Working across the Client Services industry my entire life has meant I have become very passionate and dedicated to my chosen career path. Whether it was delivering the local newspaper as a 13-year-old girl, every Saturday morning; waitressing in restaurants whilst I was saving to go travelling; or through my extensive experience as an Account Manager in an agency.
Client Services is about understanding people, and knowing how to represent yourself as an advocate for your employer. Ensuring you’re always on top of client deadlines; industry and market trends; and being aware of personal occasions such as birthdays are all integral parts of being a successful Account Manager. When they receive that bunch of flowers on that special occasion, you know you’ve done your job well!
Client Services for me requires the personal touch – knowing whether a customer preferred you to put their paper inside the porch rather than leave it outside; or reading a room as a waitress, understanding when to approach or clear a table. Once I started working as a Lettings Manager, Client Services evolved for me, into understanding what people wanted in a home, assisting them in finding what they needed, and what they liked and didn’t like.
So, what is Client Services to me now?
I have been working within digital agencies since 2014, learning that Client Services is more than just a department; it’s a team and a role. In the years I’ve been working as an Account Manager, I have honed five key learnings that I would pass on to anyone at any stage of their Client Services career:
1. It’s a core part of an agency
I believe that the ClientServices team are the cog that keeps everything moving within an agency. We are in charge of planning, schedules, budgets, client retention, and new client wins. We are the advocate outside the agency and the client’s advocate within.
2. You’re always learning
Working in Client Services, I learn something new every day. Whether that’s learning about a new industry, how to use a new CMS or even reading about a new campaign that’s caught the attention of many. Every day I leave work knowing something I hadn’t known that morning, and through working in Client Services you are always sharing that information with your colleagues and clients.
3. It isn’t just a 9-5 job
I’ve worked with clients who are based in New Zealand, Miami, New York, London, and also the building next door. Working in Client Services, you immerse yourself into your clients working lives. You’re there to make their jobs easier, you’re an extension of their team; a key player they cannot live without. The best advice I’ve ever received in my Client Service career to date, is: “If you don’t look after your clients, someone else will”. It means that I’ve had Skype calls at 5am, client dinners on a Friday night, and last-minute deadlines where a whole-team pizza run is essential! What I love is all your hard work is always worth it in the end.
4. It’s never lonely
Working in Client Services is like working within a little community; you are a team who all just ‘get it’ – you rally around each other, you have your highs and your lows. But you can guarantee your Client Services family are there to support you with an extra helping hand, or a glass of wine after work!
5. It’s fun!
I love working agency side because it’s like working within six or seven industries at the same time. Quite often, you are working with the biggest department within your client’s business – marketing – which enables you to be a part of their decision making. Your customer looks to you for advice and solutions; you are an extension of their team. This could mean that in the morning you are looking at solutions for a wedding planning company’s website, and by the afternoon you are working with a charity on their latest fund-raising campaign. It tends to mean that rarely two days are the same!
These are just five of the many reasons I love what I do. When you love what you do, you do it with passion, you care and you make it a success. Becoming an Account Manager was the best decision I ever made!
