A good relationship, whether in business or friendship, is built on the same key pillars: trust, open communication, shared goals, and flexibility. These principles are equally vital to us as we build and maintain relationships with our clients.
For us, it’s essential to understand our clients so we can continuously improve their experience, meet expectations, and deliver value – exceeding those expectations whenever possible. Feedback and our clients’ commitment to developing the partnership guide us in the right direction, both in daily operations and strategic decisions.
Here’s what our clients think about where we’ve succeeded – and where we can still improve.
Valve has a great understanding of our business and that way they can very effectively help us utilize creative techniques to communicate our business.
Smooth collaboration:
- 82 % feel that working and communicating with us is seamless.
- 95 % find the collaboration at least somewhat smooth.
Our clients believe smooth collaboration stems from many factors: a skilled, tailored team focused on their needs, a dedication to understanding those needs, ease of cooperation, and proactive communication.
But we’ve also identified areas for improvement. While our proactivity is rated highly by our clients, there’s a desire for even more of it. Additionally, team changes can sometimes disrupt the flow of collaboration.
Sometimes, team changes are unavoidable for one reason or another. We’ve sought to address the challenges these changes can cause by ensuring each project has a clear point of contact in the client team. This ensures that knowledge transfer and internal communication remain strong, even during transitions.
Trust and dedicated team
What sets us apart? One of the most important factors is our team’s commitment.
We have skilled professionals who care deeply about what they do – and this is reflected in client feedback:
- 75 % of our clients feel our team is dedicated and genuinely interested in their partnership.
I am particularly pleased with your team’s expertise and dedication. The level of service has been excellent, and your support has been invaluable both in daily operations and in several development projects.
Our commitment is also evident in how we engage with our clients’ expectations and experiences. We actively seek feedback and are always ready to discuss their thoughts.
In fact, we’ve been thinking about how we could make our dialogue with clients even more open and fruitful. This is an exciting topic with plenty to explore – and perhaps material for a future blog, so stay tuned!
Clear and Flexible Pricing
Successful pricing meets the client’s expectations without unpleasant surprises. Among our clients:
- 74 % are at least somewhat satisfied with our current pricing model.
- 40 % are very satisfied or satisfied.
The majority of our clients prefer time-based or fixed pricing for marketing services. A small portion has shown interest in performance-based pricing and would be open to discussing it further, although measuring results is seen as challenging.
Hybrid pricing models are popular because they offer flexibility for different situations. Predictable and clear pricing is highly valued, as it prevents unexpected additional costs. We will continue striving to find the best win-win pricing model for each of our clients through open dialogue.
Effective Project Management
Project management is often taken for granted, but it significantly impacts the ease of collaboration. Our long-term investments in this area are now paying off, as:
- 68 % of our clients are satisfied with our project management and scheduling.
- 89 % find it at least somewhat smooth.
We can admit that project management hasn’t always been a glowing strength of ours. We didn’t leap to excellent levels overnight; it required continuous, deliberate effort. We had to pause, examine our workflows and processes, and think about how we could work smarter day-to-day.
For instance, we’ve implemented a company-wide project management tool that most of our clients now use with us. We’ve also invested in training and guidance through dedicated experts within our team.
Successful Projects
Strong processes lead to desired outcomes. We’re delighted to report that among our clients:
- 79 % are satisfied with project outcomes.
- 97 % are at least somewhat satisfied.
Sometimes working with agencies, it can feel a bit ‘us’ and ‘them’. This wasn't the case with Valve – we were a small team working together on an interesting challenge. I was consistently impressed with their open approach, attention to detail, and willingness to think outside the box.
This shows that we’ve succeeded in meeting our clients’ expectations and delivering value to their businesses. However, we recognize the areas where we can still improve. We’re continuing to invest in making project progress more transparent and developing shared tools for daily client work.
Improvement isn’t rocket science; it’s about small, consistent actions. Every day, a little better. Of course, we’re also looking further ahead and preparing for what impactful marketing will demand in the future – stay tuned for more on this!
Source: Customer satisfaction study, Quarterly pulse survey, Project feedback survey, 2024
We want to hear more
Whether you’ve been a long-term partner or are just getting to know what it’s like to work with us, we’d love to hear your thoughts! How can we make our dialogue even more open and fruitful together?
Pauliina Kuokka
Director, Experiences
pauliina.kuokka@valve.fi
