Being an SEO agency manager, you will likely know that gaining clients is only one aspect of the game. The other part of the fight is keeping the clients.
One of the most effective methods to make your customers feel they’ve made the right choice in choosing your SEO service? Set expectations early. According to Robert Patin, author of The Agency Blueprint, “Unmet expectations are the source of unhappiness for everyone. Setting expectations for your clients sets them up for a feeling of confidence in the course they work with.”
Here are five suggestions for SEO agencies regarding setting expectations with their customers.
1. Uncover The Reasons Why Former Clients Left
Typical business practice is holding review sessions, also known as post-mortems, to review the things that went well and what could have gone wrong in an individual project to avoid similar pitfalls.
You and your team must create retrospectives each time the client is gone (and retrospectively conduct them whenever required). In each retrospective, you and your team must consider a few elements.
- What were the challenges you faced while working with that client?
- What were the challenges your client encountered while working with you?
- Why the client resigned
Whatever the reasons behind these clients’ exits, be sure to address these in future client onboarding. Let’s say, for instance, the team you work with decides that a client resigned because they believed that the SEO agency was not transparent enough. It is possible to take two steps in the future with clients to enhance transparency by sending them monthly reports and scheduling regular sessions to discuss progress. The future clients you will have will begin working with two goals.
2. Reach A Mutual Understanding About Priorities
It is essential to establish an understanding of goals with all your customers.
If a customer contacts you with a request to be the first on Google for a phrase that’s slightly related to their company, and you’re able to engage in an exchange with them regarding reasons why this isn’t the right approach. Suppose a client asks you to change their website to target particular keywords and asks that you adhere to their style guidelines, which they don’t have formalized in a formal document. In that case, it’s up to you to establish the expectation for them to provide an official style guideline so that you can finish the second part of the task.
Many customers will know what they’re looking for; ultimately, they want your SEO knowledge. They should be given directly to guide them down the correct SEO path.
3. Get Clear On Deadlines And Turnaround Times
Sometimes clients have unrealistic expectations of timelines and turnaround times. They may think it’s possible to create 40 professional blog post posts monthly or overhaul the entire website content within a week.
It’s up to you to let your clients know when they’ll receive their delivery dates. For instance, If they’re looking for 30 blog posts per quarter, you could design an editorial calendar that outlines the deadlines of each blog article. Or, make it clear that they’ll receive ten blog post drafts monthly.
Remember that your client is bound to oblige you to meet the timelines and turnaround dates you have set unless there are exceptional circumstances. If you cannot meet a deadline or turn around time for any reason, notify the client promptly. In some circumstances where you have a retainer client, the client might decide to prioritize one of their projects over one they have already. Clients should be informed when they must notify you if they wish to change their priorities.
4. Show Clients How To Treat Your Time
It’s also essential to set expectations for your customers regarding your availability and that of your team.
If, for instance, you establish an expectation that your organization won’t be able to answer emails or return calls until five p.m. on days off, your customers won’t be irritated if nobody responds to messages they send in the evening. If you don’t disclose to your clients the hours of operation you have when they begin their onboarding, you’re opening the door to a wormhole. Someone might contact you anytime and become annoyed if you fail to respond.
Remember that setting expectations regarding your availability are ineffective if you continually violate your rules. If you tell your customers that they can expect to hear from you within the next business day when they contact your contact information after 5:30 p.m. If you always reply to them late at night, you’re showing your clients that you don’t care about your own limits. And if you’re not concerned regarding your own boundaries, then why should they?
5. Educate Clients On When They Can Expect To See SEO Results
SEO isn’t an industry in which clients will see instant outcomes. It’s the reason it’s essential to remind customers that it could take between four and five months or even longer to see the results.
If your clients realize that SEO involves a long-distance, not an event, it will be easier to build stronger relationships with them. It’s less likely that you’ll be the target of frustration over the absence of quick results. Customers will know that you’re doing everything you can to ensure they get the best results; it’ll take a bit of time until they can see the benefits.
Clients often cannot work with SEO agencies due to uncertainty by providing them with specific expectations and answering their questions throughout. How your goal is to lessen or eliminate these feelings of uncertainty and increase your SEO agency’s retention rate with clients.