Client Relationships: Working in Harmony

With a professional history that includes both agency and in-house communications positions, I’ve come to appreciate both perspectives, including the unique challenges each position faces, and what it takes to make a client-agency relationship work.

As an in-house communications professional, I’ve managed a variety of external PR agencies: large, small and with varying budgets. From the agency perspective, I’ve worked with fantastic and challenging clients; some who know PR intimately and those with a broader marketing or program management background.

Interestingly, I have yet to find a direct correlation between any of the above qualifications and what makes or breaks a client-agency relationship. Whether the agency is big or small and whatever the budget, I’ve seen good and bad examples. Likewise, I’ve had good and bad clients – with little correlation to their PR knowledge base.