When being responsive isn’t enough

The fundamental instinct of most agencies is to please their clients. Being super responsive, amenable and friendly are seen as key qualities in the development of successful client/agency relationships.

However, our new ‘What Clients Think’ report reveals that 64% of clients are asking agencies to be ‘more assertive’ or tougher with them. Typical client comments are, ‘They are too eager to say “Yes”. Don’t be so nice to us’ or ‘Don’t be so deferential. Push us harder and hold us to account.’

For many agencies this is a tricky mental shift. Creative agencies are generally great places to work. They usually have relaxed environments, relatively flat structures, and fun cultures. All this is transmitted to clients and they frequently praise agencies around aspects of personal chemistry, the personability and likeability of agency teams. Getting tougher with clients, therefore, is not something that comes naturally. Many agencies are not culturally geared that way.

The client demand for greater assertiveness derives from the pressure that clients are now under. 80% of clients state that in the last two years their resources have decreased, and their internal team is smaller. Budgets are generally static or declining, yet their commercial objectives seem to take no account of that. Clients are simply expected to achieve more with less. Meanwhile, every market seems to be moving at pace, and clients are having to be more reactive. It’s inevitable that some of this pressure is being transferred to agencies and our ‘What Clients Think’ reports have been highlighting these pressures for several years. The difference now, though, is that these pressures are really beginning to bite and expectations of agencies have escalated.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the area of client service. Clients are rejecting a conventional, slightly passive, ‘responding to client needs’ approach. Traditional notions of ‘account management’ are being replaced by a need for ‘client and project drivers’. In the current environment, clients are asking agencies to be totally ‘on it’, be tougher about deadlines and what they need from clients, anticipate issues or spot problems early, and be confident in their expertise. There is some analysis in the ‘What Clients Think’ premium report* on client/agency meetings, with 45% of clients believing that meetings with their agency ‘could be improved’. One of the factors that clients talk about is the agency not really leading and driving the meeting but expecting the client to take the lead.

It’s all about taking the pressure off clients and instilling confidence that the agency is in full control. When clients are so busy, any feeling that the client is having to ‘manage the agency’ has become an unacceptable negative. That cuts into client time and represents poor value for money.

As well as day to day client service, clients are expecting agencies to be more assertive in the wider client relationship. For instance, 95% of clients appreciate ‘constructive challenge’ from their agency, but 68% of clients are not seeing enough of it (‘What Clients Think’ premium report). It’s easy when things get busy and deadlines loom for agencies to slip into a purely reactive mode. They can be too willing to simply carry out the client’s requests, rather than consistently apply their critical faculties and expertise.

Clients are also asking agencies to be bolder and more forceful in their views. Clients readily admit that agencies have more experience of different brands, markets, challenges and scenarios. They are keen to benefit from that learning but sometimes feel that agencies are not forthcoming enough, or too willing to sit on the fence, as opposed to stating a view.

This extends to recommendations. 67% of clients believe that agencies could be clearer and sharper in their recommendations (‘What Clients Think’ premium report). A number of factors can be at play here. When the Creative Director is asked which concept they recommend and answers, ‘All three concepts would work’, as opposed to giving a clear recommendation with reasons, the client is bound to be underwhelmed. Similarly, agencies can present good thinking and raise important questions and issues, but clients are left confused and not aided in their decision making. The lesson here is, firstly, that agencies need to have a recommendation. The client is expecting the agency to assert their expertise. Secondly, agencies need to make it easier for clients to buy into their recommendation. This involves agencies arguing their point with a clear and compelling rationale and within a sound business context.

Our interviews show that an eager to please attitude, being a likeable bunch, showing responsiveness, and answering the brief will only get you so far. Clients are asking for significantly more drive in day-to-day project management, more boldness in the agency viewpoint, clearer recommendations, and more constructive challenge.

Why agencies need to be clearer and sharper in their recommendations

Access the 2026 'What Clients Think' report and webinar recording