Client relationships in the creative and media industries are extremely short. The average client relationship for a UK public relations firm is just over 2 years – that’s shorter than many people have a mobile phone contract.
Numerous factors can cause an ending of such relationships: enticement of competitors, a change in personnel, campaign results not meeting expectations, contractual review periods, availability of budgets, a change in objectives, breakdowns of communication, loss of confidence, or simply a change of heart or chemistry.
Mediation is frequently applied to relationships between clients and suppliers. It’s very common for clients and suppliers to enter mediation to resolve disputes about contractual matters as well as complaints about payment or the standard of goods and services delivered. In these circumstances, courts in the UK can even direct disputing parties to enter mediation.
Although mediation is often deployed to relationships experiencing a rupture, mediation can also be applied before tensions rise out of control. Mediation can help during the early and often rocky stages of a client relationship, as a relationship retention exercise at the every first sign that a relationship may be at risk, or even on an ongoing basis.
Client contact meetings and informal meet-ups are extremely useful, but mediation’s use of an impartial mediary and confidentiality agreement encourages people to speak more freely, sharing problems and concerns that it may be uncomfortable to share in everyday settings. The mediation process can reframe such matters to enable them to be addressed and ideally resolved.
Participants are encouraged to think creatively about ways to overcome barriers to relationships, to make best use of resources and investment, and – if necessary – to part ways on the friendliest terms and with key learnings.