Client Relations: Managing Expectations
There simply isn’t a rulebook on how or what to do involving client relations. Each variable in the process is contingent on the client themselves, their personality, their aspirations and their expectations. The real trick to client relations is simply transparency. Like all well developed PR campaigns, transparency is key.
Objective
The first and primary objective of client relations is building a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with the client. All firms operate in different ways and some have exponential budgets to wine and dine potential and current clients. However, at the end of the day, what matters is proper communication in a timely manner. In order to properly adhere to your client’s needs you need to build a strong foundation from day one.
Proper Communication
This may sound easy and quite frankly has the potential to be, but like most elements in the PR world, it varies. These variations could range from a client with unrealistic aspirations and even more unrealistic expectations to a client who simply isn’t aware of what PR actually is or does. Proper communication with your client is essential to beginning the mutually beneficial relationship between the firm and the client. Always listen to your client and answer all questions in a timely concise manner and remove any jargon you may have engraved in your vocabulary.
Got the basics, now to begin
First, hear the client out or respond accordingly to an RFP, research their problem or need and executive a well-developed proposal with your team. Follow that essential step with adequate hours to build a necessary relationship with your point person at the organization. (Try your best to find one reliable individual with direct decision making abilities to be that point person.) After the relationship has begun and you have essentially made a professional friendship with the client, begin the PR campaign and offer complete transparency.
Transparency & Managing Expectations
After the foundation is built and the contract is signed, begin managing future expectations. Expectations from the contract or campaign should have been fully hashed out prior to contractual agreements. However, contracts may not be the ‘end all be all’ and will more than likely be shoved under the rug by clients, regardless of their legal binding. This is when good client relations separate from phenomenal client relations.
Transparency
Always satisfy your client’s needs with complete transparency. Simply say no if their requests are unrealistic or in your professional opinion not beneficial. Of course, this has to be executed based on the relationship in place, hence where building a strong foundation becomes beneficial.
Expectations
If a relatively small client is expecting their minimal budget and niche audience to grow exponentially overnight from social media, have the heart to heart conversation. It isn’t in yours or your firm’s best interested to fluff the client into believing that your campaign will make them a world-renowned sensation overnight. Expectations need to be managed concisely based on the client and their budget but with grace and absolute patience. Don’t get caught off guard or throw the contract at them the second their expectations seem out of place. The balance of what’s realistic and their expectations is where the seasoned professionals excel.
Ending the contract
The end of a project shouldn’t come as a surprise to a client. Ensure that their needs have been met both contractually and the inevitable increased expectations prior to the contract end date. This will help alleviate unnecessary tension near the end or during the post evaluation. A successful client, regardless of the campaign, should by no means be anything but satisfied and open to an additional campaign in the future with you and your firm.
Your Turn
Client relations is difficult, there is no right or wrong way to do it…outside of the obvious professional relationship stipulations. As previously discussed in Jordan Punches, ‘YOUR PERSONAL PROCESS: FIND IT, PERFECT IT, DO IT’ blog, you’ll make mistakes, learn from them. It’s not something you’ll learn from a classroom or from training, you’ll learn from doing it. Maintain transparency, learn as you go, admit mistakes and take in as much advise from seasoned PR pros as possible. You’ll be in that dream executive office downtown before you know it.
Ben Kaluski came to GVSU from the suburbs of Chicago, where he worked as an EMT for several years. Now a senior public relations student, he maintains the same grueling schedule, working as a Marketing Associate for the Grand Valley Police Department, an intern at the American Advertising Federation of West Michigan, and a teller at the Lake Michigan Credit Union. In his free time, he can be found weightlifting and competing in autocross.