DO CLIENTS REALLY V

In Lady Windermere's Fan, one of Oscar Wilde's characters describes the cynic as someone "who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." It's fair to call CEOS and CFOS cynics when it comes to their marketing budgets. Rarely do client-side decision makers report to their fellow C-suiters the value your agency provides. In the end, that usually means you aren't communicating your value well, or strongly enough. Either way, it's a problem when clients are more focused on your invoices than your services… and genuine culture. Your clients' perceived value of your services exerts significant influence on their perception of you and their decision about whether to stay with your agency (or not). In one famous study out of Stanford University, participants were given two glasses of the same exact wine, except they were told that one glass was from a $5 bottle of wine while the other was from a $45 bottle of wine. Guess which wine they thought tasted better? It works both ways. While price can be used to boost perceived value, increasing perceived value first can be used to validate higher pricing, expand relationships, or move to (higher) retainer agreements. Perceived value results from clearly understood and relevant quantifiable and qualitative factors. Fortunately, any agency has serious power to shape how clients perceive its value. Listen to what some big clients had to say when asked what Head of Group Communication Department, Byblos Bank

Corporate Culture is critical, in as far as it encompasses shared values with us and with our brand; it is certainly a key determining factor in the selection of any partner for our business (not only the agency). When the values are aligned, we can work out various minor details to make the partnership work and yield the desired results. Thus, other factors, which are important can be optimised for a more rewarding relationship and for better output.