Partner vs. Supplier

I really liked this article by Lauren Brown on the different levels in a client-agency relationship. She articulates differences in expectations and behavior that I've experienced myself, but haven't put words to. Instead I've usually chalked it up to, well, variety. Companies are people and people are individuals. I'd never expect one client to be just like another. But her post puts forward some helpful ideas on clarifying our thinking and consequently, our deliverables.

Such as the differences between partners and suppliers. Sometimes when a client hires an agency, they're looking for a finite service: they need an annual report designed and written, or they need a writer to start and maintain a company blog. The parameters are defined and usually one-dimensional. That's a client-supplier relationship.

A client-partner relationship is multi-layered and founded on a deeper commitment. Here the client wants an agency who's going to delve into their business philosophy, their initiatives past and ongoing, who's going to exemplify the same devotion to a project as the client themselves - because they understand their success is intertwined.

Lauren identifies the work itself, and the benchmarking and logistics, as "hard wiring" and the enthusiasm and collaboration chemistry as "soft wiring."  Which are differences that I think all of us - client, creative, coworker - have felt in all their variances. Sometimes we don't like to call out these distinctions because it seems insulting or awkward to point out a deficit in the "soft wiring." But because unvoiced expectations can lead to unhappy relationships, it's probably a good thing to align those expectations from the start.