Why your client-agency relationship is failing (and how to fix it)

Social media marketing agencies should always treasure a good client relationship. Good relationships carry a level of trust that lets ideas transfer easily between organizations. They also make for speedy and effective project execution.

But relationships can be fragile, especially when money is involved.

We're here to teach you the signs of an unhappy client (and how to fix things!) to help you avoid client churn and lost revenue. and/or are ready to churn.

The top issues that might be impacting your social media agency and client relationship

Issue #1: Your social media agency made a (big) mistake

We all know that mistakes happen. But the stakes can be higher when you're an agency because of the potential to impact your client's brand image and reputation.And what you might consider to be a minor mistake might actually be seen differently from the client point of view.

Whatever the size of the mistake, here are 6 prompts that will get you through it.

Find out everything about the issue

Start by getting the full story from your account manager. Then, get the story from your client. We aren't suggesting that you turn this into a "he said, she said" moment. But often you'll get interpretations or perspectives that help you understand why the mistake was made and where the miscommunication might have been.

Be the bearer of bad news

It's better for you to break the bad news to your social media client, than to wait for them to find out through someone else.

Unless your next agency/client check-in is happening in the next few hours, have the highest-ranking person on your client's team on the line and set up a meeting as soon as possible. Don't hesitate to use the phone if that's quicker.

Make good with your client

Be prepared to compensate for your agency's error. You might have to sacrifice agency profitability or revenue in order to satisfy the client (depending on how serious the mistake is). Be prepared to rationalize the amount you volunteer. Your social media client might agree with the amount, or you may need to discuss it further if they don't consider it to be enough.

Hold your team accountable

Own up to your mistakes and learn from the situation. Whether it was the mistake of one team member or a larger team, take the time to figure out why it happened and how to avoid it in the future.

Depending on the severity of the mistake, your first instinct may be to fire those involved. We recommend that this be a last resort, even if your client is pushing for it. Instead, you can assign training, add a more senior team member to the client, or just re-assign the necessary team members to different clients.

Follow through

Get any agreements you make with the client in writing and follow through with them. It's equally important to make sure the account team is fully aware of those agreements.

Contain the damage

In extreme situations, you might be faced with a client wanting to fire you as their social media agency. If the client is part of a large corporation that has multiple brands or accounts, try to contain the damage and salvage other brands or clients not directly connected with the issue at hand.

If the client is still around after the dust has settled, they may be more sensitive to future mistakes. So, take the necessary strides to ensure this mistake (or any mistake) doesn't happen again.

Issue #2: The relationship grows lukewarm

Most marketing agency-client relationships start with both parties in good spirits. It's the classic honeymoon period.

Eventually, things will become routine. Ideas will get recycled, the novelty will disappear, and minor complaints will begin to feel heavier than they used to.

If you notice a client being more distant, they may be searching for a different agency. Here's what you should do immediately to avoid your client churning.

Conduct a thorough account review

The objective of an account review is to get an accurate picture of how your client views you right now, and how likely they are to continue working with you.

To do this, meet with your client and do a comprehensive examination of everything you've done for them to date. This includes the resolutions of seemingly minor requests and/or issues. Go into the call prepared to show metrics and KPIs for everything.

Then, compare current projects to early ones. How were they different? How are they performing?

Finally, get your client's honest opinion on whether or not they are still excited by your work, and uncover the reasons for their answers. Don't settle for shrugs and "we're fine" answers. Try your best to probe. Explain that constructive criticism is the only way that you can make your services better for them.

Host an agency-wide brainstorming session

Creatives who have worked on the same project for a long time might fall out of love with it. After all, there are only so many days you can eat pizza in a week before it loses its appeal (though the jury is still out on this example).

Find new ways to spark creativity. One of the most effective ways to conquer boredom is by conducting a company-wide brainstorming session to gather new ideas. This can help your team find new ideas that your client (or your agency) has never tried before. Getting inspiration from new perspectives is an effective way to reinvent a strategy and a brand.

Shuffle assignments

Clients can tell when a team loses enthusiasm for an account. And while you can't force a team member to be enthusiastic about something, you can switch them out for someone else who will be. Switch up account assignments to bring new perspectives and a fresh voice to the client's projects.

Treat the client like they're new

Make the client fall in love with you all over again! There are a few ways you can tackle this:

• Introduce new team members
• Pitch new ideas (while remembering that you don't always need to reinvent the wheel)
• Remind your client of past successes
• Engage with them regularly

The honeymoon feeling will come back when you get good engagement on both sides.

Issue #3: Your client has unrealistic expectations

In most cases, there's a reason that a client might have unrealistic expectations. Social media agencies can sometimes misrepresent their services in their marketing. Or, you may have oversold the expected return that a client could see.

To avoid any miscommunications about expectations down the line, start strong with a clear contract as well as a discussion about expectations in your client onboarding.

But if you did that and are still faced with problems, here are a few prompts to get back on track.

Get the client's perspective

If the client didn't get the results they expected, ask them what they did expect. We've found that clients carry a lot of wrong assumptions even if you tried to steer clear of them earlier in the project.

Give an optimistic reality check

You should be truthful about what your agency can deliver, but there's a way to do that while also sounding optimistic. Focus on telling the customer the best possible results of working with you and what you can achieve. But, temper it with all that needs to be done first in terms of effort. You're setting realistic expectations of what is required from both sides.

Switch account managers

It happens that the initial team you assigned to the project isn't the best fit. Assign a new team member to get a new, fresh, and hopefully correct take on the project. It's also a visible gesture that shows the client you're taking their concerns seriously. Conduct these reality checks multiple times to emphasize the reality of the situation. Clients have a hard time letting go of their assumptions, especially if multiple people on the client side share this opinion (and one of them is a CEO).

How to let a social media client go

Sometimes, despite all of your best efforts, the client/agency relationship cannot be restored. If you've reached that point, there are a few things we recommend doing before the client moves on.

Conduct a client exit interview

You learn more from your worst clients than your best ones. Ask your client about their experience, from initial expectations and daily interactions to project progress and deliverables. Let the client do the talking and while tempers might be high, do not use this time to get defensive. Use this knowledge to make adjustments to your own operations.

Internal post-mortem

Take what you learned from the exit interview and host an internal account post-mortem. Detail every step, whether it be right or wrong, and figure out how and why the account ended the way it did. Do not cast blame during this discussion.

If the customer doesn't want to have an exit interview, don't worry about it. Just proceed with your internal post-mortem and rely on the opinion of your account managers.

How to prevent losing a social media client in future

Hacks for fixing a damaged client relationship are well and good, but we hope you don't get to that point in the first place. Here are some useful tips for making sure you never have to use any of the tips we gave you above.

Master managing expectations

Half of the communication problems that agencies and clients face are due to improper expectation management. Agencies can and should promise results, but temper those predictions with real-life limitations. Manage expectations by getting as much in writing as possible. This will provide something that your agency can point to if things eventually go south.

Over-communicate but make sure your messages are effective

If you've talked about expectations in a meeting, follow up with a written summary that is sent over email. It never hurts to over-communicate. This will make sure any issues are caught sooner than later. That being said, don't write paragraphs upon paragraphs each time. Make your updates simple and scannable.

Define a process

Clients are most nervous when they don't know whats going on. The most effective agencies have a defined communication process that they share with clients. This can be a simple laundry list of tasks and dates, a simple way to have your client approve content, or a full-blown project management plan complete with a Gantt chart. Anything works as long as the client isn't left adrift.

Summary

Mistakes are inevitable. But things will work out as long as you always try to do right by your customer. At the end of the day, all clients are looking for is someone they can trust. By the way, HeyOrca's social media scheduler is built with agencies like yours in mind. Learn how HeyOrca will keep your team efficient and your clients happy.