• Building Effective Client-Agency Relationships with Alex Hultgren | Ep #785

  • Apr 20 2025
  • Duración: 20 m
  • Podcast

Building Effective Client-Agency Relationships with Alex Hultgren | Ep #785

Escúchala gratis

Ver detalles del espectáculo

  • Resumen

  • Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training What truly makes clients choose one agency over another? What are the essential qualities that elevate an agency from service provider to trusted partner? Today's featured guest brings a rare 360-degree perspective to these crucial questions. As a fractional CMO with extensive experience on both sides of the relationship, our guest provides unique insights into the dynamics of successful agency-client partnerships. Tune in for actionable insights that will help agencies strengthen their client relationships, refine their service approach, and position themselves as indispensable strategic partners. Alex Hultgren is a seasoned fractional CMO with extensive experience in both client and agency roles. He shares his journey through the marketing landscape, from starting at Ford Motor Company and leading marketing efforts at Polaris to transitioning to agency life at Hayworth and later starting his own business. Alex discusses the expectations that brands have when working with agencies, what he used to look for in an ideal agency partner, and the reason he kept his business boutique and has chose to work with contractors. In this episode, we’ll discuss: Learning to forge deep agency partnerships in corporate marketing. Elements of effective agency relationships. Why he chose to prioritize autonomy over growth. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources Wix: Today’s episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Wix Studio, the all-in-one platform designed to help agencies scale without the headaches. With intuitive tools, robust native business solutions, and low maintenance, Wix Studio lets your team focus on what matters most—delivering exceptional value to your clients. Ready to take your agency to the next level? Visit wix.com/studio and discover how Wix Studio can transform your workflow, boost profits, and strengthen client relationships. Forging Deep Agency Partnerships in Corporate Marketing Alex’s professional trajectory spanned both corporate and agency environments before culminating in entrepreneurship. He started his career working at Ford Motor Company, as part of their marketing leadership program for fourteen years, and then running marketing for Victory Motorcycle as part of Polaris. He then went on to work on the agency side as one of the three leads of Walmart’s media accounts at Hayworth. In 2021 he decided to take all that experience to build his own business. During his time at Ford, Alex only ever worked with one agency team, the team at JTW. Although large corporations normally have many agencies working at different projects at a time, Ford preferred to maintain an exclusive agency partnership and, even when digital marketing started to be an important part of their strategy, they only used other agencies as contractors for limited periods. On one hand, this meant there weren’t many options if he didn’t like the work, other than asking them to go back to the drawing board. On the other hand, it also meant they formed a deeply integrated partnership, as they were more of an extension of his team than merely external service providers. By contrast, at Polaris he had a fraction of the budget but found himself coordinating multiple specialized agencies handling different aspects of the business, which proved to be considerable demanding. However, in both cases he always saw agencies as partners and part of his team. The Foundation of Effective Agency Partnerships In choosing agencies, one of the major problems Alex encountered was agencies that promised they could deliver on something when they clearly couldn’t. For him, it came down to Could they be trusted to do the work? Did they know what they were doing? Most clients are looking for agencies that can alleviate their burdens by providing solutions without requiring micromanagement. Hence, an ideal agency partner should be able to take a problem, devise a solution, and communicate progress effectively. However, trust is not enough when communication is lacking and one of the major hurdles Alex faced working on the client side was getting enough clarity from the company on what they wanted from the agency. To bridge this gap, agencies must take the initiative to foster open lines of communication. This includes asking the right questions to extract meaningful feedback from clients and internal stakeholders. Finally, Alex also believes an agency should be able to take calculated risks because innovative ideas can sometimes face resistance from traditional corporate structures. The ability to push through skepticism and advocate for creative solutions is a testament to the trust that exists within a strong agency-client relationship. To address this client skepticism about design or content choices, Alex suggests AB testing the material and see how customers behave. This ...
    Más Menos
Más Menos
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup

Lo que los oyentes dicen sobre Building Effective Client-Agency Relationships with Alex Hultgren | Ep #785

Calificaciones medias de los clientes

Reseñas - Selecciona las pestañas a continuación para cambiar el origen de las reseñas.

Reseñas de Audible.com

Opiniones de Amazon
No hay comentarios disponibles