*This article first appeared on my Linkedin profile
There are a few 'red flag' moments every agency account manager needs to look out for.
These are points in the client relationship when your account is at risk.
Not only are red flag moments important to try to anticipate, when they happen it's the account manager's job to act swiftly.
Here are five examples of red flag moments, why they're important and ideas for how you can anticipate or tackle them:
1. Your client is leaving the company / going on a temporary sabbatical / maternity leave
Why is this a red flag moment?
The incoming replacement may want to bring their own agency in. If your client is temporarily away they may decide not to return and so your established relationship disappears.
What can you do about it?
- Offer to help them with handover notes so it makes it easy for them to brief their replacement (if they're going to a new job and your relationship is good they may consider taking you with them so keep being helpful and stay top of mind)
- Tell your client it's your agency policy to have a 30 minute 'history of the account' meeting with any new client contacts and could you be introduced asap (look up the replacement on LinkedIn for their job history/ expertise)
- Use the meeting to get to know the new person. This positions you as proactive and someone who understands their brand/business. It reinforces why you're valuable
2. Your client's company is merging with or acquiring another company
Why is this a red flag moment?
There may be a consolidation of staff/departments and your contact loses their job or gets promoted and is no longer your point of contact.
What can you do about it?
- Try not to be the last person to know by setting up Google Alerts for your client's company name so you are receiving regular notifications about their business
- Ask your client on a regular basis about the company and 'how's business'. You also typically talk about business strategy at your Quarterly Business Review meeting so if you don't have them set up, do it.
- Spread the relationship risk by actively ensuring you're identifying and contacting multiple points of contact. Having a relationship development strategy is a good move.
3. There's a new incoming member of the C-Suite e.g. CEO, CFO, CMO etc
Why is this a red flag moment?
There may be a review and consolidation of current suppliers and you might have to re-pitch for the business.
What can you do about it?
- If it has one, establish a relationship with your client's procurement/purchasing team and suggest a quarterly review so you can keep abreast of what's happening in the company to anticipate any senior leadership moves
- Regularly share examples of where you've saved the client money or time or made them money (share with both your client and procurement contact) e.g. if you're doing a lot of photography, demonstrate you've negotiated a bulk price etc.
- Follow all the members of the C-Suite on LinkedIn and watch for updates (currently you can click the 'bell' on their profile to be notified of new posts)
- Familiarise yourself with the client's organogram (reporting lines) so you understand the who's who at the company
4. The annual client relationship review comes back with surprisingly negative feedback
Why is this a red flag moment?
Negative feedback from a formal relationship review may come as a shock. It's a red flag moment because what else are they not telling you? Perhaps they're already looking for alternative suppliers i.e. your competition.
What can you do about it?
- Personally thank every client contact for their feedback asap after they've given their feedback and reassure them all the points raised will be addressed
- Formulate an action plan to address all the issues in collaboration with your senior management team
- Present the action plan to the client and then implement the actions and keep the client updated as you're doing them
- Ensure you over communicate with the client and also ask for regular check-ins e.g. at the end of a status call ask to put aside 5 minutes so you can find out how they think you're doing and if there's anything the client's not happy with.
5. The client's business isn't doing well e.g. their sales are down
Why is this a red flag moment?
If sales are down then existing projects that don't have purchase orders may be put on hold or cut altogether. Future spend may be reduced and your forecast may urgently need adjusting accordingly.
What can you do about it?
- To get some visibility over the client's sales figures early, if you're not already running quarterly business reviews where clients share business performance set them up
- Do some research into the company's performance too e.g. for Limited companies in the UK you can often glean a lot of financial performance data by going to the Companies House website. If it's a publicly listed company download the transcripts from the investor relations meetings where the CEO addresses the shareholders/investors
- If you work on a project-by-project basis, always keep on top of the forecast and secure Purchase Orders for work before starting any projects
- Offer to help the client by running a marketing strategy session where the client shares with you details of the sales slow down and you help the client come up with solutions they may not have considered
I hope this has given you some food for thought about predicting and acting upon red flag moments.
