The business case for relationship-building:

How Struck’s Head of Client Engagement Kylie Kullack builds stronger business by putting human connection first.

Focusing on the health of your client relationship can be the best business-driven decision you can make.

Our results certainly demonstrate that our team of experts can deliver. Even still, if our clients find it difficult to work with us, the relationship won’t last. In fact, relationships supersede business metrics. We recently participated in a webinar of like-sized agencies—and across the board, over 67% of these agencies confirmed their main source of new business came from client referrals or clients who moved to other companies. Client relationships, it seems, are the strongest business drivers.??

We are discerning?

We are selective when it comes to the clients we partner with. Client chemistry is just as important to us as the prospective work. We share our values (Passion, Empathy, Ownership, Adaptability, and Confidence) and discuss if they align. We ask pointed questions to determine if there is mutual respect and appreciation for one another’s craft and expertise. Only once a prospect has passed this assessment do we continue the new business conversation.?

We call it Client Partnership, not Account Management?

This title is intentional. Our Client Partners are strategic partners to our clients. They create an open and trusting relationship with clients. They immerse themselves in clients’ industry, understand their challenges and opportunities, and proactively offer solutions to meet their business objectives. There’s only one thing as important as our client partners’ business understanding—the personal relationships they build, understanding our clients as humans with complex challenges, drivers, values, work styles, and lives outside the office.?

By cultivating leadership among our Client Partners and empowering them to holistically build those relationships, we ensure success for all.?

We stay grounded in KPIs

We will only work with clients who can firmly state solid KPIs to measure the success of our engagement and, in turn, the value we bring. By maintaining clear communication about our shared goals, we can keep the collective team staunchly aligned and sharply focused.

Just as we identify and measure KPIs for the work we develop for our clients, our focus on the client relationship and experience is equally important. We employ a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey annually and are proud of our results—in an industry that averages a score of 40, Struck consistently scores in the 70s and 80s. And that translates to longstanding relationships—our agency client relationships typically span a 3-4 year tenure.?

We see communication as a way of working

We all know the chaos of too many cooks in the kitchen. It’s why we establish a communication structure with every client and agency team. It encourages honest and direct conversation, both internally and with clients. And the ability to have even the tough conversations with clients, whether defending a recommendation or flagging a misalignment, is paramount to upholding our trusting relationship.

When we put people first, the bottom line flourishes?

Our whole ethos as an agency is around building “experience transformation”—helping our clients foster relationships so memorable, so unique, so personal, and so delightful, that their customers do more than engage with the brand. They’re drawn to it from some deeper place—and go back again and again.

We know true affinity applies not only to end-customers but to those we work with directly—our clients. When they feel heard, when their pain-points are proactively anticipated, when we treat them as human collaborators, not business contacts … the momentum behind experience affinity gets set in motion. Affinity within our team radiates into the client team and reflects back and forth as we build the magic together.?

The result is something bigger than business success. It’s human success. Something we can all get behind.