Working in the world of PPC and Paid Social driving positive results doesn’t happen overnight – it is down to constant optimisation and strong strategic plan. None of which happens without a strong and healthy relationship with the client.
Here are my top tips to help develop a strong and healthy client relationship
1. Build The Relationship From Day Minus 1
In agency life, you shouldn’t start building the relationship from Day 1 – if you do, you are already weeks behind. Most brands will have a transitioning period where they are serving notice to their current agency before moving across to a new one. This is the perfect time to start the relationship, as performance isn’t in your control just yet.
Use this time to really immerse yourself with the client and their business. This should include understanding what they care about. Is it simply just ROAS or CPL, or do they have any other internal metric their boss judges them on. This will allow you to ensure you are providing value within the first report/meeting but also makes the client feel you are aligned with them. If you are both ‘singing off the same hymn sheet’ this makes later discussion more productive.
Use this time to fully understand the business – can you listen to any sales calls, or even spend a day working in their office/store. Although this may seem pointless to you, clients really appreciate someone who is passionate about their brand, but you can also pick up those golden nuggets of information you wouldn’t get over email. Being exposed to the inner workings of the brand will provide you with further information you can take into your PPC/Paid Social campaigns, rather than just optimising a target based on numbers.
2. Proactive Communications
Silence causes anxiety! Never just communicate by sending a report and talking in your regular meetings. Clients love and value a message out the blue, but also helps them establish trust within you. If they don’t hear from you during the week, they start to think you aren’t doing anything on their account, causing a breakdown in trust.
These random messages don’t have to be a full report on something, it can be a simple couple of lines.
Here are my favourite updates I like to share with my clients:
- “Campaign X has had a strong start since launching on Monday with CPA 20% cheaper – will provide a full update in our meeting”
- “We have noticed a drop-in online conv rate, has there been any changes to your landing pages?”
- “I have just seen this article in the news, does this impact your business and is there any immediate actions you require me to take”
- “Google has released a new update on the account this week, one that I think will have a really positive impact on our campaigns. Here is how it would work…. I am happy to discuss this in our next meeting with you”
All of these shows the client not only do I care about their business and involved in the account, but it also starts to set expectations for the report/meeting. This means when we discuss performance, there is no surprise.
3. Face-To-Face Time Is Invaluable
Seeing your client in person is by far a powerful weapon in building a strong relationship. I aim to meet my clients in-person once every 2 or 3 months. Why? Clients really prefer meeting the person looking after their digital marketing. It can help cement the relationship you have built, but also some things are better discussed in person rather than virtually (e.g., strategy).
I also strongly recommend tying in a lunch – I have never heard someone turn a free lunch down, but this also give you the opportunity to show them you care, and also get to know them on a more personal level – aiding that relationship.
4. Being Honest
Honesty is the key to having a healthy client relationship. Whether that be honesty about performance, honesty about where they should invest additional budget, or honesty about mistakes.
Having that honest and open conversation about performance when things aren’t going too well helps build the relationship. Instead of just fobbing them off and making excuses for the poor performance, come to the conversation with the ‘What, Why and Next’ – What’s happened, why has it happened and the next steps. Clients don’t expect perfection, but they expect ownership and a path forward.
Clients will also appreciate honesty about budget allocation. If they want to push budget into a certain area, but you are seeing it being unprofitable, be honest with them about it. It will make you seem more of a strategic partner rather than a pen pusher – just remember to back yourself up with data.
For example, letting your client know their dinner didn’t quite turn out as well as they’d hoped at the cooking class you did together:
5. Ask Them How They Are Finding Things
One of the most under-utilised tools is to just ask them how they are finding things. It can sometimes be challenging to fully know and understand whether the client is really happy, or they just don’t want to be a horrible to you.
This is especially important when starting a new client relationship! With a new client, I suggest asking them how they are finding things after month of working together. This lets you know exactly how they are feeling, and will also give you any areas they would like to see differently. As long as you action the feedback, this will almost always help strengthen that relationship.
I hope you enjoyed hearing about my top 5 practical tips to ensure you are driving a strong, professional relationship agency/client relationship from Day 1 and throughout the time you work together. Hopefully you found this useful and gives you some ideas you can implement in your day-to-day role, and if there is any questions you may have, or would like some more information, please do feel free to reach out.