EP 454: Improving client-agency trust and other takeaways from the 2024 Agency Edge Research study with Susan Baier

Build a Better Agency Podcast

Every year, we go out into the field to understand the biggest pain points and priorities for both agencies and clients. This year, we took data from the 2024, 2019, and 2014 Agency Edge Research studies to compare how client expectations have changed over the years.

This year, the burning issue was client-agency trust — what clients look for in an agency, how an agency can retain clients, and what causes a client to look elsewhere for another agency.

To help make sense of all the changes, Susan Baier from Audience Audit joins us to discuss what agencies can do and are already doing to impress clients. We’ll break down the three distinct client segments that emerged, their unique attitudes towards agencies, and what factors drive their decision to hire or fire an agency partner. We also discuss how to position your agency for better alignment with client priorities.

If you’re looking to learn how to better position yourself to win and retain more clients in 2024 and beyond, don’t miss our deep dive into the data to gain a competitive edge in your agency.

A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• What clients think agencies do really well
• Changes in client-agency expectations over the years
• Agency advocates, begrudging buyers, and exacting experts
• How attitudes have changed toward having a trusted agency partner
• Why agencies are having more in-house staff than before
• What agency management fatigue has done to change client-agency relationships
• What does agency trust look like to clients?
• Do clients want an agency with a niche, or generalists?
• What makes an agency a poor fit for a client
• How client-agency trust can push a client to look for a new agency