Managing Client Expectations
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009“I want to be #1″ … “It doesn’t take long to rank” … “I need to have 20,000 visitors a day” …
These are just some of the demands or statements that clients have made to me during intake interviews. The funny thing is that I know personally of people who say “no problem” to these things rather thing laying it out straight for the client. And when it doesn’t happen the way the client thought it would, whose tush is in the frying pan?
To mitigate the issues that can arise out of misunderstandings you have to manage your client’s expectations.
How do you do that?
It’s pretty easy, but you have to do it ll the time to get in the habit.
1. Never promise or guarantee anything.
2. Explain it in detail and constantly ask if there are any questions.
3. Put it in writing.
4. Ask them one more time if they understand what is going to happen.
What do I men by never promise or guarantee anything? Simple, in this business of SEO, there are no guarantee’s. Why? Because there are too many variables that we have no control over, too many things that are are ambiguous and can, will and do affect our best intentions. This morning for example, I was ranked #7 for a keyword phrase I have been working on for for a while, made a jump from 16 to 7 (+9) from one index date to the next. An hour ago I searched the term again and it was number 11 (page 2). My happy face turned ot a frown and I let out a few exclamations under my breath. You would think that for as long as I have been doing SEO (12+ years) that I would learn to accept such issues by now. Not so, I am too prideful.
My second point is to explain everything, each step (see the other post I made about the Phases of SEO and Maintenance) that is required and what will happen. Do a PowerPoint or some other type of presentation and have a document (PDF) that you can email as an attachment that they can look at while you are speaking to each phase and action. Make sure you write on there, “Do you have any questions?” top and bottom.
Finally, have a document, whether it be an Agreement or Statement of Work or whatever you use, but state in there clearly that there are no promises being made regarding how long it will take nor what position may be achieved. Consult your legal counsel and if you don’t have one, rent one!
Just following these simple steps every time you begin an engagement will save you a lot of heartache down the road.
If you have any question contact me and if I am able to help, I will be happy to assist you.
