Fostering positive relationships between clients and ourselves is one of our specialties here at Snap Agency. We place a great deal of emphasis on our selectivity when it comes to working with clients. The cultural fit has to be right, goals must be identified, and we have to be able to communicate with a mutual trust. We’ve been at this enough to know that if any of these components are missing, the relationship likely won’t be a good one.
In the past, we’ve shared lots of information about our company culture, and what clients can expect when working with us. It’s not often that we discuss what we expect from our clients. A few key players of the Snap production team weighed in on what an ideal client means to them. An SEO Strategist, PPC Manager, Account Manager, Content Manager, and Web Designer make up the “breakfast club” of our contributors. With so many perspectives from such different personalities, we’re able to glean a lot of insight on what allows the Snap team to do their jobs so well.
“My ideal client is passionate about their mission, and prioritizes helping their customers.”
I try to embrace and incorporate passion in all aspects of my life, so when tasked with choosing an ideal client, I think of the ones who care the most about their business. It doesn’t matter if they produce a product I’ve never heard of in an industry I’ve never expressed an interest in. If they’re excited about their company, I’m excited too.
I once had a client who wanted to take a very active approach in his digital strategy. He offered to help write content with our guidance, and offer his own expertise for our better understanding. This is something we often ask our clients from time to time. No one knows your customers better than you, right? But this individual said something that’s stuck with me for a long time. “I don’t just fix this one thing. I go to people’s homes, and I solve their problems.”
He reminded me that it’s not about the product, or the service. The bigger picture is that businesses exist to make customer’s lives better. Companies need money to survive, but they also need a product or service that helps people, and solves their problems. When I’m invited to develop a marketing strategy for these businesses, I get to help them solve problems for more people. That’s a goal I can be proud of.
“My ideal client is open about their goals, especially if they aren’t being met.”
This client has a successful business independent of my efforts, but is looking to me for growth. Their digital knowledge doesn’t need to be anywhere near expert level, but they know their strengths and weakness and can rely on my expertise when it lies outside theirs.
It’s important that my clients can communicate their goals to me, and aren’t afraid to contact me when their campaigns aren’t meeting expectations. Let’s have open conversations about ways to improve what is happening. The client-agency relationship can be tenuous, it’s tough when progress isn’t being made. But when we are both respectful towards each other, and communicate often outside of a basic email back and forth about reporting, good things can happen.
“My ideal client wants communication, trust, and has lots of energy. I feed off of their energy and get really excited about their project.”
A client who trusts our judgement and our expertise and is willing to listen and broaden their horizons when we have a different outlook. Our number one goal, as an agency, is to give our clients the best possible solution for their problem(s). When a client is willing to put their complete trust in our hands, we are able to provide these solutions. At the end of the day, their success is our success.
Secondly, when the client is just as excited and passionate as we are for their success, it makes our job not only easier, but more fun. This shared passion fuels creativity and is conducive for a transparent relationship. If this is established at the beginning of a relationship, the only way to go, is up. We could be designing a website about paperclips, but if the client is, YES PAPERCLIPS!, this makes us match their energy level.
Lastly, having an open communication line that results in having a transparent relationship. There are very few projects that will not have a single road-bump. But, if both parties are open and honest, it will either confirm the direction or make us step back and reevaluate. If we do not see something that is broken, we won’t know to fix it. In the end, having an open line of communication does not only benefit us, but more importantly, it benefits the client. Being on the same page for expectations, deliverables and timeline will only result in a healthy relationship that will continue to grow.
“My ideal client wants to collaborate with me to create meaningful content.”
As a writer, one of the most challenging aspects to the job is achieving a deep and genuine brand voice within a piece. I can research a client, their goals and their ambitions forever. However, the willingness of the client to collaborate and share their more personal voice is what makes copy drip with empathy and branding. The better I can understand their processes or history, the more I can write as if I’m on the journey with them instead of watching it from the outside.
My favorite type of client is willing to foster a more open and transparent relationship with me as a writer — that is the ideal situation. If I have the opportunity to dig into the guts of a client’s brand or their goals, then the content created is more likely to strike gold. Clients who share the view that creating empathetic and engaging content for their site are the ones I love working with. The more collaborative, the better when it comes to creating strategic work that hits the SEO nail on the head.
“My ideal client is positive, excited and constructive and get’s into the nitty gritty of how their business works so we can show it in the most clear and compelling way possible.”
I have had experiences working for some really amazing people, and despite occasionally working through speed bumps, challenges generally bring out the best in our work. Each website we work on or enhance has a particular standout challenge that we’re charged with sometimes determining and always solving.
I once had a client invite us into their office and show us around their facility with the kind of enthusiasm one could only classify as infectious. This is cool. When someone is so into what they do, that you can’t help but feel it, it get’s you pumped up. By getting down to the finer details of what they and their team do, we catch the story. By telling us how the service/products they provided serve their customers needs we quickly started to understand the full picture of the value they were providing.
This is the ideal scenario for working with the clients. I know that if you are in a position to work with a team to redesign your website, it’s important to share what excites you about the work you do, and be prepared to show the whole picture of what’s valuable about it. A good creative team will ask the right questions to unearth these things. By entering into the process with the mindset of baring these important aspects, the website will be better because you’ll see elements and aspects of what you shared start to show up in the design.
All in all, a client that’s willing to communicate honestly about their goals, has a mission that we can believe in, and trusts in our expertise is a recipe for success. We love working with each other, and when we take on new clients they become a part of our family. If you value total transparency in an agency partner, Snap may be the right fit for your business.