Client Reporting: the Biggest Mistakes to Avoid

This article was first published by Visiture; you can read the full article here!

Reporting is part of an effective strategy and a healthy working relationship between digital marketing agencies and clients. But to make sure that you, as a digital marketer, make the most of your client reporting, there are some pretty big mistakes you should avoid making!

When Creating the Client Report

There is a lot of work that happens behind the scenes when doing digital marketing, and your report is your opportunity to explain what exactly you are doing for a client and why. Here are the biggest mistakes you shouldn’t make when creating the client report:

Cherry-Picking Results
Fostering a transparent relationship with your client is key to having a good working relationship. Clients want both the good and the bad parts.

Not Separating Out Branded Search
Branded and non-branded search terms typically yield very different results and, if you don’t specify which one you are targeting, you could end up getting mixed results.

Not Considering Offline Marketing
Offline marketing can create spikes of traffic to your client’s site that has nothing to do with your digital marketing efforts, and that needs to be taken into consideration.

Not Identifying Discrepancies
You are likely using multiple platforms, such as AdWords, an analytics software, and a CMS, that are all either integrated or, at the very least, which observe similar information. Cross-reference your data to make sure your numbers are identical across all platforms.

Not Looking at the Big Picture
A specific marketing campaign’s data is very important in your analysis, but it’s even more important to look at that campaign within the scope of your entire marketing efforts.

Not Choosing the Right Visuals (or enough types of visuals)
We, as humans, are visual creatures; hence, why data ultimately makes more sense to us when presented visually.

The Client Report Itself

Digital marketing agencies can get pretty expensive for clients, and your monthly report is your chance to really validate what your client is getting for that price. To utilize the full potential of your reports, don’t make these errors:

Making Reports Too Long and Monotonous
Clients don’t have the attention span or time to go through a fifty-page document once a month. Keep your reports short and concise, and get to the point quickly.

Not Taking the Time to Talk to Your Client
Think of your monthly report as an opportunity to have a discussion with someone with whom you are doing business, in order to see how things are going on your mutual ends.

No Summary of Work
The purpose of your report is, mainly, to summarize the work you’ve done and show how it is helping your clients meet their goals.

Reporting Too Frequently or Infrequently
Having an inconsistent reporting frequency can cause unnecessary static in your relationship with your clients. Monthly snapshots are a good frequency due to having a big data sample size.

Spending Too Much Time on Reports
Even though you want to add a personal touch, don’t create reports by hand every month. Once you have a template that works for this specific client, replicate and update it with the new pertinent information.

Going Fully Automated Without Thinking of the Client’s Preference
While saving time on your reporting can be incredibly beneficial for both you and the client, going too far into automation also has its downsides. No one really wants fully automated reports – it’s important to have a template but then personalize each report with your comments and insight.

Want to read more? Head on over to Visiture’s site to read the full article!

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