You don’t know what your clients think. 

You might have an idea, an iota of an understanding, but ultimately, without communicating with them or doing any research, you won’t ever truly know.

That’s why Jonathan Kirk, founder of Up to the Light, has compiled the 10th-anniversary edition of their ‘What Clients Think’ 2024 report.

“We do more client interviews on behalf of agencies than anyone else,” says Jonathan. “We probe into all sorts of different areas each year. For example, this year we did a lot in terms of in-house versus using an external agency.”

“Why do clients choose in-house or external? What’s the percentage of clients that have access to an internal resource, and the percentage of those actively going to get one?”

Here are some statistics found in the report:

• 36% of clients would like their agency to ‘push boundaries’ more.
• 77% of marketing directors do not have enough time to properly monitor competitors and market trends.
• 67% of clients believe that agency new business approaches tend to feel generic.
• 90% of clients ‘dislike’ cold new business phone calls.

“There are some rumblings out there that some clients believe agency ways of working are too slow and cumbersome,” continues Jonathan. “For example, social media is, by definition, very fluid and changing all the time.” 

“Are agency ways of working really in tune with that pace of change and fluidity? Agencies like to have processes and steps but sometimes, with social media in particular, it has to be more fluid and more collaborative.”

Join us for our next client services mastermind, where Jonathan will be taking a deep dive into what your clients actually think, and why some of them are choosing to go in house rather than be with you.