In this live PR FAQ recorded in EastWest PR’s Beijing studio, Jim James, Director of EastWest PR, answers a viewer’s question about client management. He outlines four core recommendations for agencies and consultants: (1) avoid saying yes to every request—use the role of external counsel to provide honest, strategic advice and be willing to say no when a better idea exists; (2) think ahead for the client by monitoring media, market trends, and competitors, thereby adding proactive value; (3) support the client’s internal reporting by delivering materials in the formats, fonts, and templates they need, helping them look good to their own stakeholders; and (4) consistently ask what the client needs, when they need it, and ensure delivery. He closes by inviting further questions via the website, Weibo, or Twitter.
Chapters
Hello, my name is Jim James, Director of EastWest PR. We're recording this PR FAQ live in our Beijing studios, and a question that came up from somebody who's looking at servicing clients is, can you give us any tips on managing clients? Well, of course, Every agency has clients. We all need clients. Not always the easiest of people to deal with. So one of the tips I would give is, don't say yes all of the time. And I mean that because if you're saying yes all of the time to the clients, then you may not be thinking yourself. And clients want to work with agencies and consultants who give them valuable advice. If you're just saying yes to everything they ask for, then they probably don't really need you. Your role as a consultant is to give an external perspective and to give proper counsel. So every now and again, say no. Not just for the sake of saying no, but if you think there's a better idea or a better strategy, then you should say that. Secondly, if you're working for a client, think ahead. Think in advance for them. They've probably got a lot of internal priorities that they're taking care of, and the value you can add as an external consultant is to look at the media, look at the market, see what their competition is doing, and think ahead for the client. And finally, remember that the person that you're working with has a job to do, and they're probably reporting internally to one or many people. Help them to look good internally. They've probably taken the decision to hire you, so they've taken a risk. That your involvement is going to be helping the overall efforts. They're going to be writing reports. Help them by asking the way that they would like their reports written, what fonts they'd like, any particular templates they need to follow internally. Save them time and help them make them look good internally, and in turn, they will help work with you over the long term. If you're working with clients, remember, don't just say yes. Ask what they need, when they need it, and help them to make sure they get that done. So thank you very much for that question. I hope that answers some thoughts you had there. If you've got a question, feel free to send it to us on our website, or to our Weibo, or to @EastWestPR, and also to our Twitter account. I look forward to getting your FAQ.
