When deciding our new agency’s core values, it quickly became evident that a client-centric approach was a must. Throughout my years in the advertising world, I have seen how easily client satisfaction can be forgotten. Frequently, it drops down the pecking order whilst the focus is on the next big prospect.
However, if a client-centric approach is followed, losing sight of client satisfaction becomes much harder as the client is more involved in the process. In the ‘remote working’ world that we have all found ourselves in due to the Covid pandemic, client-centric positioning has become more important than it has ever been. Clients are our partners, and we must maintain frequent communication with them to ensure that they don’t feel overlooked or forgotten.
Jeff Bezos has propounded the use of a client-centric approach since he first founded Amazon in 1994. He has stated that “we see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better”. For Bezos, the customer is at the centre of all decision making, a mindset that other business would do well to emulate. And, since the business of marketing is to create and maintain relationships, it is evident that a client-centric approach is the only one to take in this industry.
A client-centric approach can be implemented in many ways. At Skin, we sit down with every client at the beginning of our working relationship and create a Service-Level Agreement (SLA) that is bespoke to them. This SLA sets out the level and type of service the client wishes to receive from Skin. Both parties then know what to expect from the outset, and the SLA ensures that we deliver a highly satisfactory service to each and every client. Together with our clients, we review our SLAs quarterly. Business performance, account management, research, buying values and strategy are all scored so that we continue to maintain a high level of client satisfaction throughout the project.
Skin also offers our clients a secondment programme where we will work in our client’s office for a minimum of one day a week. Both of these programmes allow us to develop the best possible working relationship with our clients. By creating these bespoke experiences and with regular input from our clients, client satisfaction never gets overlooked. Client-centricity is a top priority for us and will remain at the heart of Skin’s offering.
