What do you want out of your agency life? Probably creating work you’re proud of and to have some fun while you’re doing it.
But there’s a point in every project where that creative fatigue starts to set in. And it’s usually around the time that you share your work with the client for feedback.
Suddenly, the fun and excitement you felt at the start is replaced with:
- Frustration over how long your clients take to share feedback
- Despair over the amount of time you’re spending in meetings
- Pressure to create the best work possible in a shrinking timeframe
Fear not Re4m are here with some top tips below on how to get that spark back.
Proofing software is essential for agencies for several reasons. It plays a critical role in ensuring the quality and accuracy of content, which is paramount for agencies involved in marketing, advertising, publishing, design, and other creative endeavours.
Here are 3 key reasons why proofing software is important for agencies and how they can get back to doing what they do best…being creative.
1. Hitting your deadlines by eliminating the chase
Advertising and marketing agencies waste a huge amount of time chasing feedback on their work. But by switching from email to a purpose-built client proofing tool like Re4m, you can save one day per person, per month for everyone in your creative review process.
4 in 5 account managers get delayed feedback from stakeholders
Around 80% of account managers receive delayed feedback from their clients over the past year. And if you’ve worked in an agency for more than five minutes, you probably won’t be at all surprised by this figure.
But are your clients really to blame? With basic communication tools like email, giving feedback takes up a huge chunk of time. And for one reason or another, it’s rarely at the top of anyone’s list.
Sharing, editing, and giving feedback on documents can be a tiresome and time-consuming process. Working out which version of a document is the most up-to-date can be as challenging as working on the document itself.
3 in 5 project managers waste time chasing feedback
There’s only so long you can wait around for feedback. After all, the final delivery deadline is set in stone. Eventually, there comes a point where you have to start chasing your clients.
Let the passive aggressive emails begin!
On average over half of project managers chased clients for feedback on their work last year. This process can be hugely manual and frustrating, often requiring custom spreadsheets to try and keep track of who’s approved what.
But the longer the client proofing process takes, the more time there is for things to go wrong. In fact on average we worked out that,
- 20% received feedback on an old version of a file
- 18% lost track of who had approved a piece of work
- 10% published mistakes because important review steps were skipped
- 8% cancelled projects because files weren’t approved in time
Client proofing software saves agencies one day per person, per month
2. Goodbye long meetings, hello more time being creative
On average, executives spend around 23 hours per week in meetings. If you’re a project or account manager, that may sound familiar?
When you’re reviewing creative work over email, getting the feedback to land in your inbox is only half the battle. Next comes the great untangling of each email with different comments.
Creatives get conflicting and unclear feedback from their clients
For one reason or another, clients rarely take the time to consolidate their feedback. So it’s your job to piece the puzzle together, work out where they’re aligned, and point out where they aren’t.
In most cases, that means calling a meeting. Queue more time out of your busy schedule…sigh!
Around 70% of project managers arrange meetings to clarify feedback
In agencies, project managers are the guardians of creative resource and champions of bill-ability. Which makes meetings about feedback a frustrating and inefficient thorn in their side.
Here are a few reasons why meetings are so common in the client proofing process:
- Files and feedback are separated so it’s difficult for clients to explain exactly what they mean
- Comments are shared in different email chains so there’s no transparency between clients
- Clients forget what they said about previous versions and end up contradicting previous comments
Luckily, the right client proofing software can solve all these problems and more. Now would be a good time to introduce us… Re4m!
Now we wont bore you with our sales pitch right now but you can find more about us in detail here, but what we can promise you is a huge reduction in unnecessary meetings and emails. At Re4m we love helping agencies save time and effort throughout the client proofing process. We even can take the headache out of working out what visual will perform best in our AI integrated software.
3. Better work means less overtime
Ad agencies scream unpaid overtime as the norm. However by being a little more productive and communicating more effectively, agencies can free up the focus time they need to create their best work which is really what they want to be doing!
Around 70% of agency staff work more than their contracted hours
Shocking, but sadly true. Sometimes an exciting pitch comes along and it’s all hands on deck. If you win, it’ll be the account that takes your business (or portfolio) to the next level. But in too many agencies, working late is an everyday occurrence. There are two big reasons for this: manual tasks and rework.
Here are some of the ways agencies regularly waste time in these areas:
- Adding all your work to a slideshow to make it look presentable for the client
- Re-uploading and sharing content with the client because the transfer link timed out
- Tracking what’s been shared and approved in a spreadsheet
- Copy and pasting feedback from different email chains into one document
- Scrapping a whole review round because the team misinterpreted the feedback
- Canceling an entire project because the client didn’t approve it in time
Nearly all project managers could produce better work if they spent less time managing feedback
If you’re working in an agency, you want to create work you’re proud of and have fun while you’re doing it. So when project managers tell you there’s a way you can help them produce better work, it’s time to take notice. By automating these processes and setting up a centralised and transparent client proofing process, agencies can enjoy a brighter, more productive, and more profitable future.
Client proofing software halves creative development time so agencies can focus on delivering their best work
What is client proofing?
Client proofing is a process used by businesses, particularly in creative and service industries such as advertising, design, photography, and web development, to involve clients in the review and approval of projects or deliverables.
The goal of client proofing is to ensure that the final product aligns with the client’s expectations and requirements, leading to client satisfaction and project success.
What is client proofing software?
Client proofing software is a cloud-based tool for managing feedback between creatives and clients. You can upload content, invite clients to add comments, discuss feedback in real time, and share new versions – all in one place. Then, when they’re happy, your clients can give approval with one click.
How do you review creative work with clients?
You can review creative work with clients by using a client proofing tool like us Re4m. You can upload any file formats that you need your clients to review and send them a link. Then they can open it, add feedback in context, and request changes so you know they’re done.
Once everyone’s done adding feedback, you can dive in and see everyone’s comments in one place, with markers to point out exactly what they’re talking about. If you need to discuss anything, you can reply there and then. Otherwise, you can get to work and share a new version when you’re ready.
Lets summarise
As organisations worldwide continue to shift from traditional in-person workplaces to remote work, learning how to collaborate online effectively is imperative to ensure your team remains productive, engaged, and aligned with the company’s mission and goals.
To benefit the most from using virtual collaboration, ensure your team has the tools they need, understands how to use them, and is open to continuously improving online communication.
Proofing software is a crucial tool for agencies to maintain quality, consistency, and efficiency in their content creation and review processes. It helps prevent errors, streamline collaboration, and ultimately contributes to the success and reputation of the agency.
If you’d like to hear more about us or want to try it out with your team, you can start for free here. Just click on the free trial button and fill in the few details we require, no credit card needed. Then see for yourself you won’t look back!