As I write this, Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy has 90 active clients. And after 20 years in business, our number of former clients is practically limitless.
We’re always transparent with our clients: We’re here when you need us. Some clients come to us to fill temporary employment gaps, some work with us on services they don’t need full-time roles for, and others have a very specific need that requires only a limited engagement.
No matter the reason clients begin working with us, we make it a point to be there even after the formal agreement ends. It’s good business practice, sure, but it’s also about supporting the humans behind the issue.
Strategic communications is complicated and nuanced. Because of that, clients often come to us when they’re feeling overwhelmed or out of their depth. It’s our responsibility to deliver results and set the client up for future success. That sometimes means lending a hand after our formal working relationship has ended.
Here are two recent examples:
1. Rebuilding a website
After helping a former client transfer ownership of their website and domain, they unintentionally let the website expire. Our team worked with the web development company to try to identify a solution and got on calls with the former client to walk through some processes for archive retrieval.
With those options exhausted — and fruitless — we tapped into our files and institutional knowledge to provide the former client with everything they needed to reestablish their website.
2. Reconnecting a Twitter account
An out-of-the-blue call to our main office line touched off a multi-prong internal response: John Doe from Company A was locked out of the company’s Twitter account and a coworker told him that someone at our firm set it up. Could we help?
Our first step was to verify the request, ensuring it came from Company A’s current employee and that Company A was indeed a former client. We were able to determine that we’d worked several years ago with Company B, the parent of Company A, and that the request was legitimate.
From there, we accessed our client archives and tested an old password. It worked! We provided John Doe with the info he needed, reminded him to update the password and that he could safely remove our access to the account for security purposes.
Everyone is in the business of customer service
Think back on recent consumer experiences you’ve had. Did an Etsy seller send a personal note and an extra homemade craft with your purchase? Did your postal worker knock on the door to hand-deliver something that wouldn’t fit in the mailbox? Did the photographer who took your family photos send a few extras because they were just too cute not to share?
These are people going above and beyond for clients — customers — to make their lives just a little bit easier and their experience just a little bit better, with no strings attached.
Our work is no different.
Our work is measured in media hits, KPIs, impressions and countless other quantifiable metrics. But we take pride in the relief we can offer clients when they need our help in a pinch.
Shannon Wink is the Senior Director of Digital Strategy at Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy, based in the Philadelphia office.
