Jun '23 (edited) in Client-Facing
More Important Than Account Performance - Client Retention Tip
You might think that performance is the #1 factor in retaining Google Ads clients, but my experience working with 20+ marketing agencies and hundreds of Google Ads accounts has shown me that something else is even more important...
Communication.
Clients love making more money, of course, but will quickly forget about the extra money in the face of uncertainty.
Certainty is one of the 5 primary social motivators in David Rock's SCARF model and if you stop to think about it you can probably think of some situations in which a lack of certainty made you hesitant, and even angry.
There are a few key moments in a client's relationship with you that require intentional communication (other than regular performance reports). The point of the communication is more to give them the certainty of action and progress, and has little to do with sharing every little thing that you're doing.
The first key moment is onboarding & setup.
If a client signs an agreement and then pays you to set up and manage their ad account, they have just taken a risk. They weren't sure whether you were the right choice, but they pulled the trigger and chose you.
If you don't give them some sort of idea about what will happen next, they're proceeding with uncertainty.
If you don't update them about the work you've done every few days, or at least once a week, they'll feel uncertainty.
When they feel uncertain about what you're doing, doubt creeps in as to whether they made the right decision in hiring you.
Your working relationship can be dead in the water a week after you start and it will take months of great performance and communication to establish the tiny trust they initially had.
The easiest way to handle this is to send them a quick overview of your setup process with a basic timeline. This sets basic expectations and prevents them from reaching out after a few days to ask what you're doing.
As you write ad copy, you can win bonus points by sending them the ad copy for approval so they know that you're doing work and that you value their input. It shows that you care enough about their brand's image to check with them that everything aligns.
Many agencies hold a kickoff meeting to discuss strategy, goals, and expectations. This can be a great practice, but can also be handled via email with smaller clients. Calls will increase retention further and build rapport and trust on a deeper level, but communication via email beats no communication at all.
The second key moment is when performance dips.
I've seen a lot of Google Ads reports in my day and sent my fair share. It always sucks to send a report when performance is down.
However, I've worked with plenty of agencies that tried to put a positive spin on the negative results...
This is the wrong approach.
Clients feel the poor performance in their bank accounts and are not fooled by your illusionist distraction techniques. They aren't going to be excited about an increased impression share if conversions are down and cost per conversion is up 35%.
The best way to handle poor performance is to acknowledge it, explain honestly why it happened (if you know), and tell them what you're going to do about it.
It's impossible to have positive growth every single month for years if you're managing your ad account the right way.
Clients don't expect to see performance like that (although they wouldn't mind it). What they do expect is that their Google Ads manager will know how to handle down months in addition to months of growth.
Let them know that you're paying attention, thinking about them, and doing the work to improve their account, and they'll stick with you through a few bad months. (Note, too many bad months will cause them to leave. Results do affect retention.)
The third key moment varies by business, but is marked by either holidays, seasons, or the year's end.
Reaching out to ask about promotions, holiday hours, seasonal themes, or annual strategic planning shows that you care about your client's growth and understand their business.
Google Ads does not operate in a vacuum and is heavily affected by the marketing efforts on other channels.
As a search-first platform, Google Ads will often act as the acquisition channel for the upper-funnel campaigns on other platforms. As such, you'll benefit from knowing what kind of language and imagery they're using on other platforms, as well as when they push certain promos or events, so you can align with their other efforts to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Annual strategy meetings, especially, are a great time to show that you care about your client and that you're being intentional about your approach to Google Ads.
It's also a nice time to remind them of why they chose to work with you by showcasing what you've done over the past year and displaying your strategic prowess with a proposed plan for the new year.
In the end, though, clients just want to be heard, seen, and understood. They want to make more money, yes, but almost anyone running Google Ads could make them money. The real differentiator in value is the care you take in serving them and communicating your intentions and high-level process.
Give them a reason to question your value and they'll start looking for problems. Give them a reason to trust you and they'll keep paying you (and maybe even refer more business).
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More Important Than Account Performance - Client Retention Tip
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