Make Client Service an Essential Part of Digital Agency Assessment

When choosing a digital marketing agency, it’s easy to get fixated on the shiny objects—the visual approaches and design capabilities of the companies you are considering. But that’s only one part of the story. While the engagement results your potential partner has delivered for other clients should be a consideration, many forget to assess one key aspect of the relationship: the client service team.

These are the people who connect all the dots. They help make sure your creative direction ties directly to your core business objectives. They oversee the hand-offs to programming to ensure your vision and the real-world function of your site and strategies align. A good client service team is an extension of your marketing team, ensuring your voice and needs are always heard and top-of-mind at every stage of the project. How well you can work with your agency partner is highly dependent on the caliber of the client service team assigned to your account.

What should you be looking for when it comes to service?

Often the challenges that force companies to find a new digital design agency partner stem from client service issues. These can include poor communication, hidden fees, lack of transparency, and the failure to proactively plan for your future needs (hello, growth!). In fact, 66% of companies in a recent survey indicated they have switched providers because of inadequate communication.^[1]

An ineffectual client service relationship can lead to significant frustration. And when working with a resource becomes difficult, it’s hard to justify the costs of outsourcing. This makes assessing the caliber of a digital agency’s client services capabilities upfront a key evaluation consideration. We’ve put together four key things to expect from a strong client service team from any web design and marketing company you might be considering.

Staying on top of industry trends

B2B companies need a digital marketing partner that understands your market and can keep you out in front of trends. Your client service manager plays a key role in this, coordinating collaborative sessions with you to share trends, best practices, and leading strategies. A good client service team should also be taking the time to understand the unique nuances of your business and your place in the market. This depth of insight will help them anticipate changes and identify valuable opportunities and the tailored strategies that can help you capitalize on them to meet your business goals. It’s this level of understanding that is key to your client service team acting as a true extension of your team versus just an agency partner you’ve hired.

Always focused on your strategic goals

One of the benefits of your client service team having such an intimate understanding of your business and your goals is that they can keep you on track. In fact, the beginning of the relationship should be very focused on uncovering these priorities and the nuances of your business. At Clear Digital, we have even developed a proprietary process, our Velocity Workshop, wholly focused on discovering what is most important to your company and clearly defining how your work together will deliver on this.  You should also expect your client service manager to regularly check in on your business goals and how they have evolved throughout your relationship. If your company is on the precipice of growth, your agency better be ready!

Flexibility and agility in execution

In business, the best laid plans change frequently. You need a digital agency partner that can scale with you. As changes occur within your organization, you want a creative resource with the flexibility to seamlessly add team members as the scope of your work grows. The ability to pivot quickly is key and it’s the client services team that should be quarterbacking these adaptations to ensure optimal efficiency for both your team and theirs. Their goal should always be to keep projects on track and ensure that every undertaking delivers the best results, even in the face of unforeseen challenges.

A communicative, transparent, and collaborative partnership

When you boil it down, what sits at the heart of every great client service relationship is good communication. There is a sense of openness and curiosity that makes all the difference. From providing regular updates to asking the important (and sometimes hard) questions, it takes the right kind of person to be an outstanding client service resource.

To foster a true sense of transparency, feedback should consistently be flowing both ways. Establishing regular updates and touch points is essential to this. You want a client service partner who is upfront about potential roadblocks and who actively seeks your input to ensure that the strategies your digital agency is pursuing are fully aligned with your vision and expectations of the approach and the outcomes. This kind of ideal collaboration will make all the difference in how each project goes and, more importantly, how you feel about the relationship and the work you’re doing together.

How to assess a potential client service team

Now that you’re clear on what to expect from a good client service team, it’s time to think about how you can figure out which of your agency prospects can deliver. There are lots of considerations when it comes to outsourcing digital marketing providers, but evaluating your interactions, meeting your day-to-day team, and understanding the processes they use will give you a clearer picture of what to expect. One thing to consider is the agency’s net promoter score. This offers a valuable insight into the real experience clients have working with them and can be an effective evaluation tool. The bottom line is you want to make sure these are people you can count on and that you’ll look forward to working with over an extended period of time.

When it comes to determining if you have the right kind of client service relationship with your digital agency, ask for the kind of relationship you want. At Clear Digital, our client service teams take a very hands-on approach with our clients and every project.  We’d love for you to meet them. Let’s talk about getting you the kind of service you deserve.

^[1] Communication Statistics 2024. Project.co.