We recently fired a client. The relationship was a long-running one, but some new contacts on the client’s side were having a tough time understanding our approach.
Per yesterday’s post, there was a lot of “What have you done for me lately?” in the new folks’ attitude. We can certainly deal with that for a while, but, here was the dealbreaker …
We were tasked with Blogger Relations for a new product launch. It was the first time that the company was showing a willingness to engage with the community. We explained, at the time that the assignment was given, that Blogger Relations entailed a different approach – it needed to be more engaging, quick, relevant, and, it could well require more active participation on the part of our client spokespeople. (If you read this blog with any regularity, I doubt a how-to on Blogger Relations is required.)
The client agreed with the approach. No hesitation.
We wound up pretty successful with the campaign, but, at the end of it all, we were taken off all media relations, save for some 2nd tier stuff. (Keep in mind that this was an account for which we’d handled PR, soup-to-nuts, for years.)
Baffling! Wha’ hoppen?
Some bloggers were so enthusiastic about being contacted that they replied directly to our client contacts, and the bloggers sometimes included our original pitch in their notes. Thus, our client had a chance to read our “engaging, quick, relevant” approach, and it was deemed …
(drumroll… wait for it…)
“Too casual. Your blogger pitch was too casual. It led me to wonder if you talked to all the media like that.”
Which made us wonder if this was a relationship that was ever going to be fruitful again.
This is not a sanctimonious bloggier-than-thou rant, though surely that’s how it reads. Y’see, I can understand when clients don’t “get” Blogger Relations – it’s a new area, after all. As Mike Driehorst of Mike’s Points noted yesterday, education about the blogosphere is an ongoing issue.
For me, the far bigger problem was that the client had “punished” the Agency without regard for the fact that a) we’d all agreed on the approach, and worse, b) they’d penalized the Agency without discussing their concerns about the pitches. They simply started taking away assignments without explanation. That’s not cool.
I’d rather work with a client who understands how-to manage an agency than a client who understands the nuances of the blogosphere.
…Hmm. I just realized that this marks two cranky posts in a row. FWIW, 99% of our clients are totally awesome.
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Umm. Why would it matter whether your pitches, pr or br, were casual or formal? If they worked, which apparently they were.
I spent the bulk of my corporate career on the client side, managing agencies such as yours, and the only time I cared about the word for word content of pitches were when they WERE NOT getting results.
You have every right to be cranky.
My thoughts exactly, Susan.
Todd, you are not alone in your crank. I just spoke yesterday with a former colleague of mine. He’s been in the agency biz for a couple decades, running practices and offices of some big-time brands. He’s in the process of checking out to go run a software company and remarked to me that the anxiety is not really less, but in a way more bearable because it’s not based on continuous negative reinforcement.
That comment and your post yesterday made me realize that then it most often (if you’re any good) takes a somewhat veiled form (”What have you done for me lately? “That’s good, but why wasn’t it better?”)
When clients start to direct the how we do our work — particularly when it’s successful — that is definitely a deal breaker.
Working with bloggers and etc. is similar to talking with a parent of one of your child’s new friend. It’s definitely not the same as talking with a newspaper reporter or your doctor.
Casual, honest, even cautious is best. Though you are working in the relationship, the blogger often doesn’t see as a professional relationship. It needs to be much more informal and open.
Clients need to be educated — or dropped — as do coworkers at times.
Keep teachin’ Todd.
– Mike
Good for you, Todd. I love firing pain-in-the-butt clients because they hurt my whole business. It hasn’t happened in a while (last one was a dead beat on payment), but it does need to happen periodically. Besides, I think this clears the deck for a better client.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Todd. The person who made the “casual” comment is obviously a moron. And life is too short to work with morons.
Should be one of the easier decisions in your career.
In any case, our experience with Shift has been quite different.
Geva, first, I love it when I find that clients read this blog - thank you.
And thanks even MORE for your amazing post. I’ve printed it and will sleep with it under my pillow tonight!
Boy does this ever sound familiar! But it becomes much less important when your clients who “get it” are pleased with your work….as yours seems to be. Great advice!