How We Work with Clients

Focused on Client Needs

We are a full-service counseling and direct-service firm. Because of our unusual ability to tailor a multidisciplinary approach to organizational advancement and critical communication, we are able to provide clients with all of the counseling and implementation services needed for a particular program or project. Because of our operational approach, however, we also are able to service our clients at lower costs and, thereby, to devote the larger part of the client’s budget resources to programmatic activities intended to help realize the project goal and achieve a positive, beneficial result for the organization.

Trident Communications Group | How We Work With Clients

Dedicated To Quality Service

With a focus on client need and a dedication to quality service and positive results, TCG counselors are mature, accomplished advancement practitioners with many years of service in the development of public understanding and support for a wide variety of nonprofit, charitable, corporate, trade, and public-interest organizations and causes.

We take a multidisciplinary, flexible, team approach to the service of clients. We believe firmly in the value of presenting them with a variety of creative, interrelated options and effective solutions for any project, campaign or challenge.

For nonprofit organizations, those options and solutions will be intended to stimulate greater public awareness, understanding and contributed support of mission and programs, as well as to increase and retain market or constituency share. In every case, they also will respect budget and deadline and help to build sustainable constituent loyalty.

A Foundation of Mutual Expectations

TCG’s approach to the service of clients is one of team-based collegiality, collaboration and cooperation. Our operational philosophy is informed by our determination to make the client’s goals and priorities our own. Our relationship with clients is built on a foundation of reasonable, mutual expectations.

In order for TCG’s focus on client needs and its dedication to quality service to have real value, we pledge our efforts to meet and exceed what each client is entitled to expect of TCG. At the same time, for our services to be fully effective and to have real value, we ask each of our clients to meet and even exceed what TCG needs and expects of the client.

What Each Client Is Entitled to Expect of TCG:

that our service proposal will clearly outline in advance all of the work we intend to complete for the organization, as well as the fees associated with that work, with no surprises following execution of a service contract;
that we will fulfill all of our contractual obligations to the client organization according to the service contract and agreed fee schedule;
that we will suggest and provide only those services the client organization truly needs and, thereby, help keep project expenses within established budgets;
that we will fully respect the mission, traditions, history, culture and accomplishments of the client organization;
that our counselors will work closely, respectfully and collegially with the client organization’s governing board, staff, volunteers and other involved constituents;
that we will seek every opportunity and make every effort to represent and present the client organization in a positive manner to its various constituencies;
that we will maintain and follow the agreed schedule for on-site service and be available by telephone, digital conferencing and email at other times;
that we will respect and maintain all project and program deadlines;
that we will provide services according to the standards for ethical practice prescribed by the professional associations to which we belong or whose practice standards and guidelines we accept and follow;
that we will treat the client organization’s project, strategic, human-resources and financial information, constituent files and related data with respect and the utmost confidentiality;
that we will help the client organization to integrate all of its advancement resources in a way that leads to effective constituent relationship management (CRM) and a successful advancement/philanthropy program;
that we will make the client organization’s goals our goals and always strive to guide and assist the organization toward a successful project outcome;
that we will provide the client organization with no less than our best efforts and render to the client advancement counsel and direct services of the highest quality.

What TCG Needs & Expects from the Client:

that the leadership of the organization will consider carefully and agree on the need for and advantages of outside advancement counsel and services before retaining us, as well as the importance of the organization’s full commitment to interacting appropriately with us on its own behalf;
that the leadership, staff and volunteers of the organization will “be on the same page with us” and work collaboratively with us in advancing its own strategic interests in the various areas related to constituency relationship management (CRM) and other components of institutional advancement;
that the organization’s governing board and senior staff will freely entrust us with access to and knowledge of the necessary and appropriate areas of confidential information and data that relate to strategic planning and the advancement process;
that the governing board and senior staff will be frank and forthright with us in discussions of the organization’s past history and current situation, including internal conflicts at the governance or senior management levels, financial challenges and shortcomings, critical human-resources issues, negative community perceptions and media coverage, fundraising successes and failures, service-delivery problems, and other such strategic matters;
that no one associated with the organization will ask or expect us to do anything that might even be misconstrued as illegal or in contradiction to the accepted codes of professional practice ethics to which we have sworn ourselves;
that all levels of the organization will make the advancement process a top priority and cooperate with us in implementing critical plans and meeting mutually accepted project and program deadlines;
that the organization will enable us to help it realize success in its advancement endeavors by providing us with the internal resources needed for complete and effective implementation of mutually planned and agreed initiatives;
that the leadership and senior management will fulfill all of the organization’s obligations under its service contract with us, including the timely processing and payment of all invoices for services rendered.