Understanding, listening, and questioning to create a long-lasting relationship with the agency account services team: find out about the Cartier way.
At the agency, the account services team gets involved Day 1, because this allows them to understand business and marketing objectives, as well as mastering and identifying the needs of a brand or product. The account services team is there to support the client throughout the process, to answer questions, to propose suggestions, and must be able to constantly adapt to different issues regarding a given project.
At Cartier, we believe that each client is a unique being, whose ambitions can be realized by creating a customized strategy and communications plan. We develop among ourselves, similarly to what we do with clients, close relationships based on openness, respect and recognition. These relationships are built through meetings, exchanges, questions, debates, and sometimes total reassessments. Working with Cartier means becoming a member of our team.
The role of account services
The role of account services and its role at the heart of the agency may still appear somewhat vague for those working outside the advertising industry. While other departments may have clear deliverables, such as a strategic plan, a media plan or the presentation of creative, this is not necessarily true for the account services department. Its role is more like that of an orchestra conductor, the captain who brings the ship safely into port. The team has to look at every aspect of a project, have a global vision and cohabit with the different agency teams in order to ensure their cohesion. This function, which may seem somewhat banal at the beginning, starts to make sense when the time comes to confirm your needs, from the initial brief to the final deliverable.
The challenge of efficient feedback
Multiple, unnecessary iterations on the part of the agency often arise from not knowing how to give feedback to account services, or not feeling comfortable doing so. You mustn’t be reluctant to identify worries or to underline certain details that could cause problems when it comes to working and collaborating with account services. The greatest challenge for clients is to detect a problem and make the agency aware of it. This observation allows you to understand the added value that the account services department brings.
A mixture of passion and rigor
At Cartier, we believe that a strong account services team masters the art of combining, rigor, know-how and soft skills (know-how-to-be), while still following its instincts. Our team is made up of passionate people who can bring a project to fruition on budget and on time.
Thus, a good relationship is built by an understanding of needs, active listening, a great curiosity about the brand, a passionate involvement in the project, followed by respect and confidence in the client. This is how Cartier builds long-lasting relationships.
