In an ever-changing industry, maintaining long-lasting relationships is critical for success. The essential characteristics that ensure longevity in client and agency partnerships don’t always fit on end-of-year reports. Rather, the keys to fruitful business connections are often learned over time.
We’re proud of our client tenure, which is nearly triple the national average. While there is a plethora of factors, the following are the top reasons behind our strong partnerships.
#1 Treat Every Project Like a New Opportunity
Whether we’ve been working with a client for six months or six years, each new project presents an opportunity to showcase inventive, ownable ideas. We’ve learned that new, progressive concepts keep a client relationship fresh. So, we continuously make an effort to reignite the creative spark that won over our clients in the first place. Every year, we share at least one out-of-the-box idea, proving that there’s no room for complacency, only novel and innovative insight.
#2 Build Trust
To ensure our unconventional ideas land, we must first establish a base of trust. Here are three strategies we implement to build trust with our clients:
I. Broadening Perspectives
While larger companies have dedicated teams for specific projects, we have a dedicated agency, pulling in members from any department to spur creativity. A broad range of perspectives gives depth to every brand analysis, which also deepens our client relationships. They trust that we’ve left no stone unturned, knowing all hands are on deck.
II. Seeking Expert Help
Creativity can also be sparked by external team members to add specialized perspectives on projects. We often collaborate with research specialists and experts in various subjects—our “field authorities”—which range from sommeliers to anthropologists. These experts give us invaluable insights, which enhances our work and demonstrates our commitment to exceeding expectations.
III. Investing in Relationships
At TTC, we have a People First philosophy—creating a desirable work environment that considers and works to fulfill the needs of our employees. By supporting team members with training and development, we experience lower turnover and higher ownership, improving our work output in the process. We’ve learned that when employees feel valued, they, in turn, care about their relationships with clients, which boosts levels of trust on both sides.
Working with the same clients for over ten years requires originality, passion, and trust. After all, creativity is like energy: it can’t be created or destroyed, only transformed. Our clients allow us to use our creative energy in innovative, unexpected ways because we’ve established a foundation of trust, backed by effort. We hope you can use these insights for your own company to foster strong, dynamic business relationships.