The Art of Client Service

Chapter 26Great Work Wins Business; a Great Relationship Keeps It

In new business pitches, clients often claim to seek a relationship with an agency, yet select the winner based on which shop presented the work they liked best. Conversely, with existing accounts, clients often say it's the work that matters, yet fire their agency because of a breakdown in the relationship.

Think of all the client-agency marriages that dissolved, even though they were characterized by great work. BMW and Ammirati & Puris. Ikea and Deutsch. Taco Bell and TBWA\Chiat\Day. Charles Schwab and BBDO. Staples and Cliff Freeman. Add your own examples. The list can get very, very long.

I remember what one client said to me years ago: “I love your work; the agency is very creative. But you guys are just too hard to deal with; everything is a fight. If I have to choose, I'll take an agency a little less talented but a whole lot easier to work with.”

And then she fired us.

We had won the account based on our work. We lost the account because we didn't understand that while great work is what wins business, a great relationship is what keeps it. We thought if we did great work, the relationship stuff would take care of itself. Advertising isn't just a creative business, though; it's a relationship business.

I don't mean relationship as in “doing lunch,” although there certainly is a time and place for that. I mean relationship as in doing all of the things, and being all of the things, that build trust with ...