I think every professional services or creative firm occasionally wishes their clients did a few things differently so that they might have the ability to do their absolute best work, and therefore, deliver a better product.
Over years, my team and I often are so busy down in the trenches with our clients, focusing on how we can do our best work within their parameters, that we don’t pop our heads up to think about how the clients could have handled the project differently to maximize the results.
At RSL, we’ve been lucky enough to work with some smart and savvy clients. Thinking back over our experiences, my team and I have cobbled together an ideal client checklist. (Note these are generalizations so take them with the appropriate grain of salt). To get the best results, the ideal client…
- Builds content platforms (email newsletters, consistent web content, webinar series, etc.) instead of one-off projects. If one-off content pieces are more appropriate for a particular initiative, they let us help them make the product more repeatable in the future.
- Tells us as much as possible about their target audience.
- Shares all measurement data with us. The more we know about what is working and what is not, the better our future work together will be.
- Limits the amount of decision makers (no more than two is ideal) involved in the review process. Content can quickly turn into Frankenstein’s monster when too many people put their hands and opinions on the piece. The more reviewers, the less impactful the content. And if compliance or legal needs to review, let us know what they are looking for ahead of time.
- Has a process to feature clients in the content. Clients are one of the best sources for your content. Plus, clients will love the exposure. (For more on featuring your clients, read here.)
- Really wants bolder content. It is harder than ever to earn mindshare so there is little room for the unexceptional.
Ideas for interesting and effective content can come from just about anywhere and our greatest success stories have been written with clients who are ready to explore new options. Remember, your agency should come in and shake the trees a bit.
We can help
Give us a shout to find out how we can work together to maximize your marketing efforts with content platforms that build trust, accelerate your buyer’s journey and smash your business goals.
