I recently celebrated my seven-year work anniversary at BDO Digital (formerly DemandGen). There have been changes during that time — team members and clients who have come and gone — but also many things that have stayed the same. To commemorate my anniversary, I’m revisiting some of my earlier blog contributions. In this blog, I’ll recap my lessons learned and add some of the insights I’ve gained.
Tip #1: Practice Empathy.
One of my early posts, “Project to Partnership: Keys to a Successful Relationship” was published April 27, 2016. The post details how a simple project turned into a long-term client relationship. The two closing paragraphs detailing our relationship with the client still hold true:
“We truly are partners. They think of us as an extension of their team and reach out to us with non-project-related questions. They believe in our team’s expertise and use it to their advantage. They chose [our team] to complement their strengths and make their jobs easier.
I believe that the keys to a successful relationship are pretty simple: truly listening to each other; asking questions for clarification; putting yourself in each other’s shoes and treating others the way you want to be treated.”
Tip #2: Embrace Change.
During the course of reviewing my writing over the years, a post from November 12, 2019, “Focus on These 3 Things to Effectively Manage Change in Your Organization,” jumped out at me.
Change is inevitable. It’s also rarely easy, and the challenges associated with it are typically magnified when there are multiple parties and interests involved. In my experience, organizational change projects fail for several reasons, including lack of communication about why the change is necessary and how it impacts people on the team. To get around these challenges and manage change successfully, I subscribe to the following practices:
Make change a team sport:
- Involve internal stakeholders in the decision-making process (this goes a long way toward acceptance and cooperation).
- Engage “champions” on the affected teams who are well respected by their peers.
- Take advantage of internal workshops and focus groups whenever possible before making the “change” decision.
- Demonstrate executive- and management-level support to reinforce the importance of the project and need for change.
Provide in-depth training and documentation:
- Invest the time upfront to define how everyone will use the new system once it’s rolled out.
- Offer step-by-step training to everyone impacted by the change to ease the transition. Provide comprehensive documentation for future reference (and future employees) so that when key players leave, new hires can hit the ground running.
Tip #3 Listen (especially when you are virtual).
Last year, I wrote about a timeless topic in the post “Two Simple Tools for Building and Improving Relationships in a Remote World (and They Don’t Cost a Thing).”
Throughout my tenure at BDO Digital, I’ve found that listening and kindness have always been important to building successful relationships. When you work remotely and connect with your clients and colleagues virtually — which many of us do nowadays — they become even more critical to success.
“During a recent video meeting, a client expressed frustration with the manual, laborious process they were using to create reports for each of their business units. It was an offhand remark and not part of our current project. Our team knew how to solve this common challenge, however, and could tell by our client’s tone that this was a major pain point. We shared how an automated solution could make their lives much easier. The client was so delighted, they asked us to implement it for them.
In another instance, one of our newer clients shared that they were down a staff member on the campaign team and could not fill the position due to budget constraints. We recognized an opportunity to lift some of the burden of campaign creation and execution off their shoulders. We introduced the client to our Campaign Services team, which was able to jump in and supplement their marketing operations team with seasoned marketing automation specialists to keep their campaigns flowing.”
For many of my clients, working remotely was a foreign concept before the pandemic forced it upon them. In many organizations, it’s now become the norm, and team members are frequently using video conference tools when collaborating with clients. During these meetings, I keep my eyes and ears peeled for revealing clues. If I sense frustration or stress in a client’s voice during a team call, I find it helps to follow up individually and see if we can help.
Although my title has changed over the years, the fundamentals of my role have not: I serve as a liaison between my clients and colleagues. Active communication with clients gives me the opportunity to maintain a strong relationship and potentially uncover areas beyond the current engagement where we can assist. And, just as I have over the past seven years, I look forward to learning more lessons and deepening our client relationships in the years to come.
Angela Brock Schaffer is a Client Engagement Manager with BDO Digital. She works directly with clients to help advance their business needs, develop long-range marketing plans and drive ongoing success with their marketing initiatives. She is Marketo certified and is an Eloqua Product and RPM Master.
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