How a new head of client services impacts the agency, with Emily Brown & Matt Loughlin

Oct 22, 2024

Emily Brown, Client Services Director at Receptional, has over 12 years of experience and previously worked at IPG Media Brands. Joining her is Matt Loughlin, Partner and Commercial Director with 16.5 years in the field. Together, they delve into the transformative role of a head of client services, sharing insights from Emily's impressive first 90 days and the significant impact on the agency's operations. They discuss evolving client service strategies, the shift towards accountability within teams, and the importance of networking in enhancing client relationships.

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ANECDOTE

Initial Client Success Hire

Receptional hired a Client Success person, but they lacked experience.
They realized a senior person with energy and resilience was needed to change the agency's culture.

INSIGHT

Agency Growth Pains

Many agencies stall at 25-30 people due to inconsistent processes and siloed teams.
This leads to short-term clients and difficulty growing beyond that size.

ADVICE

First 90 Days Priorities

Focus on basic client communication, asking good questions, and structured reporting.
Ensure the right client contacts and understand their business for better retention.

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Welcome to episode 124. This will be particularly interesting for you if you want to know how much the head of client services role can impact the agency's business.

Listen in if you don’t currently have a client services team and you're perhaps thinking about having one, or your client services function isn't performing as you'd like it to and you're exploring options for perhaps bringing in a head of department. Or maybe you are the client services director in your agency and are curious to understand how someone else in this role operates. Emily Brown and Matt Loughlin joined me today from digital marketing agency, Receptional.

I met Emily when she was just a few months into joining the agency and I've been very lucky to have the opportunity of working with her in my Account Accelerator programme, and that means I've been working with her for almost a year. This conversation reflects on what she's achieved as the new head of client service.

Here are the key themes that we cover during our chat:

· why the agency decided in the first place to hire a head of client service

· Emily's first 90 days in the role, and how she pinpointed and tackled the key priorities and established herself with the team

· the impact this CSD role has had on the agency's operations team and clients just 16 months later

· and the learnings from both Matt and Emily's perspective of establishing this new role in the agency that hopefully you can benefit from in your agency.

They share lots of detailed tips and examples that I'm sure you're going to find useful.

You can connect with Emily and Matt here:
https://www.receptional.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-brown-5073993a/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattloughlin/

If you'd like to discuss training and coaching for your client-facing account management team, then you can book a no obligation call with me via my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com. You’ll be able to see the different training options I have available, from self-study to long term coaching, and also sign up for my regular newsletter.