CIPR Fresh - Client Handling

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Client Handling
Jim Hawker MCIPR
11th June 2013

Chair’s introduction
Miki Lentin MCIPR
Client Handling

I started working at Harvard PR in 1996 when the first dot com boom took off
Four years later I left as anAccount Director position with key strengths being
media and client relationships
Became media spokesperson for children’s charityWarChild in the States
In house at Amazon as Marketing Manager
Associate Director at what was MacLaurin PR heading up O2, Sony Playstation
FoundedThreepipe in 2004, currently Creative and Business Development
Director, overseeing top three clients, and principally act as ‘the internal client’
Threepipe is 53 people, newly merged with a digital marketing agency and
providing PR plus PPC, SEO, Search, Display and Affiliate marketing
Worked both agency side & in house…

I am completely passionate about client happiness, growing client agency spend, as much
as I am about ‘new’ business
Much of our current growth is coming from existing clients
Most of our referrals come from previous or existing clients
We have a new business target and plans for existing client growth
We have a ‘Client Love’ programme designed to cross sell, upsell and entertain
One of the biggest impacts you can make at AM and below is retaining and growing
existing clients
That skill comes down to fantastic client handling
An agency has the clients it deserves
Introduction

Great client handling skills send the message loud and
clear to your clients that you are an organised,
dedicated professional, who has their interests and
well-being at the centre of everything you do…..
Introduction

Of all the marketing disciplines, PR is one of the most intense
and you must have a good working relationship with good
chemistry
Daily phone calls, breaking news/stories/announcements
Social media is ‘always on’.
Often having conversations with clients at the weekend
We will pretty quickly move teams around if client/agency
chemistry isn’t working
Introduction

Some people are naturals at it, others need to work harder at it
It’s not about saying yes, being everyone’s friend, you need to
understand that this is a commercial relationship
I will wine, dine, entertain clients, I have been invited to their
weddings but they are not my friends
You need to maintain a professional distance as well as friendship
which can be a delicate balance
Professional boundaries

Jim’sTopTips
(regardless of what level you are in an agency)
TopTips

• Put yourself in their shoes
• Do you really understand what your client does, how they
spend their day, how their business is doing?
• They are not always there just to manage a PR agency
• I read all annual reports of all my clients, I check their share
prices daily
• Put yourself on a wider marketing/business course
• Understand how PR fits into the wider marketing mix and
how it is supporting their business objectives
• Learn how to read a Profit and Loss balance sheet
Think like the client

• Become a trusted source of information
– About new trends
– About their competitors
– About their own company!
• Know more about their market than they do themselves
• When an AE I used to have all the trade press titles at home
• At the end of every monthly meeting we make time for a trends
presentation of cool things we have seen
• Relevant to their market, get them to stretch their own thinking as
well as yours
• Opportunity t0 upsell the client, which is good for both the agency
and client
• When an AE I wrote a mini proposal for a client that was signed off
and led to £20,000 of new work and a nice bonus for myself
Know their marketplace and show it

• Build a relationship with your counterpart at the client side
• They could become a good contact in the future
• I have clients today that were my clients when I was anAE
• Build a database when you pick up information – what team do they
support, what are their kids called, what are they up to this weekend, do
you know when its their birthday?
• Building a relationship will get you through bad times when things don’t
go to plan
Get to know your client

• Agreeing KPIs ahead of all work – don’t start without
them
• Be absolutely clear on budgets – clients hate the Oliver
Twist show
• Understand what the client really values and sees as
success both internally and externally
• Updates – clear capturing of actions and follow up in
writing on agreed work – also helps to cover yourself,
keep emails
• Nothing worse than an agency thinking it has done a
good job and the client is disappointed!
• Under promise and over deliver when setting targets
Manage Expectations

• Be open & transparent about the work you are doing and how
it is progressing
• Hold your hand up when things don’t work out
• Demonstrate what you are doing to make it right if
something goes wrong
• If you don’t know an answer to something then don’t commit
yourself straight away – ask colleagues, Finance team etc
• They will (in most part) value your openness, honesty and
integrity
• Develop a sixth sense! Be constantly looking ahead,
anticipating issues as well as opportunities
Be honest and put things right quickly

• Excite them about the work you are doing
• Don’t just send coverage emails or good news emails across
as an ‘FYI’, build some excitement around your work
• Celebrate success together at the end of a project/campaign
• Enter some of the joint work for industry awards
• PR your client within their own organisation
– Showcase the results of the work you are doing
– Campaign boards around the office
– Presentations to the management team
Take them on the Journey

• Some clients are just bloody nightmares to work with
• Those that are brilliant we don’t mind, those that don’t know what
they are doing are ‘frustrating’
• Someone within the agency will have the right personality type to
deal with most clients
• Build relationships above and below that person, likelihood is that
they are a nightmare to work with internally!
• The CEO of the agency should become involved when necessary to
help the day to day team
• Run a tight ship, be thorough, keep a paper trail, ensure that silly
mistakes don’t happen that open you up to criticism
• Remember that you learn from bad accounts and clients as much
as you do from the good ones!
Difficult clients

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CIPR Fresh - Client Handling

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