Delays Can Cost You $1000s: Why Delayed Communication Can Be Detrimental to the Launch of Your Marketing Campaign
As a digital marketing agency, we run into issues with client communication quite a bit. Our clients receive a variety of communication from us from email to calls to texts. Sometimes, it can be almost impossible to reach a client. Today, we want to discuss why delaying communication to your digital marketing agency can cost you $1000s and delay the launch of your account.
We may not have access to the platforms we need.
We work heavily in social media marketing. To do so, we need access to your platforms! Many clients have come to BusySeed with exiting social media accounts. We don't want to lose the followers and engagements you've already received, so we like to use that account to post content and run ads. As you know, social media accounts require a username and password. We'll need to get that information from you so that we can log in and get you set up. During onboarding, your client success manager will ask for all social media credentials, and it's up to you to supply them to us. If you're a new business and we are building accounts from scratch, your job is easier, but we still need your help. More often than not, social media platforms require a verification code both when setting up a new account or when adding a new device/user. It's safe to assume that you will receive a text or email with a code that your digital marketing agency needs to have access to your accounts. These codes usually expire after so many minutes or hours, so timely responses are necessary. If we can't get a hold of you relatively quickly, the code will be invalid and we'll have to send it again. We've had clients take an extremely long time to get back to us, and we hate to see work halted on your account because we can't get into your social media pages.
We need approval before we post, otherwise we could misrepresent your brand unknowingly.
We can't speak for all digital marketing agencies, but BusySeed places a very high priority on getting your branding just right. Because of this, we ask clients to approve posts, ads, websites, blogs, and other content prior to us posting them. By having clients be part of the process, we can avoid sending out any content that does not accurately represent the brand. Some companies even have legal regulations to follow, and we certainly don't want to cause any issues with that. The onboarding process requires much more client approval than normal months of service. Onboarding is when our team is still getting to know you and your company, so we want to be extra careful to meet your expectations. If your client success manager sends you emails requesting approval or revisions on x,y, and z, we won't push the content through until we hear back. The first approvals really help us to figure out if we're on the right track with your branding. We need clients to communicate back to us before we feel comfortable posting anything. Once you are fully onboarded, we can set up auto-approval after not hearing back in x days, but in the beginning, we want written or verbal approval. As your contract progresses, client communication will lessen significantly, we promise!
Onboarding has a set timeline so that we can get everything done. Client communication issues throw that all off.
Something that is important to keep in mind is that digital marketing agencies have multiple clients at once. In order to get the job done for all of them (and do it well), we need to stick to a timeline that we've created internally. If we suddenly cannot reach you to talk about the next steps in the onboarding process, a wrench is thrown into the timeline. The success of your business is extremely important to us. We want to start helping your brand grow as quickly as we can. Unfortunately, we can't do that without your help. Every agency will have a different timeline based on a lot of factors including number of team members, number of accounts, the services you have on your package, and how big your account is. At BusySeed, we build out a timeline for you that reflects our ideal situation. As we said, we require your assistance to stick to that schedule. The sooner we hear back from you with answers, approvals, or revisions, the sooner we can go to the next step and keep the ball rolling. Social media marketing is a breeze once things get going, we just need to get over the hill!
Any time spent on revisions or answering questions is time taken from actual work.
This is something that we try to remind heavy-communication clients of, particularly during the onboarding process. Client communication is a very important part of the job, but there can be too much of a good thing. We understand that new clients have questions about how our processes work, what they can expect, etc. We have absolutely no problem answering those for you. However, before you ask your digital marketing agency a question, take a look to see if it's answered in any of the documents you received when you signed on. For us, we have a FAQ page on our website that clients can refer back to as much as they'd like. We update it frequently to answer some of the questions we've gotten repeatedly. If you have a question for your agency, check to make sure you can't find the answer before you ask it. We will certainly answer it over the phone or via email, but any time spent answering questions that are answered elsewhere is time we can't spend performing actual work for your account. The same principle applies with revision requests. We will revise content a million times until you're happy with it, but the time our team spends to tweak small issues is time they cannot spend on creating new content. To get the most bang for your buck, only ask questions if you can't find it answered elsewhere, and avoid getting stuck on revisions.
Helpful tips to improve agency/client communication.
- Make it clear to the agency how you are most easily reached (phone, text, email, etc.)
- Ask for structured communication times such as weekly or bi-weekly meetings
- Create a list of credentials and send it to the agency ASAP so they don't have to request it
- If one form of communication is not working out, request to switch. For example, if you are struggling to keep up with emails, ask for texts or phone meetings.
- Don't panic at the amount of communication you'll receive during the onboarding process; it's only to get you started, then it will stabilize
- Consider giving your digital marketing agency multiple points of contact so that if one doesn't have time to answer, someone else can
- Please be patient with our requests during the first few weeks. We are working very hard to get everything right for you. We'd much rather understand your brand and goals at the beginning that try to do so later on.
- Social media marketing requires your help more than other forms of digital marketing. If you have social media on your package, expect to get some verification codes!
- Don't be afraid to ask questions, but see if you can find the answer for yourself first
- Respect that the team is working as fast as they can on your account. No digital agency will let an account sit around without someone working on it, we promise!
- Be as clear as possible in communications about things you like, things you don't like, what you expect, what you want to avoid, etc. We want your genuine feedback about the work we do. Giving details as to why you do or don't like something can go a long way in helping us understand what you're looking for.
We hope this blog has helped you to understand why timely client communication is key. If you are going to be working with a digital marketing agency soon, get things ready so that you're not scrambling later. Communication issues in the beginning can cause tension in the agency-client relationship, and we don't want that! We are so appreciative of every new client that trusts us with their brand, and we want to get them results as soon as we can. With responsiveness from clients like you, we can get you up and running in no time! To get started with the process, call our Business Developers at (888) 353-1484. We can get you a proposal for a package custom-designed for you! We look forward to helping you grow your business.
