One of the main reasons for churn in a digital marketing agency is the lack of alignment between the client's objective and the results achieved. Even with a detailed commercial briefing, a well-structured onboarding and a deep immersion in the client, it is essential that the agency has documented the client's expectations .
According to Resultados Digitais' 2024 Marketing and Sales Outlook, 74% of companies fell short of their sales targets last year. This data is directly linked to the main reason why companies seek good marketing strategies. However, it is not possible to simply assume that this is the goal; more context is needed.
The cooperative relationship between agency and client is crucial to the success of any project. One of the pillars of this successful partnership is efficient strategic planning combined with the expectations of both parties. Without this solid foundation, even the most brilliant strategies can get lost amid misunderstandings and frustrations.
This blog post explores the importance of this alignment, focusing on how to establish clear objectives, deeply understand the client and define KPIs from the beginning, thus ensuring the health of the project and the delivery of consistent results.
How to do this alignment ?
Still onboarding . Yes, even though your architects email lists uk sales briefing has raised all the client's objectives, after the sale it is common for expectations to be higher than the initial goal.
Therefore, whether through a form or a conversation, alignment is essential. And to do this, you can ask questions such as:
What result do you expect when hiring our services?
What is a bad agency experience for you?
What are your expectations for the agency in the next three months?
They will help you better understand the scenario designed by the client. However, we are talking about alignment, so it is essential that you give them feedback on what is possible to achieve and what the timeframe or actions required to achieve this will be.
But expectations cannot be dreams.
The first step to a successful agency-client relationship is to clearly and concisely define the project objectives . It’s not enough to simply want to “increase sales” or “improve brand awareness.” You need to go further by translating these broad desires into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound ( SMART ) goals.
Specific: The goal should be clear and precise, without ambiguity. Instead of “increase website traffic,” define “increase organic website traffic by 20% in the next three months.”
Measurable : It should be possible to quantify progress toward the goal. Using metrics such as number of visitors, conversion rate, and return on investment (ROI) allows you to track the performance of the strategy.
Achievable: The goal should be realistic and achievable, considering available resources and market conditions. Ambitious goals are important, but they should be based on data and analysis.
Relevant: The objective must be relevant to the client's business and contribute to achieving their strategic goals. Increasing the number of followers on a social network that is irrelevant to the target audience, for example, will not yield significant results.
Time-bound: Setting a deadline for achieving the goal creates a sense of urgency and makes it easier to track progress.
This initial clarity minimizes the risk of deviations from the course and allows the agency to develop a more strategic schedule and planning.
The Role of Strategic Planning in Customer Success
Aligning expectations is not just a preventive measure for the agency. It should guide the client’s strategic planning .
This is because customer success comes from the balance of three important points: the time it takes to execute an action, its importance to the project and the deadline for its delivery. If these three points are aligned, there will hardly be any problems in the relationship with the customer.
Delivery schedule and flexibility
A well-defined delivery schedule is essential to keep the project organized and ensure that activities are completed within the stipulated timeframe. However, it is important that this schedule is flexible enough to adapt to market dynamics and changing customer needs.
Clear steps: Dividing the project into smaller steps, with specific deadlines and deliverables, makes it easier to monitor progress and allows you to identify bottlenecks and delays.
Follow-up meetings: Holding regular follow-up meetings with the client allows you to discuss the progress of the project, present partial results and adjust the schedule if necessary.
Flexibility and adaptation: The digital marketing market is dynamic and unpredictable. The agency must be prepared to adapt to changes and adjust the strategy as necessary, keeping the client informed about the changes and their impact on the project.