Patience Hurlburt-LawtonWhat is the most important lesson we have learned after nearly two decades of running a successful digital marketing agency? Client relationships can make or break your business.
No matter how good you are at the technical side of things, if your clients are unhappy at the end of the day, your business will fail. We know this because we learned the hard way—by making mistake after mistake until we began to see patterns emerge. And from those patterns, we learned that there is a right way and a wrong way to manage relationships with the people who trust you to help their businesses thrive.
Of course, the right way is not always the easy way. But if you truly want to cultivate strong client relationships that can withstand the ups and downs of a continually evolving digital landscape, keep reading. The following is a list of 13 common (and a few not-so-common) mistakes we call “relationship killers” plus tips on how to avoid them.
#1: Failing in the first month
The first month of any new relationship is critical. In addition to learning everything you can about your client’s goals and expectations, this is when you will establish the power dynamic that will set the tone for the extent of the relationship. If you fail to establish yourself as the strategic leader early on, you may spend the rest of the relationship battling for control or being held accountable for poor performance stemming from actions taken by the client.
#2: Keeping clients in the dark
This is not always intentional, but it likely happens more than you think. Picture yourself as a mechanic working diligently under the hood while a vehicle owner waits anxiously to hear what the problem is and how much it is going to cost. The more time that goes by that they don’t hear from you, the more anxious they may get. It could be that everything is going smoothly and performance is on track, or maybe you had to implement a change to get better results. The only way your client knows is if you communicate with them consistently.
#3: Falling into the metrics trap
This mistake occurs most often with PPC campaign management, though it can also happen with email, SEO, and other marketing channels for which tracking and measuring performance is critical. In a nutshell, focusing on the wrong metrics can create a false sense of success among clients that eventually crashes when performance falters or lead quality plummets. It is up to the strategy team to help the client understand from the start which metrics actually provide an accurate measure of performance and where they should be looking to find them.
#4: Avoiding accountability
Always begin your relationship with a client by setting realistic expectations about your abilities and what you believe you can accomplish. Avoid making grand promises and instead focus on your skills and proven track record. If you do make a mistake, acknowledge it immediately and be prepared with possible solutions. Just as important, make sure the client knows they have an equal responsibility for the things that are specifically within their control, such as reevaluating an inefficient sales process that may be affecting performance.
#5: Ignoring personality differences
Ignoring client personality differences and failing to adapt your communication style to their individual needs creates friction and can easily turn small problems into relationship-ending catastrophes. Avoid taking a cookie-cutter approach to client management and instead take the time to learn about unique personalities and preferences. That way, you can add more check-ins for clients who want to be more involved and scale back the updates for those who prefer a more hands-off approach.
#6: Tolerating one-way fairness
Even if you are just starting out as an agency, always demand the same level of fairness and integrity from your clients that you provide to them. When fairness only flows in one direction (from agency to client) it creates a toxic dynamic wherein clients feel like they have permission to mistreat you or make unreasonable demands. There will always be clients that are challenging to work with, but you owe it to yourself and to your team to demand fair treatment. If you tolerate one-way fairness in an effort to avoid conflict, that client relationship is doomed to fail.
#7: Overpromising to clients
Making false promises is the quickest way to destroy trust and end a client relationship before it even begins. Never sell a service you either don’t know how to do or are not qualified to deliver. There is no “winging it” when it comes to the livelihood of your clients, so know when to say no if they ask for something you can’t provide. Being truthful to yourself and to your clients guarantees that you will always be able to answer those tough technical questions when they come up. You will also have the confidence to challenge clients when you know they are wrong.
#8: Failing to build trust
Trust is the foundation of every successful client relationship—but it isn’t something clients are going to give you on day one. Trust is earned through every interaction, every returned call, and every hard conversation. Failing to show that you genuinely care about their business success can kill a relationship before it has time to mature. To build trust, take the time to understand their goals and expectations, do your best to match their energy level, and always be proactive with insights and recommendations.
#9: Keeping quiet about client limitations
Clients often have grand expectations that are limited by their own business model or by a lack of internal capabilities (for example, inadequacies within their sales team). It is up to the agency to identify those limitations and let the client know that the responsibility lies with them to fix the issue. In contrast, when you ignore those limitations and continue to fight an uphill battle instead of telling the client what they can realistically expect in terms of performance, you are setting yourself up to be blamed for poor results later on.
#10: Enabling blame deflection
When performance is not meeting expectations, some clients will immediately put the blame on the agency. Allowing clients to act this way and use you as a scapegoat whenever something goes wrong creates a relationship that is more adversarial than collaborative. The best solution is to flip the script and redirect their “do better” demands into actionable strategies. Explain the steps you have taken and ask what they would recommend. More often than not, the solution is one that only the client can provide, such as making sure their sales team is equipped to handle an influx of high-quality leads.
#11: Focusing on the short term
Businesses grow. Products and services evolve. And consumer behavior and market demand change continually. That means any successful marketing strategy must focus on long-term business outcomes in order to stay relevant and maximize performance. This is especially true when you are working with companies whose products have longer sales cycles; it is important to pay attention to conversion patterns and fluctuations in lead quality over time. Pro tip: Access to the client’s CRM is indispensable because it allows for real-time monitoring and adjusting.
#12: Not setting clear boundaries
For newer agencies especially, there is a tendency to want to make yourself available to your clients around the clock or drop what you are doing whenever they have a request. We’re here to tell you there is no quicker road to burnout, frustration, and relationship destruction. Setting boundaries early is the key to any healthy relationship, and it reminds clients that your time is just as valuable as theirs. While consistent communication is important, it is perfectly acceptable to respond to a client by letting them know you have seen their request and will look into it and get back to them at your earliest convenience.
#13: Pretending to know the answer
When it comes to building strong relationships with your clients, “fake it ’til you make it” is never the way to go. If a client has a question or concern and you don’t know the answer, resist the urge to provide a potentially inaccurate reply just because you feel pressured to respond. Doing so will destroy your credibility and topple the trust you have worked so hard to build. Instead, be honest and let them know you will get back to them with an answer once you have had time to properly research the problem—and always, always follow up when you say you will.
The takeaway
Whether you are a solo marketer or an agency owner, how you treat your clients—and how you let them treat you in return—will play a pivotal role in your success. By avoiding the mistakes laid out above and incorporating our best practices into your everyday interactions, you will be well on your way to building strong, long-lasting client relationships and enjoying the success that comes as a result.
