Your clients aren’t thinking about you

20 May 2025

We make the mistake believing that they are.
Because… as agencies we’re constantly thinking about them.

Toeing the line between over and underservicing.
Forecasting. Burn reports. What service line to sell in next?
What awards to enter? What panel to get on?

Centred around what we want from the relationship, not what’s best for them.

The thing is…. clients are busy working out how to grow their business.

Shifting around budgets.
Managing stakeholders.
Balancing short-term needs with the long-term.
Demands from other departments.
Reporting back to the board.
Justifying… what is marketing delivering back to the business for the investment?

So when we turn around and get annoyed about our creative idea not getting signed off. Or our strategy not landing.
Pissed because it’s not ‘the done way’.
Briefs getting pulled from under our feet.
Delayed responses.

It’s probably because of one of the above. Business is messy. Change is the name of the game.

So in these moments, how can we be relentlessly useful?

How can we understand the micros/macros of our clients business so we can react at speed to find solutions.
Make their life just a bit easier.
Give considered and thoughtful advice, that is actional.

It’s psychology, creativity, economics and emotional intelligence all wrapped into one.

It’s being of use.
Doing that over, over and over again.
It’s having skin in the game.

That is value. That is how we move from a time based model to a value led one.

But first, to do that, we need to understand what value is to our clients…