2026 marks Forefront’s 10th anniversary, and to celebrate, we’re sitting down with each of our practice area heads to get the inside scoop on their specialties, new technologies they’re exploring and their take on the B2B marketing landscape’s biggest trends.
In this installment, we go inside our Account Management practice area, speaking with Forefront SVP and Head of Account Management Erin Gifford about what it takes to build lasting client relationships in capital markets and fintech, how her team drives collaboration, and what great client service looks like day to day.
Q: How do you approach building an account strategy for capital markets and B2B fintech clients specifically? What makes it different from other industries?
A: Honestly, I don’t think it’s all that different — it’s all about knowing your audience: firm types, roles, departments and figuring out how to meet your clients’ clients where they are. That’s just good marketing in general. Forefront has built credibility in the capital markets and fintech space through a deep understanding of our clients and their audiences. There is real nuance in this industry. The audiences we’re addressing are highly specialized and experienced in their craft, so we need to meet them at that level. You need to speak the right language and be a subject matter expert, even on the marketing side. Healthcare is a good parallel: it’s highly regulated and filled with true subject-matter experts, so high-level marketing ideas are not enough. To be credible, recommendations need to demonstrate a real understanding of the industry, the audience and the nuances of the subject matter
Q: How do you identify growth or expansion opportunities within an existing account?
A: It always ties back to the client’s business objectives. Our goal is to help them achieve those, and if I see an opportunity to do that — even if it’s outside the scope we currently have in place — I’ll offer it up. They can decide whether or not they want to move forward, but we’re ultimately trying to help them win.
Q: What’s a campaign you’d point to as a strong example of cross-team collaboration done well?
A: I always point to our client CMG as a great example. The Forefront team members staffed on that account work really well together. The account has a rhythm to it — the client has a steady cadence of equity capital markets-focused reports published each quarter, so the team knows the playbook, and we each know what role we need to play. Over time, we each grew into our roles and learned to play to each other’s strengths.
Today, we’ve built out playbooks for the different types of campaigns we run for them, whether it’s a product launch, a recap report or a new content piece, and it works smoothly. Planning ahead lets us be proactive rather than reactive, which is when we perform our best. Through this dynamic, we feel as though we’ve become an extension of the broader CMG team.
Q: What does “great client service” look like day-to-day on your accounts?
A: There are two things I try to keep top of mind. One is that we’re providing a service — marketing and communications — and we need to do that well; we’re the marketing experts, and that expertise has to show.
The other is that this is also a relationship business. I need my clients to trust the team and me, to feel like we’re credible experts, and that takes time to build — there’s no reason for them to trust us automatically. That comes through in how we present on calls, bringing in subject matter experts from across Forefront so clients know we have a deep bench to pull from. It also means being willing to be a little vulnerable — asking “can you explain that to me?” or saying, “I need to do some research and come back to you.” No one can be an expert on every client’s business model from the jump, especially in a niche space like B2B fintech. Knowing what you don’t know matters in this business, and clients appreciate that honesty.
Q: What’s something clients frequently don’t realize we can help with until it comes up?
A: It’s less about a specific service and more about there often being a different or better way to do something. When a client comes to us asking for a specific marketing deliverable, I like to pause and ask what they’re ultimately trying to achieve, then work backward from there. Sometimes that process surprises us — it might lead to a tactic we’ve never tried before, or something we do every day, but for a different reason than expected. Going back to the goal first helps us find the best solution.
Q: How do you keep clients engaged and informed between major deliverables?
A: I’m a big believer in being proactive about telling clients when they can expect something from us — and then delivering on that. When there’s a lull and not much to report on, I like to keep an eye on the news and what competitors are doing, so I can reach out to say, ‘I saw this and thought of you,’ or share an interesting data point. Clients appreciate that we’re not always asking them for something or asking them to review something — sometimes we’re just sharing knowledge. It’s a small thing, but it goes a long way as a touchpoint.
Thank you to Erin for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the Account Management practice area. Stay tuned for more conversations with Forefront leadership as our practice area highlight series continues!