Brand Managers, listen.

The agency account manager is an extension of your brand and your brand role. And if you are not getting any value extraction off them then what’s the point?

When you are investing in an agency to perform day to days for your brand, they are supposed to be as committed to your KPIs as you are, because at a very honest level, firstly that’s their job and secondly that should get them excited. Excited for you to meet your goals, your quarterly targets, your yearly targets and so on.

But more than anything else, what should get them excited is making sure your brand is set up for success, and is delivering on objectives that you set out.

Having an account manager/ client servicing person on record for your accounts, who are equally dedicated as you are for your brand is hard to find, and if the one you are working with is not being honest with you, then what’s the points?

It’s very much a give and take. You rely on your agency to perform the actions that they had committed to perform when they won the pitch, and secondly derive more value and learning as the account matures. And lastly seek solutions when things don’t exactly go as per the plan.

On any given day, that’s the least what is expected of your agency team, to first come up with logical conclusion for setting success, and secondly make their contributions felt to the wider brand objectives.

If you feel that your agency is hiding something off you, that’s the first red flag and it’s time to have a chat.

What are some of the must haves that your agency day to day contact needs to have?

Accountability: Being accountable for your brand’s wins and loses.

Answerable: Being answerable to you and stake holders when it comes to the knowledge and understanding of your brand. Being aware of the wider objectives, and also about the intrigue details like your campaigns, the performance, key insights and so on.

Bench-marking: Understanding the “why” behind bringing them on board.

Solutions: When things go hay-wire, at a very basic level, understanding what lead to it, and being able to communicate the reason and also the solution to rectify the situation.

Impact: And lastly the impact of not being able to help your brand be a success.

The last one is the most crucial one.

If you are a brand manager, who has given your agency the liberty and are supportive of good work, and are still seeing a negative impact, well then, it’s high time you have that chat.