Rummaging old stuff does have its benefits. You could unearth hidden gems that have escaped your memory. I just did and found this - a document one of my ex-bosses passed on to me when I had first moved into the Advertising world. It was titled ’50 rules to keep client happy’.
Fifty wouldn’t fit in this blog and hence I condensed them into a manageable lot. The rules are applicable to anybody who serves a client. Not necessarily to account management of an ad agency.
One cursory look at this and you are going to describe them as old-fashioned, not so new, yeah-I-know-them stuff. But put your hand to your heart, or whatever is left of it, and tell yourself how many of this you practice.
That’s the point!
Product Knowledge
Crawl all over the customer’s products and/or services. Know them at least as well as your client contact does and you’ll be much more adept at counseling him or her when problems and opportunities arise.
Keep Clients Informed About Competitors
Keep alert for news of client competitors’ new hirings, new price structures, new products, new R&D projects, new acquisitions, new plants or modernization activities. When you’re privy to this kind of information, immediately send it, in writing, to the client and his or her boss as well.
Constant Contact
Even though you might be the world’s greatest, it often comes down to ‘what have you done for me lately?’ For some reason or other the out-of-sight, out-of-mind syndrome predominates the client psyche. It is therefore important that you make sure the client feels you are thinking only of him or her and their company 24 hours a day. Be sure your client gets something pertinent in the mail from you, besides your call report, at least once a week. You must let your client people feel they are constantly on your mind.
Punctuality
Never, ever be late for a meeting or date with a client. If you are sloppy in this regard, the client will sooner or later be convinced that you are sloppy in the way you are spending their money and handling his or her account. Remember, clients just don’t like to be kept waiting – your time is their money.
Call Reports
Very often people coming out of the same meeting or hanging up after a telephone conversation have totally different interpretation on what has transpired and therefore have no clear idea of who is to do what next. Putting important meeting details and discussions down on paper and distributing this information right after the session enables everyone involved to have a chance to get back to one another to rectify any misunderstandings that might have occurred.
Notebook
I don’t care how great a memory you have, you cannot hope to remember every single item in the myriad of details you have to retain in day-to-day handling. This is especially so after a substantial lapse of time. Keep a spiral-bound notebook. Date it daily and use it for keeping notes of meetings, phone calls, things that need taking care of and whatever.
New Ideas
Be a self-starter. Come up with new products ideas, new merchandising ideas, new promotion ideas, new manufacturing ideas, new tax benefit ideas, new acquisition and merger ideas, new tax shelter ideas, new cost-cutting ideas, new legal loopholes, anything you feel will benefit the client even though it might be way out of your professional purview.
Use Your Head and Your Client’s Products
Always help the hand that feeds you. If your client is a clothing store, buy and wear its clothes. If it sells toothpaste, be sure you and your family brush your teeth with that brand. It’s even smart to go a step further down the distribution chain and support your customer’s customers.
Fifty wouldn’t fit in this blog and hence I condensed them into a manageable lot. The rules are applicable to anybody who serves a client. Not necessarily to account management of an ad agency.
One cursory look at this and you are going to describe them as old-fashioned, not so new, yeah-I-know-them stuff. But put your hand to your heart, or whatever is left of it, and tell yourself how many of this you practice.
That’s the point!
Product Knowledge
Crawl all over the customer’s products and/or services. Know them at least as well as your client contact does and you’ll be much more adept at counseling him or her when problems and opportunities arise.
Keep Clients Informed About Competitors
Keep alert for news of client competitors’ new hirings, new price structures, new products, new R&D projects, new acquisitions, new plants or modernization activities. When you’re privy to this kind of information, immediately send it, in writing, to the client and his or her boss as well.
Constant Contact
Even though you might be the world’s greatest, it often comes down to ‘what have you done for me lately?’ For some reason or other the out-of-sight, out-of-mind syndrome predominates the client psyche. It is therefore important that you make sure the client feels you are thinking only of him or her and their company 24 hours a day. Be sure your client gets something pertinent in the mail from you, besides your call report, at least once a week. You must let your client people feel they are constantly on your mind.
Punctuality
Never, ever be late for a meeting or date with a client. If you are sloppy in this regard, the client will sooner or later be convinced that you are sloppy in the way you are spending their money and handling his or her account. Remember, clients just don’t like to be kept waiting – your time is their money.
Call Reports
Very often people coming out of the same meeting or hanging up after a telephone conversation have totally different interpretation on what has transpired and therefore have no clear idea of who is to do what next. Putting important meeting details and discussions down on paper and distributing this information right after the session enables everyone involved to have a chance to get back to one another to rectify any misunderstandings that might have occurred.
Notebook
I don’t care how great a memory you have, you cannot hope to remember every single item in the myriad of details you have to retain in day-to-day handling. This is especially so after a substantial lapse of time. Keep a spiral-bound notebook. Date it daily and use it for keeping notes of meetings, phone calls, things that need taking care of and whatever.
New Ideas
Be a self-starter. Come up with new products ideas, new merchandising ideas, new promotion ideas, new manufacturing ideas, new tax benefit ideas, new acquisition and merger ideas, new tax shelter ideas, new cost-cutting ideas, new legal loopholes, anything you feel will benefit the client even though it might be way out of your professional purview.
Use Your Head and Your Client’s Products
Always help the hand that feeds you. If your client is a clothing store, buy and wear its clothes. If it sells toothpaste, be sure you and your family brush your teeth with that brand. It’s even smart to go a step further down the distribution chain and support your customer’s customers.
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