“If it wasn’t for the global alignment, we would have fired your agency long ago!”

This statement was the first thing the senior client said to me at our initial meeting. It marked the beginning of a journey from frustration to success in rescuing a troubled client relationship.

In this article, I’ll delve into the background, challenges, solutions, and results of a remarkable client transformation.
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The Background

A major multinational corporation (MNC) appointed our agency network as the global Agency-of-Record. They mandated their local teams must work with their in-country agency counterparts.

I had just assumed the role of the business lead for the Hong Kong market, joining a team that had consistently received subpar scores (below 2 out of 5) in bi-annual agency performance reviews. Economic challenges had led to a round of retrenchments and resignations, resulting in an entirely new team coming on board.

Our Statement of Work (SOW) included responsibilities such as translating and adapting global brand campaigns, originating and producing promotional campaigns, and conducting quarterly competitive communications analyses.
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The Challenges

Upon initial discussions with the client, we discovered a range of concerns:

• Lack of Understanding: Our agency team lacked a genuine understanding of the client's business and brand.
• Absence of Strategy: The client felt that our work lacked strategic input. For instance, the competitive communications analysis merely compiled information instead of offering strategic insights and recommendations.
• Poor Quality: Our output consistently fell short of expectations. For example, they gave feedback that our promotional campaign ideas were deemed unimpactful and tired.  
• Missed Deadlines: We had a troubling track record of failing to meet deadlines and not following through on our commitments.
• Subpar Copywriting: The Hong Kong market required both English and Chinese copy for most campaigns. The clients pointed out issues with both our English and Chinese copywriting, citing a lack of adherence to brand tone and guidelines.
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The Solution

To address these pressing issues, we implemented the following strategies:

• Management Alignment: I had a clear plan in mind, but it would necessitate bringing on board high-profile and highly sought-after resources. Fortunately, our streamlined local team structure and flexible network culture made it possible to secure this internal support with just a few calls and an update to my then CEO. In more structured or bureaucratic agency networks, achieving this internal alignment might have taken significantly more time (and pain ;))
• Client Business Training: We invited the global account lead to provide comprehensive training to our team. This training covered the client's business objectives, strategic priorities, global campaigns, working culture, and local and regional organizational structures.
• Rethinking Our Approach to a Vital SOW Component: Competitive communications analysis involves the identification and evaluation of competitors' communications to assess their strengths and weaknesses compared to one's own and the strategies they employ. The analysis was especially important to the client because of the fast-moving and multi-layered nature of their business. Consequently, we overhauled our approach to the quarterly competitive communications analysis, placing a strong emphasis on strategic thinking and incorporating insights derived from both our team's expertise and input from the global team.
• Elevating Creative Quality: To bolster the creative quality of our work, we enlisted the help of one of our regional creative leads. This seasoned expert joined forces with our local creative team, fostering an environment that not only nurtured learning and growth but also addressed two crucial aspects simultaneously – enhancing our overall output and elevating the quality of our copywriting.
• Getting Delivery Back on Track: We addressed missed deadlines and commitments through open communication, rigorous tracking, and optimized internal processes.
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The Results

Our efforts yielded remarkable results:

• Improved Ratings: In the first post-change bi-annual agency performance review, our agency achieved a passing score of 2.6 out of 5. Subsequent reviews continued to show improvement, ultimately reaching a high score of 3.6, making us the highest-rated agency partner in Hong Kong.
• Expanded Opportunities: Our improved performance led to an expanded Statement of Work, demonstrating the client's increased trust in our capabilities.
• Parting on Good Terms: Although we eventually lost the client due to a subsequent global pitch, the senior client expressed regret at parting, saying they would prefer to continue working with our team.
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Conclusion

Our journey from being one of the worst agency partners to the top-rated agency highlights the importance of understanding the client's business, delivering high-quality work, and keeping promises. This experience serves as a lesson in resilience and adaptability, showing that challenges can be transformed into opportunities with the right approach. Even in challenging circumstances, with the right strategies and dedicated efforts, it's possible to revive a troubled client relationship and turn it into a thriving partnership.