Agency-client chemistry: demographic and psychographic influences

During the 1990s there was a significant decline in the length of agency-client partnerships. Effective communication and interpersonal rapport are crucial in the maintenance of successful buyer-seller relationships and this study examines whether these factors influenced the decline. The extent to which an individual might possess these and other traits may be a factor of his or her personality. Client and agency personnel are compared in an attempt to explore possible benefits obtainable from a deeper understanding of each other's personalities. Results indicate that respondents differ significantly, depending on whether they are agency or client personnel, as well as on certain demographic factors such as educational background and gender. Psychographics, it would appear, act as a second-order construct. In other words, demographic compatibility is a necessary pre-condition for psychographic compatibility. Conclusions are drawn, limitations noted and directions for further research outlined.