Unfortunately, you’re not always going to meet client expectations or deliver exactly what they had in mind. Read on to find out what to do if your client isn’t happy with your current marketing services.
Marketing is a large umbrella term for a variety of services, from digital marketing to PR, SEO, and social media. So, to try to hit the nail on the head every time, while running a marketing agency, is a particularly hard thing to do.
Despite what we’d like to think, no one is perfect and there is always room for improvement. Sometimes, learning from past mistakes and putting your best foot forward is the only thing you can do to avoid a contract dispute.
In this article, we’ll discuss some simple steps to follow if your client isn’t happy with the services you’re providing. This way, you can avoid having to get a commercial litigation solicitor involved. Let’s begin…
Address the Problem Straight Away
Our first piece of advice is to address the problem with your client head-on. For the most part, clients will tell you when they’re not happy with your services, but it shouldn’t be down to them to raise concerns.
As soon as you have an inkling that your client doesn’t approve of a particular piece of work, call them, and arrange to talk through possible solutions. Be proactive in your communication and don’t shy away from the problem.
Try to Arrange Regular Meetings
This top tip might seem fairly obvious, but you’d be surprised how many agencies have never met their clients. To fully understand a client, their goals, aspirations, and culture, it’s imperative to keep in touch and stay up to update on the business successes and downfalls.
Regular meetings will ensure that everyone who is involved in the implementation of marketing campaigns, fully understands the clientele and the brief. Often, goals change, and projects may not go as planned, so maintaining an open dialogue is paramount to how you navigate yourself out of a tricky situation.
Complete a New Audit to Reassess Your Client’s Goals
If you’re under the impression that your client’s vision has changed, why not complete a new client audit with them to reassess their goals? Suggest going back to basics and running back through their mission statements, goals, budgets, and anything else that may be relevant to the line of work you’re undertaking for them.
No matter how long you’ve been working with a client, this is a great task to roll out at the start of each year to ensure you’re on the right track.
Think of New ‘Out of the Box’ Ideas
If your current campaigns aren’t working, it’s probably because your ideas aren’t good enough. Ouch, I know. The best thing to do in these sorts of situations is to go back to the drawing board and try to look at your client’s brief from a different perspective.
If the project is creative, try to mix up the team and get some new ideas flowing. Think big and gradually cut back the idea to meet your client’s budget.
Ask yourself questions throughout the ideation process such as ‘would I be interested in this?’ and ‘would that make me want to read on?’ while keeping your client’s target audience in mind.
Always Ask for Feedback
Throughout the design, build, and implementation of your marketing services, it’s a good idea to ask for client feedback. This can be particularly useful if you’ve just won a new client and are trying to get to know them.
Consider asking your clients to onboard onto a digital platform where they’re able to track the progress of the project. For example, ClickUp is a project management platform that allows clients and service providers to interact on a day-to-day basis via status updates, timelines, and comments.
The more often you ask your clients for feedback – good or bad – the more likely you’ll be to fully understand their intentions and ultimate goals.
Negotiate Pricing
If the above ideas don’t work, another solution you can suggest to avoid a contract dispute is to negotiate your prices. If a client wasn’t happy with a project completed last month, why not offer a reduced rate for the next project, or if you can afford it, throw in a few free services?
Don’t let the client slip through your fingers without giving yourself the opportunity to prove that you can execute a campaign that exceeds their expectations.
Understand Your Business’ Capability and Capacity
Finally, don’t forget to know your worth. Sometimes, a client might not be the right fit for your business, and that’s ok. It’s important to understand your businesses capabilities and capacity, so you don’t overpromise and leave clients feeling disappointed.
Being upfront and honest when you can’t offer a service, and offering informed recommendations on where to go instead, is far more beneficial. Remember, recommendations go a long way in business, and you’ll often find that the favour is reciprocated.
Would You Know What to Do if Your Client Was Unhappy with Your Services?
In this post, we’ve discussed what to do if your client isn’t completely happy with the services that you’re providing.
It’s important to remember that even if your clients are currently satisfied with your service, things can change, and you should never feel completely complacent. Competition in the marketing industry is rife and practitioners should be constantly striving to improve their skillset.
Do you have any further thoughts? If so, let us know in the comments below!
