So I was in the middle of finishing this post when I got an email on the same topic from my good friend and childhood idol, Joe Koufman. So now I have to give him credit for the idea - great. Oh, and if you don’t know Joe, he works at a great Atlanta technology company, KnowledgeStorm, and is apparently a huge hippie based on this photo I found of him and his lovely wife. Peace, man.

Back to the point…according to a study by Rainmaker Consulting there is a pretty big gap between what agencies think a client wants (when choosing which agency they want to work with), and what clients actually want. The biggest differences? Size and location. Apparently clients don’t care too much about those two things, and I’m betting in the interactive world they care about them even less.

The ranking of things that are important to clients when selecting an agency came out looking like this:

1. Quality customer insights
2. Chemistry
3. Creative work
4. Service level / response to needs ongoing
5. Cost control
6. Innovative / strategic thinking
7. Case for ROI
8. Client list
9. Strict adherence to brief
10. Seniority of account team
11. Location
12. Size

We shouldn’t be surprised, but all those agencies that lead with their clients, size and experience better rethink their pitches. Wait, what am I saying? You guys should keep pitching that way and maybe just flip this list upside down and start from there. What do clients know anyway about what they want, right?

In all seriousness, do you really want a client that is focused on the size of your firm and impressiveness of your client roster? Surely the client that is focused on things like your ideas and the chemistry they have with you are going to be better long-term partners for the agency.

So my question is, does this list surprise any of you?