I have had the benefit of being on both sides of the agency/client relationship: many years as the client, and now many years on the agency side. Both are good places to be for different reasons.

Both have different rewards and different challenges.

Now, as a strategic planner, I get to explain why a campaign falls short sometimes, or why it just flat-out didn’t work. And on occasion a client will air his or her frustrations – the same frustrations that I, myself, had on the client-side.

photo by emmyboop on Flickr

Here’s what I’ve learned as a client and as an agency professional:

Stick to a plan
When things don’t work out as planned, it’s usually because the plan wasn’t followed.

A communications plan is usually designed as an aggregate. Each part plays an important role to achieve a desired result. When the plan becomes an à la carte menu… that’s when things go wrong.

If you want the best results, follow the plan as it was intended or change your expectations.

That said… a plan should be revisited frequently. It should adapt throughout the life of a campaign, based on any number of factors. But if you make alterations because of budget or some other reason, be sure and rework the entire plan – so it adequately reflects the budget and resets objectives.

Work as a team
When I was a client, I had many questions about why our agency couldn’t follow our very specific, very brilliant direction (or so we thought). This is a common complaint from folks who work with agencies. I suspect we have a client or two that wonders the same thing about us.

Further complicating this issue is that most of the time, there’s not a black and white answer to many of the questions you might have as a client.

• Is it really going to matter if we make the URL a little larger?
• Do we have to include an offer?
• Will it ruin the piece if the logo is on the left instead of right?
• Does the message make sense if we remove this word or that word?

They seem like simple questions with easy answers. Some of them are. Some of them aren’t. Some of them are topics of great debate.

Most often, the answer is maybe. Maybe it will matter. Maybe it will ruin the piece. Maybe the message won’t make sense. Maybe it changes the tone.

I think clients would be surprised by how much consideration and debate goes into these questions behind the scenes. We take all kinds of information into account. We think it through and make a recommendation. If we can go back to solid research, results and facts, we will. But honestly, communications and people change quickly. What worked yesterday may not be the right solution today.

So my advice, from one client to another, from one agency insider to another, is this: listen to each other. The best solution will likely be informed by all sides, with each offering their own specific expertise.

Communicate to the audience
After you’ve listened to each other, think about your audience. Consider what this will mean to them. It’s easier said than done. Most often, it’s perspective that gets in the way of great work:

• The client’s perspective
• The writer’s perspective
• The planner’s perspective
• The designer’s perspective
• The board’s perspective
• The boss’s perspective

Well… you get the idea. Too often, the audience’s perspective is left out.

In the end, here’s what we really need to focus on:

• What works?
• What will reach the audience?
• What will get the desired response?

Focus on the big picture
The last thing either anyone wants – agency or client – is to get so wrapped up with being right, that both miss out. A solid agency-client relationship is built on mutual respect, and the ability to make each other better.