Get Clingy: Why Healthy Detachment Is a Terrible Client Management Strategy  

The management tactics for a successful vendor/client dynamic are, in some respects, the opposite of a healthy romantic relationship. You need to be constantly vigilant about the partnership (to a degree that—in any other situation—would border on obsession), perceive any change in tone as a risk factor, and, most importantly, make your clients so reliant on you that they can never leave. You also need to embrace stakeholder non-monogamy.

Of course, there are no guarantees in the agency world, but monogamous relationships with a single client-side stakeholder are a surefire way to set the team up for failure if that person is terminated, resigns, or is promoted to another role within the same company. Therefore, project managers must invest the time and energy into earning their primary stakeholder’s trust in the beginning, and then look for opportunities to grow relationships with other players inside the organization.

Below, we’ve outlined five ways to expand your vendor relationships beyond your day-to-day contact and become enmeshed in your client’s organization without sacrificing your relationship with your primary POC. 

Knowledge-Share at Every Opportunity 

As SEOs, we have specialized insight into a key marketing channel and are privy to the seismic shifts happening in the AEO industry every day. Reports related to industry-wide traffic trends, LLM algorithm changes, and attribution changes are all great examples of findings you should bring to your next team meeting. Offer to distribute the findings you’re presenting on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to a larger group or ask if there are any other team members who may find them interesting. CC anyone and everyone. 

Ask Early and Often About Other Marketing Channels 

Does the company invest in paid search? This should be one of your first onboarding questions for any new client. If so, ask to get a regular export of their performance data and set up a regular check-in with their team. Come prepared with ideas for how organic search can build momentum by capturing keywords they’re currently paying for, along with questions to identify opportunities for further collaboration.. Dialogue between paid and organic can save major dollars of marketing spend when done correctly — and it sets up their paid rep to look good in front of their boss. 

Offer to Conduct Trainings for the Larger Marketing Team 

One of the best ways to capture someone’s attention is to teach them something new. AI search and LLMs’ impact on search behavior is still a very new topic for many marketers. After a new algorithm update launches or a new tool or workflow is added to dashboards like GSC, GA4, or Ahrefs, offer to conduct a training session with your client’s marketing team. Once you’ve mastered the tool yourself, of course, this is a great, low-lift way to engage others without needing to commit to a deliverable or go through a 30-slide deck. 

Keep Tabs on Their Locale & Nurture Your Relationship IRL 

In the age of remote-first work, clients are spread out all over the globe. Keep tabs on where your client is headquartered and which team members are local or remote. Keep them informed on local SEO events in their area and invite them to attend conferences with you and your team. This type of in-person meeting outside of a regular bi-weekly sync is critical for fostering meaningful relationships that aren’t rooted in deliverables and project trackers. Who is your client outside of work? Make it a priority to know. 

Give Your Clients Plenty of Bragging Fodder 

Above all, give your clients as many reasons to brag as possible. Equip them with standout reports they can share with leadership, and make it easy to connect the work they helped shape to meaningful business results. Celebrate their role in those wins so they can confidently champion the work—and your partnership—to senior stakeholders.

Praise carries weight when it comes from you as the vendor, but it can be even more powerful coming from the person the CMO trusts to manage the relationship. Help your primary POC tell the success story internally, and give the great work you’re doing together a life beyond the occasional celebratory Slack channel update.

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