This rule may seem counter-intuitive for many agencies. I mean, we are all in business to make money, right? Why not try to optimize the money you make from the client?
Sometimes agencies, especially when they are working with large clients who have deep pockets, lose-sight of what is reasonable expense. It is clear they are not practicing good judgement in how they spend their client’s money. For example, why have 5 team members attend a meeting when really only 2 could have sufficed? Each person spending an hour in the meeting, plus the time and cost spent on getting them to the meeting, is eating into the client’s budget.
“Besides being the right thing to do, helping your client get the biggest bang for their buck is actually good business.”
This lack of contentiousness for how you spend the client’s money results in inflated quotes. This becomes a slippery-slope for an agency when they become so used to getting approval on ridiculously high quotes, that they forget that there are other, equally talented, agencies who are hungry for a share of their client’s business. Losing sight of what the market charges for the same work is dangerous.
Ever-changing technology is another way that unscrupulous agencies can make out like bandits on their client’s dime. There is always a new innovation, or a new shiny technology, or game, or virtual reality, or you-name-it. Sometimes this new tech seems so enticing and cool. But really how much of this shiny newness actually drives real business value for your client. Unless you can put forward a viable business improvement, sometimes chasing the next-great-tech-thing is just a waste of your client’s money.
And they are trusting you as their technical expert to help them navigate these options. That is what a good partner does.
Besides being the right thing to do, helping your client get the biggest bang for their buck is actually good business. It’s our belief at Ike that if you do good work, and you do it in a way that makes your client’s life easier, and their business grow…well, the money will follow.
Read more about how Ike’s mission to provide the best client service.