The Final Week of the TriMark Solutions April Blog Event continues with Blog 11 of 12: 5 Important Techniques for Effective Client Reporting & Communication.
In order to effectively run any business, you must learn how to properly communicate with your boss, your coworkers, and you day to day consumers. SEO clients are no different. Keeping that in mind, I am here to offer you 5 essential tips which will help your client communication go MUCH smoother.
1. Send Monthly Analytics & Statistics Reports (even if automated) – Simple monthly reports can go a long way. Even if these reports are automated, it still shows clients that you are working for them, and that they are on your mind. To take things a step further, occasionally send reports that ARE NOT AUTOMATED! I know, this may seem like a crazy idea for some, but randomly sending out “check-up” reports is a technique which has proven very successful for TriMark Solutions. We find our clients greatly appreciate us taking even just a few minutes to directly communicate with them about their website increasing traffic, improving bounce rates, or current AdWords Account Budgets.
2. Make Yourself Available – Have you ever tried to call an office and found yourself talking to machine after machine, leaving voicemail after voicemail with no response? Frustrating, right? Don’t put your clients in a position like that. Make yourself available by giving clients a direct line to you (or a company representative, or even just a live person who can relay a message at the very least). Return voicemails, even if the purpose of the call doesn’t seem too important. Taking a few minutes to answer a quick question will show clients that you are there to help them, and aid them with their concerns.
3. Promote Your Company to Them – Now why in the world would you want to promote your company to someone whose business you already have? Simple. To keep it. Send out newsletters, press releases, and updates on new services you may be offering, letting clients know that you are not staying stagnant. Make your clients aware that your company is constantly seeking to improve your day to day processes. Your clients are usually going to be business owners, who are going to be interested in new services that you may be able to offer their company.
4. Cater to the Client! – I’m not going to go so far as saying the customer is always right, because I’m sure we have all had some devilish clients. But it is extremely important that you sometimes go out of your way to please the client. Especially for smaller SEO & Internet Marketing Firms who may be seeking additional client opportunities, word of mouth spreads like wildfire. If you work well with one restaurant, then you may find yourself doing some SEM services for the other few franchises in the city soon. Business owners usually know other business owners, and we have gotten many new client opportunities because an existing client suggested TriMark Solutions to someone else in need of SEO & Internet Marketing Services.
5. If You Ignore Them, They Will Leave – Nothing will make a client leave you faster than failing to communicate frequently and effectively. Sure, there are some business owners who are simply too busy to care, and as long as they have customers in and out of their doors, they are happy. I’ll tell you right now (from experience) that clients like this represent about 3% of all clients, and typically these are the huge clients, which a growing SEO firm may not yet have.
Be courteous to clients. If they come to you with a question or concern, answer it quickly and truthfully. The funny thing about this post is that it can honestly be applied to day to day communication with everyone you encounter. Speaking to clients is just like speaking to anyone else, show respect, answer questions and concerns, and do what you say you’ll do. Follow these steps and you should have no problem dealing with any of your clients, whether you operate a large SEO & Internet Marketing Company, Coldstone Creamery, or anything in between.
We’re almost at the end of our TriMark Solutions April Blogging Event. Check back with us Friday, April 30th for the finale! And be sure to leave your feedback! We really appreciate it.
