What to do when your agency messes up
Chip Griffin
Helping agency owners build businesses they want to own | Agency growth coach & consultant | Podcaster | Photographer
In last week's newsletter, I talked about how?the client is not always right and how agencies should handle that.
A wise reader responded that agencies make their own mistakes, and I ought to write about what agencies should do when they're wrong or mess up.
Every business screws?up from time to time. How you handle it is what can set you apart.
In fact, sometimes I have actually had client relationships strengthen in the wake of a mistake because of how we addressed it.
That's not to say we should seek out errors or failures, but we also shouldn't be afraid of them.
I'll talk more about this later in the newsletter, but first let's look at what's new.
— Chip Griffin, SAGA Founder
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What to do when your agency is wrong or messes up
While the client isn't always right, neither is the agency.
We all end up offering bad advice or making mistakes -- sometimes big ones.
As an agency, we need to own up to our errors and do so quickly. It's best when we share the bad news with the client rather than waiting for them to hear it elsewhere or realize it on their own.
This means that you need to create a culture within your agency in which team members are not afraid to tell their managers about problems. The faster you know, the faster you can communicate with your client.
It shouldn't be about assigning or deflecting blame, but instead sticking to the facts.
When you communicate the mistake, you need to be ready to explain the next steps to address the immediate issue.
You also need to consider whether you need to do anything to "make good" in the form of offering some additional service or providing a credit to their account. In most cases, this is unnecessary, but if there is a direct identifiable financial cost to the client it is something that you may need to consider.
Next, you need to offer up the steps that you are taking to avoid a similar problem in the future. This could be related to processes or training, or it simply might be learning from a failed strategy.
I have always told team members that everyone makes mistakes, but the key is not to make the same mistake over and over again. That means identifying and addressing the root cause.
Many agencies (and their employees) are afraid to address mistakes head-on. Employees might be afraid of losing their jobs while agencies fear losing the client contract.
But the fact is that most people and organizations are far more understanding of mistakes than we give them credit for. And those that don't forgive honest mistakes are those that you don't want to work for anyway.
If you admit your failures, learn from them, and strive to avoid the same ones in the future, you and your agency will forge stronger client relationships.
Positioning & Pricing for Profits (P3) Workshop
The ability to deliver excellent results for the right clients at the right price lies at the heart of any successful agency. That’s how you simplify business development, produce great results for clients, and ensure that the business works for you.
Join us on March 14 as SAGA Founder Chip Griffin hosts a workshop to help small agency owners work through the 3 P’s of a successful agency: positioning, pricing, and profits.