Sick of losing PPC clients? Are multiple ‘unlinks’ undermining your efforts as a top PPC Agency/Manager?
Cure your client retention woes with these 4 simple steps!
1. Become The Client
Not literally, you still need to be you, but think about it – you are trying to improve client retention and with a client’s AdWords account it’s not your products/services you are selling, but an element of believing they are your own will aid you in putting your all into an account. Understanding the business and the products will help you to create and manage highly effective PPC campaigns. Make sure your goals and targets align with the client’s and have a genuine vested interest in the business, that will shine through in your work.
2. Communication
‘Communication is Key’ – A heavily used phrase for a reason. However you communicate with your clients (Phone, email, face-to-face meetings, ravens..) it must be regular. You could be the best PPC account manager in the Seven Kingdoms (not even sorry) squeezing out exceptional performance from nowhere but if you don’t tell your client they may never know.
Beware of the following traps:
- Account is performing well with minimum management – Don’t rest on your laurels here! Get in touch with your client, show them a new report, identify additional opportunities. Long term clients may not expect as much communication as a new client but neglecting them by scrimping on communication will only spell trouble down the line.
- Account is not performing well so you avoid communication – did that problem ever get better by ignoring it? No? Always keep up communication even if the client’s account is on fire (not the good fire). Relationships have been salvaged through great communication.
3. Proactive PPC Account Management
Following on from the above trap ‘Account is performing well with minimum management’, managing an AdWords account in a ‘reactive’ manner can result in a loss of clients. The majority of clients are fully aware of ‘Change History’ – if they’re not you can bet a fellow agency wouldn’t be shy at pointing out a lack of activity within the client’s account. Number of changes aside, regular proactive management ensures any issues are noticed early and importantly before the client!
Below are some basic tasks to maintain regular activity within your accounts;
- Carry out regular bid management at all levels;
- Keyword/Item ID
- Mobile, desktop & tablet modifiers
- Ad schedule bid adjustments
- RLSA audience bid adjustments
- Demographic bid adjustments
- Locational bid adjustments
- A/B Testing – Regularly test ad texts to achieve greater CTR’s/cheaper CPC’s.
- Expansion from the Search Query Report of well performing Keywords
- Adding poor performing Keywords to your negative keyword lists.
4. Transparency
The client should always be aware of the direction of their AdWords account – as with points 2 & 3 if your communication is great and you are carrying out regular work within the account there is no reason to hide anything from your client. Did you test something that hasn’t quite worked out? Don’t cover it up, report it to the client – make them understand the reasoning behind the changes within their account and your client retention will sky rocket. The more the client understands about the way you make your optimisation decisions, the more confidence they will have in your ability to successfully manage their account.
To conclude,
You will probably never lose a client again now. You have been endowed with a solid retention toolkit.
Master the steps above and whilst you will not be able to win everyone over (some clients just do not gel with certain account managers), you will keep the vast majority happy. Even during the times an account’s performance may be turbulent, the trust you have built up will ensure the client believes YOU are right person/agency to steer that account back to calmer seas.
Do you feel you miss the latest Google Ads updates and feature releases? If so, then contact Mabo today to see how your PPC advertising could benefit from working with our team of PPC management specialists.
