Meet Our Team: Jamie, Director of Client Experience

Inside Bloom / January 13, 2020

1. What brought you to work at a digital marketing agency like Bloom?

I was always involved in marketing, ecommerce and client services for most of my work history. I left a family business to work with a friend at a start-up that focused on web design and development. After getting my taste of the entrepreneurship/start-up world, I wanted to find something that had a mix of both, including something with more structure and culture – that’s when I found Bloom. After reading endless articles on Bloom’s success stories, growth, culture, vision, awards, and employee benefits, I knew this was where I wanted to be. To this day, I never looked back. 

2. Tell us more about your journey at Bloom? 

Although I had over a decade of experience in client services, I was not as well versed in digital advertising, therefore, I was first hired as an Account Coordinator. Shortly after being hired as an AC (3-months) I was then promoted to an Account Manager which was very encouraging for me – but only the beginning of my journey. 

After one year as an AM, I saw there was a gap in the Client Services Team, which I believe would be essential for the success of each and every one of our clients, so I asked the partners for a meeting to further discuss the role of a Client Experience Manager. This role would focus on the experience of each of Bloom’s clients by ensuring their satisfaction, problem-solving, and working with all of Bloom to get the right talent in the right place at the right time. The partners then promoted me to this position. 

After developing relationships with many of Bloom’s clients over the course of a year, traveling back and forth to Toronto to help with our expansion, and playing a part in the increased retention rate of clients, I naturally evolved into the position of Director of Client Experience. I now have more of an executive view of the agency, its goals, and our clients while directing the Client Services team to ensure we deliver awesome. 2020 is going to be a very exciting year!

3. How will your new role impact our relationship with our clients?

I’ll be working closely with the Client Services Team Leads to locate areas of improvement so that we could step up our entire team to serve each of our clients to the best of our capabilities. Consequently, I’ll be developing closer relationships with each of our clients to better understand their overall business goals and get the right people, in place, at the right time. To add, by better understanding our client’s goals/frustrations, I will better understand how we could continuously improve the systems we have in place to better serve each client and maintain longer-lasting and more profitable partnerships! In a nutshell, I am their voice, and I am here to create the best possible partnerships a client could ask for. 

4. Outside of work, what takes up most of your time? 

My fiance always tells me that I do anything and everything. I am a very busy bee and have a hard time staying still. I like to go to the gym regularly, occasionally cook, work on my car, read, research, spend time with family, and travel when I can. I also very much enjoy fixing things and learning about anything that gains my interest. I rarely have a day on the couch, but I can’t say I don’t like being busy. I could thank my Dad for that. 

5. What was your first impression of Bloom on your first day? Has it changed since then?

I remember walking into Bloom as if it was yesterday. I was so excited to be working for such an amazing digital marketing agency. The minute I walked in, I was shown love from all the Bloomers and felt as if I’ve been at Bloom forever (I also pronounced our COO’s name incorrectly as soon as I stepped through the door, but he let it slide and didn’t even mention anything). That day I went home and I told my girlfriend that “this is where I belong, this is where I see myself for a long time to come”. To this day that statement holds true – we are like a big work family, all with the same goal to be the best of who we could be. 

6. What have you learned throughout your first years as an account manager in a digital agency?

• There is no one solution, each client is different, and we must continuously adapt ourselves.
• Organization and time management are key, without these qualities, it is difficult to be successful in this profession. 
• You are the face of the company, you need to present yourself to the best of your abilities and represent your company with passion each and every day. 
• Although the saying goes “the client is always right”, this is in fact not always the case. We need to direct our clients as best as we can with our experience to enable them to achieve their goals. We know our business best, and they know theirs.

7. What do you see happening at Bloom in 2020?

I see growth, expansion, and continuously improving ourselves so that we can better serve our clients on a communication and performance standpoint. We have a team of incredibly intelligent and hardworking people. The sky is the limit.

8. What advice would you give to someone looking to work in client services?

Client Services is a very exciting and rewarding career. You get to grow with each of your clients and be a part of their success. If you are empathetic, a people person, organized and professional, I would highly suggest looking into this role.