Evading A Negative Brand Experience.

A dive into building solid and meaningful client relations.

By Alice Martin , Account Director at BE Experiential

Whether it's unrealistic expectations that are being set, a lack of understanding of the client's needs, or overall lack of communication, a negative brand experience is all about the people behind it.

As someone who has been in client relations and account management for the bigger part of my career, I have learned that it’s the simple things that make a big difference in how a client experiences a brand or an agency.

To kick this off, let's define a negative brand experience: a lack of understanding of individual needs, company needs and delivering products and services that don't live up to the client’s expectations. It can simply be a lack of authenticity.?

One key element to avoiding a negative brand experience is having a powerful client services agent to collaborate with the client and understand their expectations and requirements. This individual is in place to translate the client's needs and requirements to the team and agency. The latter ensures that everyone involved in the pitch or event truly understands the client's brief, goals and can all work together to achieve them.?

It would be best if you considered a client relations representative as a conduit or a catalyst. They can make or break a client/agency relationship. Clients are people looking to make a connection, and even if it is a professional one, it must come from the heart. Here is where authenticity and honesty come into play. It is pivotal to be yourself with a client, remain professional at all times, and it always helps to build a personal connection where possible.?

Your authentic self will help you build trust and a strong relationship to help become an extension of your client's team, allowing them to come to you with anything and trust your decisions and opinions. As an agency, we are there to solve problems and overcome challenges; that is why trust needs to be built. Once trust is built, it sets forth a strong relationship that can lead to several future projects rather than just a one-off event.

Be yourself and be genuinely interested in your client to build a strong relationship around work and your personal life. Obviously, there's a balance to that, but in general, people like working with like-minded people whom they get along with and ultimately want to feel supported, so building a balanced relationship will provide a positive experience for your client.?

At this point, we have established that authenticity is key to avoiding a negative brand experience, So what comes next? Communication, communication, and, you guessed it, more communication!

Communication is at the center of everything regarding events and project management and everything beyond that. It clearly defines tasks, sets expectations, and increases productivity. It eliminates errors from both sides and sets forth a smooth sailing-project or event.?

One of the benefits of communication, especially in client servicing, is that it sets your clients' minds at ease. It allows them to clearly understand what you are going to provide them and eradicates any doubts that might come creeping up during the project. Another critical point here is communicating everything, the good, the bad, the ugly; sugarcoating everything is not the way to go. For example, if something is unachievable, you need to explain that to the client and push back. However, always support your pushback with explanations and solutions. If a client wants a turnaround in two weeks and it's impossible, then you need to be able to push back and say, we can do it in three weeks; giving them a clearly defined scope of work, timeline, and deliverables that support your claim. At the end of the day, your main objective is to service the client in the best way possible. Even if that means not saying yes all the time!?

So what are you still missing to provide the best brand experience? A process.

A streamlined process internally within the agency for any account, project, or event ensures that everybody within the team is organized and getting things done in a timely manner. They update clients, follow up on deliverables, and meet deadlines. Having a set internal process clearly defining duties and is essentially what can help you achieve a great brand experience.

This process makes delivering a project more seamless and smooth; it is a road map for team members to set milestones and accurately deliver the best possible quality. It is the best tool an agency can have to avoid mishaps or catastrophic errors that can disrupt a project's success.

Let us end this with some pitfalls account managers or client servicing representatives may find themselves slipping into.

1. Lack of Organization

Having excellent organization skills and being detail-oriented are key factors in a successful client relations career.

1. Ignoring Requests

If a client requests something, you must try to make it happen or find an alternative solution that works for both parties.?

• Lack of Documentation?

Emails, agenda’s, project timelines, and meeting minutes are a must! Have everything documented to ensure clear and defined requests and deliverables. This will help you safeguard yourself and your team and keep everyone on track.?

• Not Following up

Always gather feedback and continuously learn how to achieve better results.

• Lack of effective Communication with the team

Your team needs to know the client's expectations, and you are responsible for communicating that properly and clearly.