In a recent post I addressed the benefits of including an account management function in your creative organization. Keeping in mind that the Account Manager's job is to be dedicated to their clients' needs and that requires understanding the client's business and related goals, being a good steward of the client's time and budget, focusing on the big picture, and making the creative process as painless as possible, it's important that account managers manage their accounts as relationships and not transactions.
Understanding the client's business and related goals
To be of genuine service to a client, an Account Manager must put himself in the client's shoes and seek to understand
- What is the client's core business?
- What is the client trying to accomplish?
- What has been done before?
- What has worked? What hasn't worked?
- What are the competitors doing?
- What are the deadlines?
- And more.
It is important that an Account Manager serves as a consultant to the client by informing the client of their options and recommendations, especially regarding tradeoffs between time and budget. Account managers need to be generous regarding deadlines, as it's in the client's best interest that the creative team has ample time to do their best work.
Being a good steward of the client's time and budget
In advising a client on their options and providing recommendations, the focus is the return on the client's investment, i.e., what options will most effectively achieve their goals. For example, this objective can be applied to evaluating which online advertising placement will return a better return for the money spent. Taken from a bigger picture standpoint, the optimal approach is to develop an annual communications plan, which will maximize the client's annual budget for their yearly goals. An annual communications plan can build an overall integrated solution, so that each product can reinforce the message and brand of another.
Focusing on the big picture
Oftentimes with creative projects clients get caught up in a subjective evaluation, but graphic design used to produce business results is not fine art. Since the end game is expected business results, the Account Manager should set up a tracking mechanism for the client to record metrics on responses, sales calls, sales, etc. The Account Manager needs to engage the client in this process. This tracking mechanism will prove results and gain credibility for the client as well as the creative team.
Making the creative process as painless as possible
Account Managers, who--at their best--are perceived as extended members of the client team, are the most successful in building deep client relationships. Building that trust and credibility does not come from each project, but rather from the continuous relationship that extends beyond project sign-offs. Account Managers should:
- follow-up on a project to find out the results and build on/tweak them for future projects,
- attend client staff-meetings or planning forums as their "communications expert" and to learn about changes in business goals, new events, etc., and
- meet with key clients weekly to build rapport with the client and their team.
By being a part of the client's team and developing trust, adjusting to creative deadlines and the review process will be less painful.
Account managers enable the all-around creative team to provide services at a higher level by enabling the rest of your staff to focus on their core skills, which allows them to perform at a higher effectiveness. What the account manager needs to remember is that her core skill is being the face of the creative team to the clients. And when she partners with the client and the creative team to deliver effective solutions, she creates repeat clients who respect the creative team as a strategic partner in their process.
For information about how Cella can add value to your business through consulting, coaching, and training, please email cella@cellaconsulting.com.
Cella Consultant Susan Hunnicutt is an expert in using marketing and communications to achieve business objectives. She works with organizational leaders to assess their needs, determine their goals, analyze their resources and develop an action plan and recommendations to meet these goals. Susan's value proposition is taking a growing in-house creative team "to the next level," not only in metrics but also in systems and processes, quality control and increasing the number of high-profile and quality client projects.
