Need To ‘Break Up’ With A Client? 15 Tactful Strategies For Parting Ways

18Mar

by Forbes Agency Council | Expert Panel

Strong relationships with clients are a main component of any agency’s success. However, there may come a time when a client no longer fits with your agency’s direction or end goals, and you realize that you need to “break up” with them.

When ending a client relationship, it’s important to do it carefully and respectfully. Terminating your professional arrangement is a delicate task, and if it’s done poorly, it may cause unnecessary reputational damage to your agency.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com, on March 18, 2021. Read the rest of the article here.

Finding the Right Project Management App for You

By Christopher Tompkins

16Mar

Business

Do you find that things around the office are a little hectic? Is there an ever-looming end-of-the-month scramble to get work done? Is your only way to remember things the occasional ping from your Google calendar? You don’t have to live like this. Invest in a project management tool today.

Project management tools are great for getting a slightly unruly office in line. You can track who’s accountable for what, place firm deadlines, and have an easy way to organize your work. But in a world full of options, how do you go about finding the right service?

There are a lot of apps out there, many of which fulfill the same basic functions. Trying all of them is going to be too time-consuming to be practical, so let’s try and rule some out right off the bat. Here are three pretty general rules that will stand true for almost any app, regardless of what specifically you’re using it for.

If It Costs Too Much—If you notice how much you’re paying for a project management app, it probably costs too much. “Cost” here meaning both financially and in work-hours. These things are supposed to supplement your work process, not become the entire work process, so if you’re relying on them to ease the chaos of bringing your campaign together, you probably need to get your house in order in ways the app can’t solve.

If You Use Less than Half the Features—If you’re paying for a bunch of features that you aren’t using, toss that app out. These things can get pricey and if you aren’t taking full advantage of it you’re not making good use of your money. See if there’s a free version of the app with limited features you can work with or a less expensive service you can use.

If It Makes You Need Additional Apps—Additionally if the app you’re using doesn’t have enough features: lose it. If the deficiency of the app you’re using makes you need to use a second app just to accomplish one or two things, it’s not the service for you.

Now, on to the specific. How can you choose the best APP (singular, just one) for your business? It should be pretty simple to narrow it down once you’ve answered the following questions:

What do I need out of this app? What issue is going to solve/how will it ease the workflow process? Am I using it primarily for communication or for organization?
What are the best project management tools? Which ones are reviews pointing towards? Which ones are my fellow marketers using?
How will it work for my company? Does it allow me to take a free trial so I can test drive it and see whether or not it’s practical for my business?
Does my team like this? Do they think they’ll be able to get used to it and navigate it daily without hassle? What concerns do they have about the service that might present a difficulty or work against the reason you’re using the app in the first place?
Finally—is it within your price range?

Choosing a good project management app is one of those small decisions that will make a big impact on your company. Choose wisely and it could be the boost your business needs to help it run like a well-oiled machine. Go for the cheapest or free options and it could present yet another hassle for you to deal with.

As a business owner, keeping track of your marketing campaign and trying to execute it all on your own is a lot to put on your already full plate. Hand your marketing goals over to the pros at The Go! Agency (our project management tool is top-notch).

Budgeting 101: How to Plan for all the Marketing Essentials

By Christopher Tompkins

9Mar

Marketing

So, the numbers from last quarter just came in, and…you spent way more than you thought you did. Marketing costs are going to rack up quickly if you don’t have a defined budget for how much you want to spend on your campaign.

Small agencies and business owners can’t afford to just jump into the wilderness and hope they’ll do well at the marketing game, because one of two things will inevitably happen. You’ll either spend all of your (or your client’s) money on the front end of the campaign or you’ll leave essential things unfunded.

Getting a budget together should be the first step in any campaign. I know, I know. Nobody likes looking at finances, but it’s going to be critical to your success.

The first thing you need to do is figure out how much you have to play around with. If you’re the owner of a smaller, unestablished company that has only been around for a handful of years, I suggest using no more than 15% of your gross revenue on your marketing. If you’re less than a year into your business, focus on making sure things run smoothly before you begin to think about spending money on marketing.

The next thing you need to do is make a list of everything you want to include in your marketing package. How do you want to put your brand out there? For this, make a list of everything you’d like to include in your marketing. I like to use the “plan drunk/replan sober” method for this. This is a euphemism, it doesn’t involve any actual drinking. (Then again, it doesn’t NOT involve a few beers, either.)

“Plan drunk/replan sober” basically means to make a list of everything you want for your marketing campaign, don’t hold back. Then, come back to your list with fresh eyes and prioritize based on what’s most important and, critically, what your budget is. Try not to feel like you’re going to be missing out if you don’t have enough budget for every little thing you want to do. If all is a success, you can integrate these things further down the line.

What are the most important things you’re going to want to factor into your budget? This will depend on how far along you are in your business, but I would consider these the four cornerstones of a marketing campaign:

A good website. Hire a designer if you need a hand in developing this, but a well-designed website is critical.
Content. A blog, a podcast, a YouTube channel. Whatever suits your business, have content for your audience to engage in.
At least one social media platform, whichever suits your company best.
Branding. Again, hire a graphic designer for this, you’ll want your own, professionally done branding for legitimacy.

How you go about doing this will all depend on your budget. Or, you could let somebody else handle it for you? Would you pay money to have the experts make sure your marketing campaign rolls out without a hitch (limited as your funds might be)? The Go! Agency can run a campaign that can fit your budget and take the stress of being a first-time marketer off of your shoulders, so you can focus on what really matters: your business. Connect with us today!

14 Expert Tips For Infusing Viral Elements Into A Campaign

By Christopher Tompkins

4Mar

Media Mentions

by Forbes Agency Council | Expert Panel

The study of what makes something go viral online has been some of the most diligent research done in the early 21st century. Virality basically guarantees success when it comes to digital advertising and marketing, as it leads to more organic shares, deeper engagement and a wider reach.

Key to creating viral elements in campaigns is the fact that consumers gravitate toward unique, highly creative ads and marketing. Some companies use unexpected elements to go viral; others prefer to stir up controversy to grab attention and move their brand forward, which can carry significant risk.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com, on March 4, 2021. Read the rest of the article here.

How To Keep Teams Communicating: 11 Proven Strategies

By Christopher Tompkins

2Mar

Media Mentions

by Forbes Agency Council | Expert Panel

In addition to trust, clear communication is foundational to any professional team’s success. If its members have problems communicating with each other, it will not only reduce the team’s overall effectiveness, but could also damage morale, individual performance and even the bottom line.

As their manager, you can help pinpoint issues with a team’s communication, but it is up to the team members themselves to fix those problems. To ensure that the process of identifying and solving a team’s communication problems won’t devolve into a blame game or result in further miscommunication, focus on strengthening practical communication skills.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com, on March 2, 2021. Read the rest of the article here.

It’s Not You, It’s Them: What To Do When A Client ‘Breaks Up’ With You

By Christopher Tompkins

2Mar

Media Mentions

A few weeks ago, I was broken up with. It was by a longtime client, one whose relationship I thought I’d be nurturing for several years. It came completely out of the blue after working for weeks not only to figure out their six-month strategy but also to put into place their 12-month contract. The breakup was delivered with the line that makes every marketer roll their eyes: “We absolutely love working with you, but we’re looking to go in a different direction.”

Everybody in this business knows what the “it’s not you, it’s me” excuse means. Ninety percent of the time, this means that a client found a less expensive option and has decided to take their business there, likely without looking too closely at the quality of the work their new agency will provide. The hard work is getting them to admit it.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com, on March 2, 2021. Read the rest of the article here.

Three Small Ways to Save Big on Your Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

2Mar

Business, Marketing

Is your marketing budget draining like a firehose? Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, but it often racks up a costly bill due to the little things that we let slide during the chaos of putting a campaign together. Big agencies have all the money in the world to waste, but as a freelancer or a business owner doing your marketing, you can’t afford to throw money away.

Here, I’ve come up with three pretty simple but wildly effective tips for putting a stop to your overflowing marketing expenses. Real solutions, not like when you duct tape a leaking pipe and just hope it works.

Cancel Unused Apps and Subscriptions

I love keeping up with technology. If there’s a new project management tool or something to ease social media organization, I can’t wait to get my hands on it and see if it would be worth integrating into the Go! process. The hitch? Most of these apps aren’t free or have very limited free features.

Try out as much as you want to find programs that work the best for your company, but don’t let them linger unused while the apps keep charging you every month. If you’re too busy to be diligent about canceling subscriptions, nominate someone in your office who you know can keep on top of it.

If you test out three or four apps and decide they don’t work for you, failing to cancel them before they charge you will rack up a hefty bill that I can assume you didn’t budget for.

Only Use the Platforms That Benefit You

This might seem like a no-brainer, but if you’re tight on a budget and Facebook is getting you nowhere…stop marketing on Facebook. Stop boosting ads, stop putting work-hours into your Facebook presence, and focus on building up your community and efforts on a platform that’s giving you the engagement you’re aiming for.

If you aren’t using Google Analytics, start. It’s a very easy but effective way to tell you what platforms are profitable and which you should set aside until you start generating the revenue you need to properly use them.

Do “Digital Marketing” Not “Social Media Marketing”

Social media platforms are a great way to build up a digital presence and expand your brand, but it’s not the be-all and end-all to digital marketing. To be totally honest, if you aren’t using social media effectively, it’s not going to net you very much at all.

Running ads and boosting them across social media can get costly. A more cost-effective way to go about marketing would be to reach out to potential customers via email. Email marketing is inexpensive and can reap a huge profit if you take the time to do it correctly. On average, every dollar spent on email marketing has a $44 ROI. That’s nothing to scoff at!

If you’re a local business and want to save money by going low tech, take the flyer and pamphlet method and put your marketing directly into your customers’ hands.

There’s a lot to consider financially when you take marketing into your own hands. I think these three tips are a good avenue to reducing costs, but ultimately you’ll have to look at your goals and keep what you think is essential.

However, there is another option. The Go! Agency is fully prepared to help you reach all of your marketing goals and stay within your budget. Tired of trying to remember where all of your money is going? Leave that to the professionals: us.

15 Best Practices For Creating Website Content To Attract Leads

By Christopher Tompkins

1Mar

Media Mentions

by Forbes Agency Council | Expert Panel

With the right content, businesses can generate interest among prospective customers and attract leads to their websites. However, given ever-changing search engine algorithms, the owned media that lives on your site needs to be of high quality to rank near the top of search results and drive traffic.

In essence, the more online audiences organically engage with your content, the more Google and others will prioritize it, which helps more online searchers find it. Here, 16 experts from Forbes Agency Council discuss best practices marketers can follow to ensure they get the traffic, leads and results they seek.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com, on March 1, 2021. Read the rest of the article here.

How 14 Agency Pros Measure ROI For Their Own Marketing Activities

By Christopher Tompkins

26Feb

Media Mentions

by Forbes Agency Council | Expert Panel

Marketing is essential for promoting and expanding all businesses, including agencies. While these firms execute plenty of marketing campaigns and measure ROI for their clients, it can be tricky to devote enough time and resources to determining their own.

Nonetheless, as with any client, it’s critical to measure your agency’s own efforts and initiatives to ensure that you’re seeing a return on those investments.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com, on February 26, 2021. Read the rest of the article here.

What to Do if Your Client Isn’t Telling You the Whole Truth

By Christopher Tompkins

23Feb

Business

Clients. If you’ve been part of the digital marketing world long enough, you’ve either heard the tales or encountered some bone-chilling clients on your own. Now, I want to say upfront that most clients are a joy to work with; after all, they want their campaign to succeed just as much as you do. But every now and again, you’ll discover that you’ve taken on the kind of client that your colleagues swap horror stories about.

When a client is simply disagreeable, demotivating, or abusive, the solution to the problem is very simple: break up with them. Do work you’re proud of and end their contract. But what about a client who’s been dishonest with you, to the point where you can’t even finish the campaign until you get a straight answer from them? Or worse, one who keeps making excuses not to pay their bill?

Excuses are the biggest red flag. If they always have a convenient excuse for why they can’t get you what you’re asking for, then call them out and get to the bottom of the lie. It’s the only way you’ll be able to deliver the campaign as promised.

It’s bound to be a tough situation when you find out that, for whatever reason, your client hasn’t been completely upfront with you. It’s best to assume they aren’t doing it maliciously; they’re probably just bad at keeping track of things and don’t know how to communicate effectively or don’t want to admit how badly they’re slipping up. If they’re a high-value client to you, it might be worth it just to grin and bear it through the bad relationship until you can figure out an effective way to sever the relationship.

If a client’s lies are preventing them from paying the bills, however, it’s time for a more immediate solution. In general, I recommend people starting out in the marketing business negotiate to get a little bit of cash from clients upfront. This is for a multitude of reasons like if the client decides to take their business elsewhere midway through the campaign, you aren’t in the position of having done a bunch of work for free.

If a client refuses to pay or tries to shift a bunch of costs on to you at the end of the campaign, then it becomes a legal matter. Handle that however you see fit, but make sure you a) cease doing any work for them and b) let your fellow marketers and PR friends know not to work with this person.

One last important thing: a dishonest client will ask you to be dishonest too. Never continue to work with a client who asks you to produce material that includes false information; remember to write protections into your contract so you can let them go at any time. Never allow yourself to be put in a position that could damage your reputation.

Remember, clients will come and go, either because it’s their time to move on or because you had to end the partnership. No client no matter how much they’re paying you is worth putting your professional reputation on the line for.

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