Strong agency-client partnerships don’t just happen. They’re built on collaboration, communication, and mutual trust. While agencies bring the skills and structure, clients play a crucial role in making projects run smoothly and successfully.

At Cinnamon, we’ve seen first-hand how clients can shape the outcome of a project. Some create momentum, clarity, and confidence. Others unintentionally cause delays, confusion, and scope creep. The difference? It often comes down to a few simple habits.

Here are five client habits that help your agency move faster, think smarter, and deliver better results:

1. Be Clear About Your Goals

Nothing saves time (and budget) like clarity. Before kicking off a project, invest time in defining what success looks like. Are you trying to increase conversions? Improve UX? Build an MVP to raise investment? The more context and direction you can provide, the faster your agency can align their expertise with your objectives.

Helpful tip: Share previous project learnings, performance data, and real-world use cases with your agency. They can use this to recommend smarter solutions faster. 

If you’re at the early planning stage, our Discovery Workshop process is a great example of how we help clients define direction before diving into design and development.

2. Provide Timely and Constructive Feedback

Agencies thrive on collaboration, and feedback is the fuel. Great clients know how to provide feedback that is:

Pro tip: Consolidate feedback from all internal stakeholders before sharing it with the agency. This avoids back-and-forth and speeds up implementation.

3. Trust the Process (and the Experts)

Micromanagement can derail momentum. While your input is crucial, the best results come when agencies are trusted to apply their process and expertise.

A great client provides context, sets clear goals, and then steps back to let the creative and technical teams do their thing.

Of course, stay involved: but as a collaborator, not a controller.

Patience pays off. Here’s why it matters in producing high-quality work.

4. Be Available and Engaged

The best agency partnerships feel like extensions of your internal team. When you’re responsive and accessible, blockers get resolved faster, decisions are made quicker, and momentum stays strong.

Ways to stay engaged:

Even if you’re busy, showing up consistently makes a big difference.

Wondering what sets great clients apart? See the top traits for success.

5. Share the Wins (and Give Honest Feedback)

Great relationships grow from transparency. Let your agency know what worked, what could be better, and what you’re proud of. Celebrate the small wins along the way: these moments keep morale high and motivation strong.

Also, if you see long-term potential with the agency, don’t keep it a secret. Planning ahead helps your agency allocate the right resources and plan for scalability.

Looking for more insights? Here’s how to get the most out of your agency.

6. Stay Open to Change and Evolving Priorities

Digital products rarely follow a perfectly linear path. New insights, tools, and technologies emerge mid-project, sometimes shifting what’s possible and what makes the most sense to build.

That’s why flexibility matters. Embracing an agile mindset allows your team and the agency to respond to change without losing momentum.

What this looks like in practice:

This doesn’t mean changing direction at every turn. Instead, it’s about staying aligned and responsive to what users actually need, rather than sticking rigidly to a plan that was created at the very beginning.

If you’re interested in how we help teams navigate shifting priorities while staying on track, our Discovery Workshop approach is a great place to start.

Final Thoughts

Great clients don’t just get great work. They help make it happen. With a few intentional habits, you can boost your agency’s efficiency, creativity, and output.

At Cinnamon, we value clients who communicate clearly, engage with purpose, and trust the process. If that sounds like you, let’s build something great together. 

Start here.