How marketing agencies create client reports

The following article was written by Emily Clark, Content Developer and Marketer at Clutch.co. Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews firm that connects businesses with the agencies or consultants they need for particular projects.

Many companies struggle to develop and execute their marketing strategy. Due to lack of internal expertise, businesses often look to third-party agencies to manage and track their marketing efforts.

Digital marketing agencies like yours have the skill and in-depth knowledge required to manage client campaigns, and then track the results over time. Your agency’s report can change the trajectory of a company’s marketing progress. As such, you need to create reports that give your client the best information.

Marketing agencies should maintain an effective line of communication and record metrics accurately and regularly. This article can help agencies learn how to create client reports and the process your agency should implement throughout the partnership.

Ask the Important Questions

1. What does your client have to offer its audience?

Your agency needs to understand the comprehensive vision of the company brand. Many businesses don’t know how to demonstrate to their audience what they are, but they do understand what their business wants to accomplish.

Your marketing agency is there to completely dissect your client company’s message; you need to comprehend exactly what your client is conveying as a brand, so you can focus on the metrics your client values.

Misunderstanding a company’s target goal can confuse an outside audience trying to learn about the product; you can measure the dissonance between what a company is attempting to do and how well they are executing their goals through data.

If a business usually uses social media to post formal developments about their company, their audience will feel mislead if the same business suddenly starts posting sassy comments to questions. Many brands do tend to have clear personality that customers can identify. As you create your client’s report, you can discuss the change in traffic patterns with more insight. Make sure to ask your client how they want to come across to their audience and discuss how their brand voice might affect their numbers.

2. What is the nature of this collaboration?

As a business in itself, your agency needs to create a clear plan of commitment for your own records. Document how long you are working with this client and what specifically their business is supporting. In addition, identify whether this partnership will be a long-term relationship or if your agency is only hired for one campaign.

You should also ask about your client’s marketing budget. Depending on the industry and size of the business, the marketing budget will vary. Your client needs to sell his/her product, which means (s)he should dedicate a significant amount of funds to promotion. Understanding how much a company can spend on a campaign, and how invested they are in the process, will influence how in-depth your report will be.

Clarifying your commitment to a partner will allow you to strategically plan what marketing metrics you want to record. When you discuss your efforts with your client, you should make sure you have a document explaining exactly how you can satisfy their requests with your report.

Streamline Communication

When your marketing agency approaches a potential client, you should establish an easy form of communication. As a partner, you need to be able to ask questions to a specific contact-person in the business.

And since businesses don’t always have an in-house marketing team, it can be difficult to know who your agency should talk to. If you identify a main source of information at the start of the process, there will be less confusion and back-and-forth in the future.

If you hold regular conversations with your client, you can gather exactly how much they understand about the data you are giving them. Many small businesses do not have anyone with formal marketing expertise. Metrics can be difficult to analyze, and you can assist your client better if you are fully aware of the extent of their knowledge.

In addition, you should ask how your agency reports are being used. You will include different data in your report whether your client is evaluating the effectiveness of internal systems or evaluating how their company competes with other businesses.

If your client chooses to analyze how effective their marketing techniques are now versus their efforts in the past, then your report will have to include a timeline of valued metrics. In contrast, many businesses will want to see how well they are competing with other businesses, which means your report should include data about the general industry.

Confirming who your point of contact is within a client’s business will allow you to gain answers quickly and efficiently; your productivity will increase and your partnership will grow.

Measure the Right Metrics

You should always customize your marketing reports. Each business has different goals and resources, which means your reports should never be recording the same information. Your client wants to know specific information, and you need to discuss with them what they need to know.

From the get-go, take the time to discuss the benefit of tracking each metric and how valuable it will be for your client’s goals. Some possible metrics to track are:

• Website visitors
• Dwell time
• Retention rate
• Number of subscribers
• Revenue
• Paid vs. organic leads
• Page views
• Marketing reach
• Top landing pages
• Interaction/engagement

After your initial conversations about company targets, you will have a full grasp on how specific your client wants their reports to be. Some businesses prefer to have a more general overview of how their website is doing in order to make big changes to create a successful marketing campaign. Other businesses have a greater level of marketing expertise and want to increase the effectiveness of more specific aspects of their marketing efforts.

Each business depends on specific information to show their company’s efficacy. You must relay metrics accurately and clearly in order to give your client the best report; include all the information required for your client to make a decision regarding their future marketing efforts.

Remember that Agency-Client Relationships are a Collaboration

Businesses need digital agencies to identify areas of improvement in their marketing. Your agency should cater each report to what your client wants. Ask questions to confirm your understanding of the business. Write down an outline of what the company needs from you and what information you expect from your client.

Ensure you have an open and regular line of communication with a specific contact-person that you get to know well. You should schedule meetings, at least monthly, to go over report findings and changes the company would like you to track.

Discuss the benefits of each metric with your clients. As an expert in metrics, you should provide context for each one and what each indicates in their company strategy.

Your digital agency can provide the answers businesses need to succeed. If you maintain a strong partnership and good reputation, both you and your client can increase your profits.