4 ways to save a Client-Agency marriage

Search Consultants are the next swarm of carion-pickers in the Advertising industry. Some of them were recently brought together by the Advertising Club of New York; and Ad Age had a mercifully short excerpt of what they had to say.

But wade through the jargon; cut through the metaphors; ignore the obvious; dodge the verbiage; and we will find, I think, a few points well worth considering.

1. We need to get to know our target audience a little bit better everyday. The client expects it.

2. Being responsive is not enough. We need to proactively come up with creative ideas, new insights and innovative ways to reach our TA. Even if they aren't implemented, the client will know we're on our toes.

3. We need the courage to stick with our real strengths, and (tactfully) decline things that are out of our purview. If we insist on being treated as professionals, most likely, we will.

4. Clients almost never feel we are over-charging - they only ever find out if we're under-delivering.

(Don't worry, there's less than 4 minutes of it.)