Developing a strong professional relationship is hard work. However, just like personal relationships, the key to these being successful is honest and open communication. This also applies to the relationship between content marketing agencies (or SEO agencies in general) and the client.
While delivering on the set goals is how success is ultimately measured, the main contributor is not always easy to quantify – the relationship that exists between the client and the agency. A few tips you can use to establish a long-lasting and successful content marketing or SEO agency relationship can be found here.
Creating the Perfect Pitch
Every relationship takes time, but clients and agencies must establish a foundation from the very beginning. The first pitch meeting is an excellent way to kick off this relationship. For the agency, this means you focus solely on the client. The owner of the agency (or whoever is handling the pitch) provides a first impression of the agency’s capabilities, expertise, and personality. This is crucial.
While this is true, the most effective way to build rapport with a client is to understand their needs before going into the pitch. For example:
- Who is their audience?
- What sets the client apart in the industry?
- What are their goals?
By doing a little homeowner ahead of time, it can help ensure the client has a positive impression and chooses to work with your agency. Also, remember it will usually take more than a single meeting to sign a new client, so you must follow up on everything that is promised during this initial meeting.
The Content Marketing Strategy
The content marketing strategy created is one of the most significant parts of the relationship-building process. It will ground and drive all successes and programs. Make sure both sides agree to the messaging and strategy before moving forward or doing anything. Failure to do this means that the agency won’t meet the goals of their client, which is going to hurt the client-agency relationship.
Define Your Marketing Tactics and Goals
You should create a strategy that includes all the KPIs (key performance indicators). Be sure to illustrate how the tactics will help achieve these. For example, just one blog post can serve several purposes – thought leadership, audience experience, and SEO. It is essential to spend some time explaining each of the tactics and the role it has in the bigger customer journey.
Establish Roles
As the relationship between your agency and your client begins, define the roles for each with a shared approach to decision making and leadership. The goal is to create a joint effort for success.
When it comes to developing good client-agency relationships, there is no question that it is something that takes time. While this is true, it is possible. If you need help creating this relationship, consider working with a third party, white-glove service provider. They can help you develop the relationships you want to ensure your clients get the quality services they need.