Ah, it’s the end of the year. It’s that time of year again.
It’s not just you – as an account manager at a digital marketing agency, you should also be aware that your clients do the same thing.
Clients reflect on the past year at the beginning of the new year, almost like a postmortem. They want to know what was good and what could be improved. Your clients will do the same thing as you and use the New Year as an opportunity to improve.
You should try to anticipate what your clients’ resolutions will be. This is not only for you but also for your entire team. Clients are looking to improve in three key areas, regardless of how their previous year was and what they want for the next year.
More Revenue
This is something that seems obvious, but it’s often forgotten. It will dictate a great deal of your strategy for the coming year. Remember that for many businesses, the start of the New Year is the new fiscal year. It can be stressful for businesses if Q4 sales are down compared to last year.
No company wants its size to decrease from the previous year. As an AM, you must understand how much your client is willing to grow. Working with your client, ensure the goal is achievable and then break it into smaller goals according to seasonality.
Prepare yourself, as this will be a top priority for your client in the coming year.
Related: Grow Online Revenue
Lower costs your client wants to reduce the costs to achieve the same amount of revenue (increasing the net profit).
As a partner, you should be aware of this. It’s not just about advertising and other hard costs. To facilitate the discussion and make recommendations, you need to know the total cost the client pays for each customer. Consider what the client pays you as an agent and costs such as advertising, monthly ESP payments, etc. To fully understand this, you must know what the client is paying. This is the way clients tend to view things. It’s important to keep this in mind to ensure you are aligned for 2019.
Planning your 2019 Digital Marketing Budget
Reassurance Measurement and Trackability
It’s been a hot-button topic for the past year or so. If you have read this article and work in the marketing department of an agency, you are aware of some potential overlaps or double reporting.
This means different platforms could take credit for the same purchase or conversion. Facebook Ads might have a larger window, while Google Ads offers seven days, and an ESP like Klaviyo may offer five days. All three may be reporting the same purchase, given that the 5-day window fits within each attribution window. Does that make sense?
What does this mean to you? Your client doesn’t want the world. They just want to be reassured that the tracking and measurements you provide (which they will likely base a large part of their budget upon in the next year) are as accurate as possible. Communicate with your client and let them know what you are doing.
They don’t want to be tracked or measured impossibly, but they want assurances that your equipment will work.
Wrapping up
Like us, our clients have New Year’s resolutions. I want to gain muscle and lose weight. Your client also wants to do the same for their business: lose weight (added costs) and gain muscle (revenue). We both want to be reassured that our data is accurate and moving in the right direction.
To ensure that your account is aligned with these macro-goals for the New Year, you should tie them to the specifics of your account.