In this article (5 min read):
- What client service is
- How client service helps you get better results
- What you risk when you don’t have client service
In creative agencies, one of the most common challenges I hear is:
“Why should I pay for client service time?”
After all, the client service lead is often the person a client speaks to the most, yet their contribution is sometimes seen as an overhead expense rather than a value-adding service.
This perception misses the true role of client service, and the often hidden value it brings to clients and agencies.
What is client service?
The most challenging aspect of client service is that so much of the work an Account Manager does of client service can be invisible. Unlike design or development, which produce tangible outputs, much of the work a client service team does is invisible.
The value created by a client service team lives between problems, in the space where issues never arise because they’ve been anticipated and managed.
The key accountabilities of a client services team include:
- Foreseeing and preventing challenges before they happen
- Bridging the gap between client and delivery team and making the delivery of complex work feel simple for the client
- Driving collaboration and managing relationships
- Championing the brief to ensure work is delivered on time, on budget, on brief
Ironically, when client service is done well, it can look like we’re doing less simply because issues never arise in the first place.
How does client service help you get better results?
An effective client service team delivers results for you by
- Having a deep understanding your business and objectives. They’re an ally in your corner, helping you achieve success by aligning goals and recognising opportunities
- Managing risk before it impacts delivery by evaluating possible scenarios, recognising issues and resolving them proactively
- Managing the expectations within your business and the agency, helping you to sell ideas and project manage internally. This means less pressure on you to manage internal expectation
- Translating complex information across teams and businesses. Creatives, developers, finance teams and marketers all speak different languages. Client service help you to translate information into formats that help each recognise the value and get on board with the idea
- Creating value beyond the project. Great ideas come from collaborating with different skillsets – this is a value add to your business beyond the specific project being delivered
- Championing excellence in delivery. Client service sit between the agency and business and their success depends on producing quality work for clients they work with
What do you risk without client service?
You don’t always see the value of great client service until it’s gone.
Without a dedicated client service function you significantly increase the risk of:
- Miscommunications between teams
- Unforeseen barriers stalling progress
- Project exceeding budget or timelines
- Missed opportunities for innovation or improvement
I demonstrated this lesson in a previous role when I once agreed to stop servicing a client who felt they didn’t need “a middle person”. Instead, they wanted to work directly with our delivery team. I took a risk and let it happen to prove a point.
In three weeks communication had stalled, and the client realised the effort that goes into the hidden glue that holds it all together is not just the work of one marketer, creative, strategist or developer. Rather it’s their work combined with someone dedicated to guiding the relationship, removing roadblocks, and keeping everyone aligned. They came back, ready to invest in the client service fee, (phew).
Summary
The key is reframing client service not as “extra” but as a strategic function. Client services are not just an added cost; they are an important the safeguard of quality, the driver of clarity, and the enabler of growth for both sides.
This strategic function works best when coupled with strong client relationships built on trust, information sharing and mutual respect. Coupled with the balancing act we live every day in agency life – to be proactive, empathetic and collaborative partners – nurturing relationships while also driving growth.
This requires a level of investment and trust in the team by both the Client and Agency Management.
The truth is, you don’t always see the value of great client service until it’s gone.
