5 Struggles Digital Marketing Agencies Face

We don't believe there is such thing as a "bad client." We won't deny that clients can be challenging, but they're never bad. However, at points, working with clients can be frustrating for digital marketers. It's human nature to not get along with everyone you meet. When it comes down to discussing finances or a business, emotions can run high and tempers can flair. Digital marketing agencies are guaranteed to come across a confrontational or extremely picky client at some point in the life of the company. It's up to your team to make the best of a sticky situation. The important thing is to never let your personal opinions about clients get in the way of doing great work. You might not be their best friend, but you are their digital agency and you have a deal to uphold. We understand how frustrating it can be to learn to speak with multiple clients at a time. You need to learn their brand, understand them as people to form a relationship, know answers to their questions, discuss topics that might be uncomfortable (revisions, payment, behavior, etc), and more. Try to keep a positive mindset and remember that digital marketers work to bring businesses success. No one is asking you to go to the movies with Mr. Smith from Client A, so if there's an issue, resolve it professionally to maintain a good working relationship. Here are some specific client behaviors or characteristics that you might cross paths with:

• The Over Communicative Client: They email or call the account manager all the time asking questions, making comments, etc. These clients can eat up a lot of time that your team should be allocating elsewhere. Make sure to set communication expectations upfront and distance yourself from them in necessary to get other tasks finished.
• The Ghost: On the other end of the spectrum we have the ghost client. They're here one day, and gone the next. These clients go MIA and won't respond to any of your calls or emails. Sometimes this happens because the client is busy, but if it becomes a habit, be sure to let them know that it's difficult to get any work done without approval or authorization.
• The Nit Picker: This client goes through everything with a fine tooth comb. While this is completely within their rights as a client, many don't realize the strain it places on the team. Revisions take time away from other tasks and cause delays on both that client's account and others. When you come across a nit picker, try to get your team to identify what they are picky about and jot down a running list of comments or revisions they've made. With any luck, your team will identify the underlying issue and be able to adapt content and services accordingly.
• The Saboteur: This is by far the worst client to come across. Typically, these are people who didn't particularly want a digital marketing agency in the first place. According to several sources, saboteurs tend to be someone who's job the digital agency is "stealing." Keep an eye out for saboteurs and don't let them get away with speaking negatively about you to other members of their company.

Digital marketing is a fast-paced job. Not only are trends changing all the time, but the very platforms we use are too. Existing platforms update regularly, and occasionally, a brand new platform comes out and blows everyone away (we're looking at you Tik Tok). Digital marketers need to constantly learn in order to keep up with these changes. As you would imagine, that can be a pretty difficult thing to do. Just when you master a platform, it updates to something completely different. To be fair, most platforms will either a) give a warning before major changes are made or b) only introduce small updates at a time. There have been plenty of instances in which we need to re-learn a platform. Luckily, digital marketers are resilient and we tend to learn on our feet. Google Analytics wants to change everything? Great! Give us an extra hour and we'll get all the accounts back up and running again. We love figuring things out, and we secretly enjoy watching platforms evolve before our eyes. However, it is still a struggle that can cost your team valuable time. Train your digital marketers to expected the unexpected and you'll be navigating platform updates like pros. Pro tip: always check on ad and content policies. There's nothing worse than missing an update and accidently violating a new rule. Suspended accounts are never fun.

For all-around digital agencies, lead generation can be one of the hardest goals to hit. This is a universal struggle digital marketers face, and no one has been able to crack the code quite yet. Some industries are easier to generate leads for than others. Retail brands, restaurants, etc. all seem to be well-received, but luxury brands, health companies, or any other personal service business tend to struggle. Consumers do not like to give out private information on the internet, particularly if it's linked to a potentially embarrassing topic (a weight loss seminar, counseling, etc.) Digital marketing agencies need to be clever and target the right group of people. B2C leads are almost always easier to come by than B2B leads because B2B deals are typically far more expensive. A consumer will happily sign up for a newsletter about a new clothing brand, but businesses will be wary about giving any information to a company trying to sell million-dollar software systems. Make sure you identify the target market before launching any campaign, and do your research into each platform. Facebook can show good results for B2C, but businesses aren't going on Facebook to look for partners. B2B companies should look at LinkedIn, drip marketing, personal message pitches, etc. Google is always a great option to test out. When it comes to lead generation, make sure to test out all the avenues you can think of. Don't be afraid to look at other agencies who have seen success and try their methods. Most importantly, talk to the client about the struggles you might face but assure them that you will not rest until leads are flowing in!