EVCOM member and new business expert Rob King discusses how to adapt to changing client behaviour.
Our industry and our agencies are ever-changing, and so it’s no wonder that clients are changing as well. In a crowded marketplace it can be much harder to cut through the noise to clients, and it’s often harder to get opportunities to speak to them on the phone and in person. We asked EVCOM member and new business expert Rob King (The Client Key) about how event agencies can reach, and build, new relationships with clients.
As ever, it’s about personal relationships. But Rob encourages agencies to be “politely persistent.” Like most agency staff members, clients are also dealing with inboxes overflowing with emails, too many things to do in the time that they have.
It takes seven to 10 touchpoints to get through to someone, so Rob recommends thinking about how you reach clients. There are so many different channels of communication now. You might need to take different routes to different clients, so it’s worth tailoring your approach to a client’s preferred way of working.
Think about how you can offer some value in your touchpoints. You don’t want to give all your value away but you can create good creative content to engage clients and give them a taste of your creativity, or invite them to a workshop or breakfast event so they get to spend time with you and find out who you are and what you can offer. Make sure that your touchpoints tell a consistent story about your business.
Winning new business and building relationships takes time. Don’t be dissuaded if your first touchpoint doesn’t land: “Get comfortable with silence,” Rob says. “It’s the new normal.” Know that this is just the beginning of a conversation.
Evcom.org.uk