How to Build a Beneficial Relationship with Your Account Manager
If you’ve ever worked with an agency, you may have noticed they generally have two types of people working on your account: the creatives who build and run your ad campaigns and the account team.
You probably have a handle on what the creatives do — we have a whole blog post on what our digital strategists do — but do you know what your account team members do?
As an account manager, I want you to know: that we don’t just email our clients and run meetings. Here at 9 Clouds, account managers generally are in charge of these key things for clients:
- Keeping the team on track to meet deadlines and maintain scope.
- Acting as a liaison between the client and the rest of the team, so the client has a main contact point.
- Making sure the client’s voice is heard and represented in internal meetings.
- Supporting the team and helping to eliminate roadblocks.
Someone in this role does so much more than most think. Not only do they work on establishing a strong working relationship with the client and big-picture strategy, but they also work on the day-to-day tasks, such as spending time organizing tasks or sending out regular reminders to clients and team members.
If you are considering working with an agency (or being an account manager), here are a few tips and things to remember.
The 7 Ways an Account Manager Helps You
Set the Standards
The first thing to consider when working with an account manager at an agency is your scope. Your scope determines what tasks need to be done to fulfill your objectives and how much time it will take.
Your scope will outline your entire business relationship with 9 Clouds. The scope also helps your account manager anticipate what specialties you need from our team — and it’s your account manager’s job to hold the team accountable, so you get what you pay for.
Keep Things Moving Along
An account manager should be a problem solver. In the ever-changing world of digital marketing, change is the only constant.
Sometimes, changes can happen or problems can arise. Maybe there is a technical issue or a password barrier that needs to be resolved. It’s your account manager’s job to keep you updated and communicate regularly about how things are going.
Take the Conversation Offline
Have a question? Concerned about things mid-month? Call or email your account manager!
We have monthly meetings with most of our clients either in person or via zoom. We also follow up these meetings with email recaps and establish regular email updates.
It is very difficult to have too much communication when it comes to planning marketing strategies month after month. And if you have questions about marketing tactics and offers or changes happening at your business, your account manager wants to hear them. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone.
Treating You with Respect
This one has been important since day one. If you respect your professional partners and respond to them in a timely manner, they will likely reciprocate. (This goes for both clients and coworkers.)
An account manager always considers putting themself in your shoes. We know that personal things can come up like having an assistant quit or an illness or family emergency. We know there are many things that can make it hard to respond in a timely manner.
It is our job to provide an open line of communication and game plan for when unforeseen situations occur.
Manage Your Frustrations
Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, and sometimes mistakes are made.
Your account manager is meant to be the one in the middle. Whether you as a client are upset or one of our digital specialists is stumped, our job as the account manager is to find a solution and keep things moving forward. (Remember #2 above?)
This means we need to find a solution or key to what was missing. It is our job to remedy the situation, improve our processes, and determine a way to prevent it in the future — all while making sure everyone is informed.
Here at 9 Clouds, we’re not perfect — but we learn from our mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again.
Keep the Process Efficient
At 9 Clouds, we have discovered some great tools to keep us efficient — which helps us not waste our clients’ dollars.
We know from experience about how much time we need to spend to effectively accomplish projects for our clients. Our account team knows the strengths of our creative team so we can assign the best fit for each task.
Having a team with diverse specialties allows us to complete a variety of tasks (SEO, SEM, Facebook ads, Google ads, Bing ads, etc.) with expertise.
By creating a month-over-month cycle, our team can be proactive about the assignments on their plate. Of course, there are always things that aren’t the same month-to-month, but we have processes in place to make things run as smoothly as a well-oiled machine.
It is our goal to provide high-quality content for our clients in a timely manner. After having monthly meetings with our clients, we quickly take action to achieve the client’s goals. Your account manager will likely show you the power of data. Data is the driving force behind the decisions that our creative team makes for recommendations on each account.
Ask Questions and Find Answers
When everyone works together and is committed to communication, account management is a really fun role. It can be tough, too, as the account manager is usually the first to hear if a client isn’t happy. That’s part of the job, though.
We’re not here to blow smoke or gloss over poor performance. We are partners our clients rely on, and we want to make sure our clients get what they pay for. We’re here to make sure they understand and sign off on the strategy our creative team puts into action. We both stand up for and hold our team accountable.
Our team has experience, and if you have a problem, we’ve probably seen it before. And if not, our experience, expertise and efficiency mean we can solve it.
The account manager may not have all the answers, but that’s why there’s a whole team. The account manager knows who to go to for a given topic and can find the information needed.
Your business is great, and with the help of an account manager, it can be even better!
Help Us Help You
Our team looks forward to meeting you! As marketing allies, we look forward to helping you and educating you on the results digital marketing can produce.
Our team loves to learn, and — lucky for us — every client teaches us an abundance about their industry, too. It truly is a partnership that we have grown to appreciate.
Our team loves a challenge. We can’t wait to hear about your organization and goals and see how we can help you.
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Tessa Donovan
As an account manager at 9 Clouds, Tessa works with our clients to determine the best strategy for their business. In her free time, she can be found on a patio in downtown Sioux Falls or traveling with her family. Learn more about Tessa.
