As an Account Executive, a large part of your job is to bridge the gap between your clients and your internal team. This requires not only clear communication skills, but a thorough understanding of the client’s needs and how it might translate to someone in your creative department. Let’s look at some tips for how to achieve this and produce top-notch quality work for all your organizations.
Understanding Clients Wants & Needs
- Initial Kickoff Meetings & Setting Expectations
- Your first meeting with the client will be all about discovery. You want to understand key information such as target audience, goals, brand personality, and anything else that will help your team during the duration of the project.
- Asking the Right Questions/ Providing Examples or Imagery
- One of the most difficult things to decipher as an Account Executive is how to get the right information out of a client. This may be something you need to feel out as you learn the client’s personality and preferences, but it also may depend on the type of project that they are asking for. If you find that there is a disconnect with your point of contact, it might be helpful to provide them with images or examples to get a clearer idea of where they want to be.
- Creating a Detailed Creative Brief
- The Creative Brief is based on the information you pull from those initial meetings with an organization. Once it is fleshed out and approved, this document will be an essential reference for any messaging or design going forward. Having a detailed brief is helpful for both parties to reference throughout the creative process.
It is extremely helpful to have your team’s portfolio on hand in those initial meetings to provide visual examples. Check ours out on our website here.
Organizing Internal Communication
- Encouraging Open Dialogue
- In your internal kick off meetings, the first thing you want to do is outline the approved Creative Brief. Chances are your creative team will be able to go ff of this, but it also might be useful to share some of the client’s initial visions or expectations as well. Above all, encourage those on your team to ask questions and have an open dialogue with you as they encounter different challenges.
- Clear and Consistent Messaging
- Like previously mentioned, the brief will always be there to serve as an anchor for your team. However, as the Account Executive, part of your job will be to check and make sure that all the work aligns before it is sent to the client. Messaging, colors, and even spelling should all be cross-referenced before it is passed on for final approval.
- Handling Feedback and Revisions
- While it does depend on the nature of the project, there will likely always be edits from the client as you work. Whether it be a one-off assignment or an entire campaign, be sure to have organizational tactics in place to keep track of revisions that go back and forth. Other useful things to include in your organization can be start dates, due dates, and even who from your department has been working on certain pieces.
Here’s an example of an internal document used to track deliverables for one of our clients, SNAC International. Having practice with navigating Excel and other similar programs is extremely helpful!
At the end of the day, your ability to translate the client’s vision into actionable items for your creative team is essential for an Account Executive. By understanding the client’s goals, maintaining strong organization tactics, and encouraging a collaborative setting, you can ensure that you meet and exceed expectations.
If you would like help with marketing and advertising, feel free to contact us. We offer a variety of services like digital marketing & analytics, marketing & brand strategy, and more to small and large companies.
