Patience Hurlburt-LawtonAs a paid media manager, you spend a lot of time working directly with your clients.
From navigating the initial discovery call and guiding them through the onboarding process to managing regular meetings and performance check-ins, every client interaction is a chance to build and maintain trust—which ultimately helps you grow your agency.
In a recent series of short videos posted on our YouTube channel, Solutions 8 Account Manager Tressy Dsouza addresses key questions and provides valuable insight to help you master client management. You can click on the links below to watch the individual videos, or read on for a brief overview of her answers.
What is your approach to onboarding new clients and establishing clear expectations from the start?
Tressy prefers to kick things off with a discovery call, during which she will learn about the client’s expectations with regard to performance/business goals and what success “looks like” to that particular client. This helps her to get a feel for the client’s personality and how hands-on (or not) they prefer to be, which will ultimately help to steer the communication going forward. Finally, she says it is important to set realistic expectations based on what she has heard and understood from the client during the call.
How do you tailor your communication style to different client personalities and technical knowledge levels?
Because every client will have a different communication style and knowledge level, Tressy recommends matching their energy and personality style from the start to ensure a mutually beneficial rapport throughout the relationship. For example, you may have a client who enjoys engaging in small talk, while another may prefer to get straight down to business.
When discussing account performance, if the client is very hands-on and understands the specifics of paid advertising, you will likely provide a very high-level report with a lot of data. On the other hand, if the client prefers just a quick update or overview, you can focus primarily on topline metrics.
When clients are dissatisfied with their results, what steps do you take to rebuild trust and realign expectations?
The most important thing is to listen to what the client has to say and understand where they are coming from before jumping in to try to fix things or provide an explanation.
Next, Tressy likes to zoom out and look at the overall picture to try to determine what is happening and if there is merit to what the client is saying. Remind the client that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy with Google Ads, and assure them that you are making the necessary changes to keep the performance on track with their goals.
Oftentimes, something may look like it is not working but it is just a short-term blip. At that point, Tressy recommends reviewing all of the business data and long-term trends instead of focusing specifically on that one time period.
You can often make smaller changes—as opposed to large-scale modifications—that have a positive impact on the account and provide measurable results for the client to see. This helps to maintain the balance between keeping the client happy while at the same time allowing the account to continue learning.
How frequently do you interact with clients, and how do you determine the right cadence for each relationship?
This goes back to the initial kickoff call, which should provide a guideline for how (and how often) a client expects to hear from you. Do they prefer email or phone calls? Do they feel comfortable talking every week, every two weeks, once a month? The answer will be specific to each client, so it is important to pay attention to their preferences and plan your communication schedule accordingly—keeping in mind that it may change over time as the client relationship evolves.
How do you balance being responsive to client requests while still maintaining boundaries around your time and availability?
For Tressy, working in a different time zone than many of her clients has taught her the value of setting healthy boundaries. She is clear about her working hours and lets clients know she will respond to any issues within that time. If a request or concern comes outside of working hours that is not urgent, she does her best to acknowledge the request and lets them know she is looking into the issue.
What tools do you find most effective for keeping clients informed about their campaign progress?
Tressy likes to use Google Looker Studio for reporting because it breaks down really complex data into easily digestible tables for her clients to understand. In addition, she uses email, Slack, and Loom videos to quickly and easily share key information with her clients.
How do you approach difficult conversations, for example about budget increases or strategy pivots, when current approaches are not working?
Tressy says that she will always let the client know what steps she recommends and why she believes they are important. From there, she allows them to decide whether or not they want to move forward.
While she avoids being overly pushy, Tressy says she will frequently check back with clients to see if they have reconsidered and remind them about the reasons behind her recommendations and the positive impact she believes they will have on the account. “Because I think in the beginning, the client is a bit hesitant. But when they have time to think about it, they often agree—so letting them know is the most important thing,” she explains.
