Back in October, I wrote about an encounter with a biz dev guy from an interactive agency here in Canada. It was not the perfect meeting, but, in the end, I decided to go with the agency, largely on the strength of their reputation & portfolio.
It's now February. We're about 39 hours away from the launch of our project. And it's mostly out of my hands. The flash guys and the art director are finishing up some pieces, and then we do a once over in the morning. So, its a good time for me to reflect on this experience.
After an untold number of late-night conversations, MSN chats and emails with the art director and the account director, I've come to the-not-very-surprising conclusion that while the biz dev guys may initiate the relationship, it's the staff on the ground that forge that relationship, that make it work. Even when I was on the agency side of things, I never realised how important the production staff are to the relationship with the client. Why? I think it's because they are easier to trust.
See, a long time ago, in a galaxy far far way, I was a production person. And the motivation for everything was The Work. Cool projects. Because The Work = Me (for better or for worse). My take on the biz dev guys: Client = $$. And there's nothing wrong with that (it's these guys that keep the agency in business). But because I, myself, am a terrible biz dev person, I don't relate to biz dev people.
In any case, why did I find it easy to trust them? Here's my list. I think it's a good place for any client or agency looking to enhance their relationships:
- Don't bullshit. (And clients .. this means you too). About timelines, about delivery dates, about costs. And especially about the creative. An early draft I saw of the creative was ... less-than-optimal. And I told the art director. And he said, "Yeah. You're right." And they came up with a plan to fix it. I didn't get a big song and dance justification about it. I got an acknowledgement and a solution.
- Keep me in the loop. I know that deadlines get missed. This is software we're building. Sometimes it doesn't go like we think it's going to (we just can't find that missing ";"). I get that. (*More* clients need to get that). The AD kept the lines of communication flowing around anything that was going to go differently than expected and managed my expectations through-out.
- Understand my goals, busines AND personal. No one is 100% pure. Not even me. I absolutely have business goals around this project. But I also have personal goals. What will this project's success or failure mean to *me*. Everyone at the agency understood both. They asked good questions and took the answers to heart.
- Personality and humour are essential. Sometimes this web-stuff is tense. We all need to keep it in perspective. I had the best time on this project because people allowed their personality to shine through. Emails & chats were infused with humour and personal experience. I'd gladly have a beer with any of these guys.
I'm lucky ... a lot of client/agency relationships don't go as well as this one. But I think we both worked at it - the key to any relationship. So (and I may be tempting fate by posting this now), kudos to Fuel and to the guys on the ground that have made the experience of this thing successful. Hopefully the product will be the same!
On a related note, I am priviledged to work with an exceptional web development agency of record, Thrillworks. Upon reflection, Thrillworks does all of the above and adds one more element to the mix:
- Treat my site, my business and my success as your own. We had a small emergency this weekend and I spent late-night time on the phone with their CTO. The situation was handled with care and the miniscule details were seamlessly dealt with. I didn't do much of anything except flag the situation. And the whole time the CTO provided solutions and kept me apprised the whole way. There was never any begrudging of the lateness of the hour, or complaining about how the situation happened in the first place. He just knew it had to get fixed and it did.
So what's the big takeaway? Trust and respect. I respect the skill set, work methods and integrity of the teams I partner with. And I trust them to do their job. And I get that trust and respect back from them. It's the reciprocity that's key. I've worked with agencies before where I felt like a nusance to be tolerated rather than a trusted client. That attitude doesn't subsequently engender *my* trust ... and there's no where to go from there. Also, talk it out. Like any good relationship, honest and open communication is essential.
Client/agency relationships are tough. And they often start on the wrong foot with uncommunicated motivations and pre-conceived attitudes. That has to change. I'm pleased to be working with interactive agencies who are leading the way.
Technorati Tags: client+agency+relationships, communication
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