Covid Killed Account Management… but There Is a Vaccine

I know what you’re thinking – oh gawd, here comes another agency bod banging on about covid (what’s the opposite of unprecedented?) 

But don’t worry – this isn’t about how lockdown changed the way we connect with each other on a human level, nor is it about the exponential innovation spawned by such a unique event (though both are true). This is about a deep shift that’s been happening in the marketing industry over the last ten years.

Let me explain. 

Thanks to rapid innovation in technology and data (driven by the platforms and evidenced by the growing presence of consultancies), serving meaningful, personalised content in real-time is now a table-stake expectation for today’s consumer. And there is no let-up - if your brand can’t meet these needs, you can be sure a competitor’s will. As a stronger, more informed, and discerning consumer emerges, the prioritisation of identifiable customers and the model of engagement has changed in-line.

In many ways, covid just brought this to life sooner. As the world shut down, media ecosystems and marketplaces shifted online, levelling the playing field for category challengers and disruptive new entrants. 

Today, marketers have some chunky missions on their to-do lists and are on a steep learning curve as they get to grips with this new marketing reality.

So, it’s no surprise they expect more of their agencies, too. Especially in a period of continued economic uncertainty, with high inflation and rising costs, clients have less to spend and more to deliver. 

It’s my view that the way agencies serve clients is not evolving fast enough and the role of traditional account management is no longer fit for purpose. We must rip that playbook up – because failure to do so will be an extinction-level event. 

Challenging the role of account management 

The truth is, marketing transformation demands agility and in conversation with clients, it’s clear to me that they seek a new breed of partner that does more than keep up – one that helps them forge the path ahead.

The sort of people comfortable with complexity and wearing many hats – guiding different stakeholders, interpreting data, demystifying technology and freeing creativity. 

Excellent all-rounders that balance business objectives with true customer-centricity, acting as a conscience and coach. 

It serves the agency well, too. A more strategic footing empowers them to break new ground with parts of the client organisation usually owned by the consultants. And through their end-to-end capability they can push past, elevating the conversation and the value their agency offers.

In short, skills and hands-on experience are now just as important as the development of strong relationships. Account teams that don’t adapt and learn new skills, won’t be able to consult with clients and are no longer useful or relevant.  

Rethinking career paths

By challenging the conventional role of account management, we must also challenge the linear career path traditionally dictated - account executive, manager, director and so on. This path has in many places meant that progression tends to look like more responsibility, more senior client engagement and more revenue to be managed - not necessarily more time spent as a practitioner, developing new capability, learning new skills or providing more value back to clients. 

RAPP is a place where our people are deliberately invited into new situations to gain experience and develop new skills, beyond the natural rhythms of their ‘day job’. As managers, it’s incumbent on us to mark out these learning opportunities, rotate talent across accounts, projects and even departments or offices, in service of proactively managing their careers forward. 

As an agency that stands up for individuality, this means meeting them as individuals, understanding their unique interests and passions, and providing them with the space to focus on the things they love doing and are good at. It’s why we have also moved beyond the traditional linear career path and have opened up three core pathways for our talent - Client Leader, Agency Manager and Subject Matter Expert (SME).  

Everyone starts on the client leader pathway, developing the spectrum of skills required to meet modern client needs. Individuals enjoy a varied diet of capability training across disciplines such as data, technology, CX, creative and commercial, as well as practical on-the -job learning. Most of our people will remain within this stream, becoming our most senior client partners. 

Over time, those outstanding individuals showing leadership potential, shift to the agency leadership pathway preparing for future departmental and leadership roles. Whilst those that find a specialism they enjoy and are brilliant at, choose the SME pathway and dedicate themselves to refining and developing their craft. These vary from technology consultancy and performance intelligence to marketing innovation and social, influence and partnership marketing.

We do this not because it’s fashionable, but because it makes good business sense. For our clients, we can bring highly skilled and experienced talent to answer their briefs. And for us, it’s a major reason why we have enjoyed talent retention rates beyond the norm, even against the backdrop of a war on talent. 

From account management to client partnership

Whilst the once-in-a-century transformation will continue to happen around us, I don’t think there has ever been a more exciting time to be in account management. But as I write those words, I can’t help but feel they belong to a bygone era. 

At RAPP, we have always had partnership at the heart of our client strategy. So, we have evolved the nomenclature to not only signal a new dawn, but to better reflect the value we offer our clients. Goodbye account management. Hello Client Partnership. And the future is looking incredibly bright.