As an Account Manager it's up to you to ensure the relationship with your client is strong.After all, strong relationships = loyal clients = repeat projects & referrals = healthy business.But what are the key things you need to watch for to ensure the relationship stays on track? What can you do to reduce the risk of things coming off the rails?Here are the top 3 reasons clients want to leave you:
1. You're not understanding their world
As an Account Manager you are in the people game.Great Account Managers generally like and connect very easily with most people and enjoy creating rapport with their clients.They like the success that comes from being able to understand their needs and then help them solve their problems.If you are not constantly seeking to understand your client's world, you are unable to uncover their needs and risk missing the mark when it comes to delivering what they want.Two things you can implement straight away:a. Ask great questions. Get to know their world; business and personal. Remember details. Remember their situation and what issues they're struggling with. What's keeping them awake at night? How can you help to solve their biggest problems? Always listen, don't interrupt. Your client should be talking 70% of the time. Keep notes straight after a meeting and refer back to them often so you can play back the details they have shared with you.b. Stay in constant contact with the client from initiation of the project to the final delivery. Create opportunities to do this through having a contact plan and milestones; ways of working meetings, briefing meetings, informal catch ups, project/campaign review meetings, relationship evaluation meetings, annual business planning meetings etc. These are all opportunities to ask your great questions.
2. You don't deliver on brief, on time or on budget
It goes without saying that if you deliver work that doesn't follow the brief it shows you weren't listening or understanding the client needs.If your client complains that the project doesn't come in on time or on budget you probably weren't managing the client's expectations from the start of the project or as it went along.How to avoid this pitfall:a. Ask the client to sign off the written brief. Clarify any jargon words. Ask questions in the negative e.g. "what do you absolutely not want to see?"b. Manage expectations from the outset. If the client has unrealistic expectations for how quickly a project can be delivered, ensure you spend time going over the timing plan early. "Under promise and over deliver". If you promise it Tuesday and deliver it Monday you're a hero, the other way around and you're toast.c. Never discount without changing the specifications of the brief. If the client wants it quicker and you're able to work out of hours to deliver it, offer a separate price to deliver a quicker service.
3. You're not asking them for feedback
If you haven't received any complaints or negative comments from your client about your service for a while don't automatically assume things are all peachy.The old adage 'no news is good news' could be true, but waiting for the client to express their dissatisfaction first could be fatal for your relationship.Simply by asking 'how are we doing?' gives the client a chance to open up and let you know what's going well and what's not going so well.And while it's not guaranteed, more often than not they'll be pleased you asked and will hopefully share their feedback with you giving you the opportunity to put things back on track.You can call this 'relationship risk management'.How to ensure you get the low down on what's really going on:a. Find an excuse to speak to the client; formal agency review, informal lunch, after a business meeting etc. Usually feedback sessions are best conducted face-to-face. Always listen, don't interrupt. Start by asking what they think is going well, then ask them what's not going well and let them know you need the 'warts 'n all' version. Keep asking "anything else?" until you're blue in the face.b. Capture everything in writing shortly after the meeting, thank them for their honesty and then hatch a plan to address all the points raised. Go back to the client with your proposal for how to resolve the issues and enhance your service.How have you lost clients in the past? Have you always seen it coming? If not, do you do anything differently now to prevent the surprise? Please share your thoughts in the comments box below.
