Partner Article

Agencies scared to increase fees

Too many agencies are seeing their running costs increasing whilst they daren’t increase their fees, prices and rates to clients. Consequently it is hardly surprising so many agencies are seeing their profitability decline year on year.

Why are they scared? Where does this FEAR come from? What can be done to improve the situation?

The fear doesn’t just stop at increasing or defending fees, prices and rates. It touches every aspect of your relationship with your clients.

The fear may be due to several key reasons.

• The wrong relationship with your clients. If you are in too much of a buyer-supplier mentality focused on doing and implementing rather than delivering value.
• Over-dependent on a few clients. When one client is 30, 40 or even 50% of your business it is very hard to push back, let alone say ‘NO’.
• The wrong mindset and lack of confidence. A back-foot mindset means you are playing catch-up and apologising even when it isn’t your fault!
• Clients abusing their position. Just because they have the ‘cheque-book’ does not mean they have to have all the power.

I am often surprised in workshops with my agency clients when I hear their stories of their clients’ behaviour, forget “behaviour”, downright abusiveness. Recently an account director said to me “in no other area of my life would I tolerate the **** I get from some of my clients! I wouldn’t accept this from friends, family or people in shops … So why do I accept it from my clients?”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Merrington .