Agencies love to wow their clients. A delighted reaction is a sign of a job well-done—and as smart professionals know, delighted clients often give referrals that lead to future opportunities.
If you want to elicit this kind of response from your clients, you’ll have to earn it by going the extra mile. Not sure where to begin? Get inspired by the members of Forbes Agency Council, who share their favorite ways to surprise their prospects and clients below.
Members of Forbes Agency Council share their favorite ways to surprise and delight their prospects and clients.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Anticipate Their Needs
If you’ve been working with a client for any amount of time, you pretty much know how they think and what they need. Anticipate that and also give them an example of what that might look like. For instance, if a client is considering an email campaign for lead generation, create one that is an actual representation of what they might send. – Francine Carb, Markitects, Inc.
2. Share Things That Aren’t On Their Radar
Showing clients that you are always thinking on their behalf (beyond your “scope of work”) exceeds expectations. This means sharing new things that aren’t on their radar, like a speaking gig or public relations opportunity. Sharing industry-specific news that affects marketing programs is also hard-hitting, as it shows that not only do we understand them, we are two steps ahead in our thinking. – Natalie Nathanson, Magnetude Consulting
3. Focus On The Details
I’ve worked with/for countless agencies that were never concerned with the details. I was shocked by the disorganization, lack of care and utter disregard for the nitty-gritty. Focusing on details is a core pillar of our value proposition, and clients always notice. From emails without typos and properly formatted documents to clean windows and straight gaff tape at events, the details do matter. – Lucas Miller, Moment Creative
4. Address Their Goals With A Clear Strategy
It seems simple, but it’s often overlooked. In the strategies we build for new or potential clients, we always address the goals of the campaign. Sometimes clients come to us not knowing exactly what they want from their digital marketing efforts. Providing a clear outline of what we want to achieve and how we will get there shows that we know what we’re doing and have their best interests in mind. – Darian Kovacs, Jelly Digital Marketing & PR
5. Align Your Team
Exploring the reasons your team is making a difference in a customer’s life unites them behind a strong purpose. This provides an organic framework for creating authentic “wows.” When your employees are bought in, they will follow up when it’s least expected, they will work with passion and they will offer the customers solutions they didn’t expect or even realize they needed. – Ahmad Kareh, Twistlab Marketing
6. Always Overdeliver
Our goal is to always overdeliver. If the customer expects a mood board, then we present it in at least three options. If the customer wants a logo, then we also show it animated. If the customer wants a new page, we will also make sure to complete research of the competitor’s similar feature. Our customer must always remain with the conclusion that they made the best choice. – Ally Spinu, USA Link System
7. Bring Value Without Selling
The best way to surprise and delight your customers is by sharing immense value for free and communicating with them without trying to sell anything. This attitude gives a human touch to the brand and keeps people engaged. Share educational and entertaining content on social media, send them personalized emails, deliver more than they expect—whatever makes them feel appreciated. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
8. Leave A Calling Card
As a hero brand and lovers of all things superheroes, when we go to new client meetings, send proposals or partner with someone new, we like to give out small hero-related tokens like LEGO superheroes or a Batman-branded USB. They are memorable and we find people enjoy it, often displaying our gifts on their work desks and thinking of Team KSA when they have a need. – Katie Schibler Conn, KSA Marketing + Partnerships
9. Go The Extra Mile
We try to go the extra mile for each and every one of our clients. From bonus social posts during a launch to extra bells and whistles on a new video, we do everything we can to make our clients feel heard, understood and valued. At times, we’ll even develop custom projects beyond our normal scope, giving us an opportunity to innovate while providing a truly unique experience for our customers. – Bernard May, National Positions
10. Have A Solution For Problems They Haven’t Encountered Yet
We solve the same problems over and over again for clients. But we often discover that certain clients haven’t yet encountered a problem that we know will be on their horizon at a later date. We plant seeds about our counsel before they encounter the problem—which they usually ignore. But then they remember our counsel and want to talk about the solution. That shows we’re thinking about them. – Randy Shattuck, The Shattuck Group
11. Show Them Metrics
Clients like seeing added value, media savings or better return on investment. We just showed a client how to reconfigure their media plan to improve their ROI by 19,000%. That was a fun meeting. I’ve never met a client who didn’t appreciate measurable expertise. I also love the appreciation from a client when we absolutely nail their strategy. That’s always a “wow” from a delighted client. It never gets old. – Sean Looney, Looney Advertising & Branding
12. Do Your Job
Getting a “wow” is as easy as delivering high-quality work, on time and with nuance. The agency-client relationship is a battle of expectations versus reality. When we do our job and do it well, we should be wowing our customers. If not, we aren’t doing our best. – Dan Cohen, Full Court Press Communications
