The Art of Client Service

Chapter 2Account Management's Role

Get a martini or two in me, ask me why my second marriage ended in failure, and I will say three words: “Lack of trust.”

When I began in this business, I didn't give a damn about trust; I thought instead of the work. To me, and to the other people who shared my view, there is an unwavering belief that the only thing that really matters is the work.

Great work makes everyone want to be a part of the agency. Great work commands a price premium. Great work wins business.

If you do great work, everything else will take care of itself, including the relationships they build with clients. When I joined the advertising business as an account person, that's pretty much what I thought.

There's just one problem with this view: it's wrong.

Great work does not shield you or your agency from client loss. You can do great work and still get fired.

My former agency, Ammirati & Puris, did great work for BMW. The agency wrote the line, “The ultimate driving machine,” which endures to this day. BMW kept the line, but they didn't keep the agency.

Ammirati & Puris is not alone. TBWA/Chiat Day did great work for Taco Bell. It's no longer Taco Bell's agency. Deutsch did great work for Ikea. It's no longer working with Ikea. BBDO did great work for Charles Schwab. It's no longer Schwab's agency.

You can make your own list. It will probably be longer than mine. So what went wrong? We know it wasn't the work. The work was great.

Then I thought about all the agencies ...