Getting to Know a Client

As an Account Manager, it's essential that I get to know my clients, from their business to their industry and everything in between. There is always a learning curve in the beginning because I'm getting a crash course in everything about them. Especially how to represent them - this could be their products, voice, or even the latest industry trends.

We do a lot to learn more about our clients and are constantly improving on how we can serve them. We have industry article channels that we follow for clients, we will subscribe to newsletters, and I can't even begin on the countless hours of research I do for each client. But learning about clients is what I love most about my job. I love learning more about the businesses, industries, and clients. I love learning as much as I can. Despite all the research I do; however, there are some things I cannot teach myself.

5 Great Ways to Better Understand You - The Client

We always strive to be the best, but there's one thing we cannot deny - we are not immediately experts on your company, clients, and industry - you are and we want to learn from you. In order to better understand it all, here are five ways that really help us learn more about you, which enables us to better represent you.

1. Taking a Tour. If you have a production plant, then we can tour that and learn more about certain pieces of equipment, learn more about what you do, and how you do it. If you have an office where all the magic happens, let us sit in and watch for a while. The more we see and learn more about you, the better we can represent you. I walk away from plant tours with my head reeling with ideas - it's by far my favorite way to get to know clients. Afterward, I write down pages of information, blog concepts, and social ideas. I also get a deeper sense of your culture, capabilities, and expectations.

2. Client Interviews. Let us interview 3-5 (minimum) of your "perfect" clients. Interviewing your clients lets us learn more about their likes, dislikes, where they get information, and so much more. There's no such thing as knowing too much about your clients and target markets. Once you know all this information, then we can target the copy, website layout, user experience, social media, and other marketing aspects to your target audience. Targeting your market or audience in an informed way leads to a greater message and overall success rate.

3. Sit Down One-on-One. If I can sit down with you and really talk with you, hear your history and passion, and learn about how things are done, then that tells me more than an emailed leaflet any day. Don't get me wrong, those are good too, but a sit-down always says more. That's why people typically want to do sales in-person, right? One-on-one, you can answer my questions and I can address concerns or confusion.

4. Weekly Check-ins. Weekly check-in calls are typical for our Partner Clients. In a 15 minute call we learn the latest happenings in your company (did you win an award, going to a conference, or want to push a certain product next week?), we can collaborate as a team to see what needs to be done, short-term and sometimes long-term goals, analytics, and other marketing considerations. With weekly info sessions, there's no way we can't deepen a relationship and get to know you better while learning how to serve you better with quick-turning capabilities.

5. Open Feedback. Please be candid in your feedback. I'm not going to be perfect right off the bat. Tell me what is wrong and how I can improve. With the open feedback, you can help me write the way you want and focus on marketing aspects that are important to you. I'll also feel like you'll be receptive to our recommendations to help you.

Anytime you start a relationship, there is some learning time. You learn about our crazy lingo, my personality, how our company operates, and how we can help you. While that is happening we delve into every aspect we can to best represent you. Want to learn more about our processes? Check out our website and our blog. Or if you want to just skip to the introduction, contact us here. Have your own suggestions on how we can get to know you better? Comment them below!