As the landscape of the digital realm continues to evolve, it’s crucial to maintain effective relationships with professionals who guide you through its vast terrain. At Advantage Agency, we have successfully partnered with hundreds of clients, working on diverse projects with unique requirements. We take pride in our extensive experience, which enables us to deliver quality services that align with the specific objectives of each business.
However, the foundation of this successful relationship rests on a mutual understanding of expectations, assumptions, and even some unknowns. As we strive to serve you effectively and efficiently, we offer some essential considerations to enhance our partnership. Below, in brutal transparency, we outline common client-relationship pitfalls and aim to back these up with super practical examples from other service industries and what they mean for our clients. We want to stress that these are all said with the best interests of our clients in mind, which ultimately benefits us. Happy clients = Happy Advantage.
1. Believing in the Power of Partnership
Our work revolves around a partnership philosophy where we work with you rather than for you. This relationship extends beyond the mere completion of projects; it encompasses a shared journey towards achieving your business goals.
What this means: This isn’t simply about us completing a task you’ve assigned. It’s a collaboration where we share ideas, consider feedback and work together towards your business’s digital goals. Think of us as an extension of your team, invested in your success.
2. Appreciating the Value of Professional Services
As with any other professional service, whether it’s legal or accounting, the time invested in providing these services carries value. Seeking instant, free advice is like expecting an attorney to argue a case without preparation or an accountant to audit without going through the ledgers.
What this means: Just like you wouldn’t expect your lawyer to give you a contract review for free because they’ve already read thousands of contracts, our digital services also require time, skill, and effort. Every task, even if it seems straightforward, requires analytical thinking, planning, and execution.
3. Understanding the Reality of Multiple Client Commitments
Just as you wouldn’t drive straight into a mechanic’s garage demanding an immediate oil change, it’s essential to understand that your agency serves multiple clients. Respect for the process and the queue ensures every client receives the quality service they deserve.
What this means: We handle multiple clients and projects, and we strive to service each one efficiently and fairly. Just like a mechanic or trade, it could take anywhere from a day to a couple of weeks to get to even a small task, assuming it isn’t mission-critical.
4. Recognising the Factors Impacting Turnaround Times
Turnaround times are influenced by various factors, from the potential impact on your business to the number of people affected. Therefore, it’s crucial to label requests as ‘urgent’ only when it’s genuinely a time-sensitive, critical matter. See an example of what our terms around urgency look like for our support agreements.
What this means: If your website is down and affecting your business, that is genuinely urgent. But if you’re asking for a colour change on a button, while it might be important to you, it doesn’t quite warrant the ‘urgent’ label. Prioritising tasks ensures we tackle real emergencies first and we know you’ll appreciate that in the case of an emergency for yourself.
5. Trusting Our Expert Team
While your input is invaluable, remember that our team is composed of industry experts. We take into account best practices, viability, and the end-user experience when delivering our services.
What this means: You might want a specific feature on your website because it seems attractive, but if our team suggests it may not be beneficial based on user behaviour or industry trends, we would offer that it’s worth considering our expertise.
6. Keeping Scope Creep in Check
It’s crucial to provide a detailed scope of work to avoid misunderstandings. If a request falls outside the agreed-upon scope, it would be considered additional work and be appropriately billed.
What this means: If we’ve agreed to design a 5-page website for you and halfway through, you request an additional e-commerce feature or an additional page, that’s outside the original agreement. It would be considered additional work and will be billed accordingly. It’s our job to communicate this, but if you want to avoid this it’s best to plan ahead and outline as much detail about a project as you can, before it commences.
7. Respecting the Complex Nature of Digital Work
The digital realm is not as simple as it appears. Our work is not tactile and can be complex and time-consuming. Being digital doesn’t negate the need for skill, expertise, and considerable time commitment.
What this means: Building a website isn’t just about nice visuals—it includes code writing, usability testing, SEO optimisation, and more. These tasks require skill, experience, and can be time-consuming, much like constructing a building or writing a novel.
8. Comparing Apples to Apples
Not all agencies are created equal. Speed and cost are not the only parameters for judging an agency’s work. At Advantage Agency, we prioritise delivering high-quality solutions that align with your business goals.
What this means: A discerning customer wouldn’t compare a fine dining restaurant to a fast-food joint simply because they offer cheaper, faster meals. Similarly, the value we offer through tailored, high-quality digital solutions can’t be compared with agencies providing one-size-fits-all, churn-and-burn services.
9. Trusting in our Tried-and-Tested Processes
With experience spanning hundreds of projects and diverse clientele, we have refined our processes for efficiency and effectiveness. Even if it feels unfamiliar, trusting our methodologies will ensure we gather the information we need to provide you with the best possible results.
What this means: You wouldn’t instruct your builder on how to build your house. You trust their expertise. Similarly, our methods—whether it’s our project management system or our design process—are developed based on extensive experience and industry knowledge. Trusting this process ensures the best outcomes for your digital presence.
Remember, it’s all about building a partnership based on trust and mutual respect, just as you trust any trade, legal or accounting service provider with over a decade of experience to manage a project within their expertise efficiently. We, at Advantage Agency, are committed to managing your digital requirements with the same level of dedication and expertise.
