming, demographic research, doing research on the client and their website, refining ideas, copywriting, and so forth. Also, we provide a great deal of value added services for which we do not charge our clients; I think they are not always aware of that. Media research, reviewing best practices, attending industry conferences, analyzing recruiting opportunities and new technologies, providing layoff information, these are just a handful of examples of areas of expertise we provide to our clients.
Q10 How can agencies add value for clients?
A good agency adds tremendous value in many areas. We eat, drink and breathe recruitment advertising and employment communications, so we can be an outstanding consultative partner for our clients. We can help an organization with all aspects of internal or external employment communications – creative development, technology, strategy, metrics, you name it. If anything, I feel clients sometimes under-utilize us, as we have expertise in so many areas that they may overlook working with us on a given project.
Q11 How can clients get the best out of their agencies?
In addition to the points I’ve mentioned previously, I would say let us know what works and what doesn’t. Providing good information to the agency will allow them to refine the tactics used to achieve the client’s goals.
Q12 Have you noticed any recent trends in agency/client relationships?
More clients are utilizing, or at least exploring, a retainer based financial model.
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Integrated Agency/Client Relationships
Imbalanced Agency/Client Relationships
