“It’s not personal, it’s just business.”
As cliché as it sounds, life is all about relationships. Building them, breaking them, learning how to navigate each one differently – it’s all a part of coexisting as humans. In both personal and professional life, relationships are the foundation. Business IS personal. It’s about relationships.
Client Relationships
Having a good relationship with your clients or customers is the most important part of business relations. You can be the best marketing firm in the world, the industry leader in design and web, but if the “relationship shoe” doesn’t fit, you can be replaced. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the marketing industry isn’t always rainbows and smiles (unless you’re marketing child daycare, then, maybe!).
Keep in mind that relationships work both ways. As a marketing firm, you may miss a deadline by a day or two. Or as a client, you may be late on a payment by a day or two. Building trust and rapport with each other can save either of you in both of these situations.
In order to keep good relationships with my clients, I strive to keep in constant contact with them and be transparent and honest about everything. Contrary to popular belief, having a good relationship doesn’t mean you’re 100% a “yes” man. Because I want what’s best for my clients, I must be honest when I don’t think something will help their business. I support and run with ideas that I believe have potential, but unfortunately have to reject the…can I just say it? There are some completely awful ones! Helping clients make the right decision, assessing the risk involved, and building trust are what make my job so important. There’s nothing more rewarding than having a client ask for help instead of doing it themselves because they trust our work and advice.
Peer Relationships
When you think of relationships in marketing, typically the first thing that comes to mind is the client relationship. But an important relationship that many overlook or forget is the relationship with your peers and coworkers. Internal relationships among the company are crucial. When you’re stuck in a rut, whether its design or writer’s block, having peers to brainstorm with is important.
I can’t count how many times I have relied on my peers for their opinions or inputs on different projects. A change in a perspective never hurt anyone, it actually helps. Sit down with your team when you have a big project in the works and bounce ideas off of each other. Even a far-off idea can lead to a plausible one with enough brainstorming. Many ideas we come up with as a team make it to the final product, and we can all say we contributed!
Relationships are one of our core values as an agency because it’s important to us. We want to talk to our clients about business and have fun while we do it. We work hard to build trust and help them navigate the best choices for their business because we truly care about their success. Having good relationships is something you build over time, and it’s not always easy! But it is worth it!
Starting Something New
It might seem like a strange time to start a new relationship with a marketing partner. But, I’d like to challenge that and say, there’s never been a better time! You can’t afford to let your business “go dark” right now. Stay in front of your customers consistently, nurture the relationships you have, and make sure you communicate with them about what’s happening in your business. It is far less expensive to maintain your current customer relationships than it is to regain new ones. Are you open? What are your policies for cleaning? Have you changed your hours?
If you’ve found yourself in a situation where you have had to furlough team members that normally handle these communication responsibilities, let us fill the gap in the short-term. One of our greatest strengths as an agency is that we quickly and seamlessly learn to integrate with a new client’s team and their business’s culture. We have not settled into two or three specific market spaces and have experience in many industries. We can help during this in-between time. Get in touch with us anytime – we are here for you!
