With any client account work there is a daily grind. It doesn't sound sexy, but it's the day-to-day things that need to get done. In addition to the daily tasks there are always new questions, new ideas and new discussions along with the occasional crisis.
The common thread through all of this is availability. You and your team need to be available to the client. Colleagues from different agencies who run programs all know about this. Client demands can come at any time...and often seem to come when you're not available. How many times have you stepped off an airplane and read 'that' e-mail?
I look at the 'social media experts' that seem to go from conference to conference, party to party and I think, "Sorry we work in different industries."
It's extremely difficult to provide a high level of service when you're all over the place. I can speak from experience on this. It's tough.
I used to speak a great deal but I don't that much anymore...why? Client service. With each speaking invitation I need to weigh travel time, how long will I be out? Will I be offline for extended periods of time?
In the end client responsibilities will always win out.
Visitor Comments
The growth of social media and the accompanying growth of self proclaimed overly self promotional experts is troubling. Troubling from the point of view that it can leave client's tainted with what social media is and what it can do. I have a little company in the space that I am working on part time. Yesterday morning I was having a conversation with a co-founder about what business we wanted to be in. The conclusion was delivering great products that attracted and retained customers. A little founder visibility is part of the attraction game but it seems like many people have it the other way around. Being customer driven not self promotion will win out.
Posted by: Lance Weatherby | January 13, 2010 2:11 PM
Thanks for this post. The customer is always what matters, yours and your client's. So many 'experts', so many conferences, too many self-promoting junkies...I too was on the 'speaking circuit' for awhile but found what mattered most was more experience and more clients.
I'll keep learning, keep doing what I think is good work and satisfying my clients, as that's what will keep me in business for the long term.
Posted by: Jane Schachtel | January 13, 2010 2:27 PM