Convincing certain business owners a decade ago that digital marketing was essential was far more difficult than today. The search engines have truly taken over a number of industries. Ranking at the top of shopping results can generate thousands of sales for a particular vendor.
The education of clients can make them much easier to deal with throughout a business partnership. A clueless client could expect impossible results for their budget. Others think that digital marketing could be a one-time investment rather than something that needs to be done consistently. Clients that understand digital marketing to a point will comprehend changes in campaigns to maximize their results. Others that do not understand digital marketing in the slightest might want to stick to a strategy that is generating lackluster results.
Managing expectations of a client from the sales process to client management is important. Promising the world then under delivering could tarnish a relationship permanently. Showing previous results that have been garnered for clients over time in a similar industry is important. Industries differ in how competitive the digital marketing landscape is which depends on a number of variables. Below are ways to teach clients about the importance of digital marketing.
Education Starts With The Company Blog
The company blog should be full of resources that are specific to industries a digital marketing agency serves. There are those agencies that specialize in tech or software promotion while others could specialize in growing the presence of dental practices online. Most agencies have a variety of clients that span a number of different industries. Creating content that is specific to desired client niches or current client niches can provide incredible educational opportunities for clients. Sending out the top content from the blog to customers should be done in a unique way. The email blasts should be categorized so only blog posts relevant to the client are shared.
Written content is not the only type of content that should be produced. Podcasting can be the perfect opportunity to create an in-depth piece of content at a reasonable price. Answering common client questions can be a great way to create engagement with clients.
Creating Courses
An agency is not going to require a new client to go through intensive training before entering a business agreement. Educational courses that have quizzes to test knowledge can be great to grow a client’s knowledge. A law firm’s marketing team could need help with outreach which makes it important to educate them on the process. Email outreach tends to work well when emails are customized and there is an offer of something of value. A law firm might want to spread the word on a class action lawsuit they are a part of. Guides on how to migrate a website’s URL without losing all of the marketing work that has been done. An agency that has web designers and SEO professionals can help with this immensely as hiring a freelance designer doesn’t guarantee a background in SEO.
Showing Results Matters
Showing a massive amount of results that are hard to translate will not convince a client to sign a contract. Translating these results in the most simple terms possible is important. Too many subpar marketing agencies try to use complicated terms if they are not generating the desired results of a client. Easy to view graphics that show the increase in online sales or leads is often all a client wants to see. They could care less about traffic levels if their lead numbers are skyrocketing after not garnering any organic online leads/sales in the past.
Teaching clients should be a focus for digital marketing companies. Clients that truly understand the value of work that your agency is doing are likely to continue to work with you for years. Less educated clients will opt for another agency that is promising unrealistic results in a matter of weeks.