Most clients find that their grievances with advertising agencies fall on deaf ears, with shops more interested in wooing new business prospects than in looking after their existing clients.
These are the findings of a report published by Relationship Audits and Management, which audits and assists client services companies. More than three-quarters of those surveyed admitted that while changing agencies was a last resort, inevitably it was because their agencies had not listened to them. The report surveyed more than 2,000 clients at senior and middle management level. The common thread was that accountability had become increasingly important in all aspects of the client/agency relationship, with 75% of client decisions to move based on perceived poor service.
The clients surveyed added that they felt agencies were spending too much time trying to make a fast buck by wooing potential new business at the expense of existing clients. Nearly three-quarters said they thought agencies incentivised staff to win new business, while only 19% believed the account team was rewarded for good management.
Seventy-five per cent of unhappy clients that are seeking a replacement agency have not told their incumbent, according to the report. Simon Rhind-Tutt, the managing director of RAM, said: 'Clients would rather not move their business unless absolutely necessary as the costs are considerable, but there is a distinct lack of relationship maintenance in the advertising industry.
'There is a feeling that agencies need to focus on profitability and building relationships and not just on picking up new business.'
CAMPAIGN 14/04/2000 P7
