We wrote about the duties and value of a PPC agency here. In this page we’ll discuss how you can get the most out of your PPC agency, which is key to getting great PPC results!
The client (you) / agency (us) relationship is crucial. As with most relationships, how you view it and what you put into it will determine the benefit. If you are investing in PPC with an agency, you’ll likely want to know how to get the most out of your investment.
As a PPC agency that has been around the block and seen our fair share of relationships, we’re delighted to share the following advice with you to help you prosper with your paid media agency.
Most paid media agencies like to have a sense of purpose beyond their mechanical duties. They like to be a part of your journey and success. If your mindset is one of a client and a vendor, with a transactional dynamic keeping your agency kept at arm’s length, it’s likely that your agency will be less motivated and productive.
You are the visionary owner of your company’s marketing direction and it’s important that you provide excellent direction, briefing and feedback to your PPC agency. Be careful not to overstep the mark to micromanagement. Don’t try to do your PPC expert’s job for them or question their every move. It’ll demotivate them.
You, as the client, are the ultimate authority in this relationship. Use your authority wisely. Give patience when it is asked for, and understand that all humans make mistakes and no agency is perfect. This is not to say your patience should be limitless, as that would lead to your being taken advantage of. Be firm when you need to be, and communicate in a constructive manner when you feel things are off-track.
When an agency’s job is to produce results for you, it’s critical that you deliver your end of the bargain to them. If they need a response, a piece of feedback, a sign-off, an asset, or anything else from you in order to do their job, please prioritize it. An agency can become frustrated when they are hand-cuffed by not getting what they need from a client.
As service-based businesses, PPC agencies rely on clients paying for their time and expertise. If your service has been delivered satisfactorily, please ensure that your business pays your agency on time consistently. Causing cash-flow issues for your agency is a sign of disrespect, intentionally or not, and will also be a needless distraction for your agency to resolve when they should be entirely focused on serving you.
At every opportunity, ask yourself how you can be a great client for your agency. Ask yourself, what can you do to be their number one client? How can you go above and beyond to ensure they are set up for success on your behalf?
An occasional recognition of effort and service goes a long way in motivating your extended team, especially if they have gone above and beyond for you.
There are millions of paid media experts and agencies in the world, many of whom are bad actors. Unfortunately, this means that they deceive and take advantage of trusting businesses like you. They’ll seek to impress you and promise the world, but taking your money is their only concern. They can be hard to differentiate from genuine PPC agencies, and can often only be identified after they have been engaged.
As we learned in section one, a huge amount of the client-agency dynamic success depends on you. With that being said, you’ll want to ensure that you’re putting the effort of being a great client into the right PPC agency. Let’s explore whether or not you have the right PPC management agency for your needs by identifying which questions you should regularly ask yourself.
If the answer is yes, it’s a positive sign that you’re working with the right PPC experts. It’s not a guarantee, though. Good overall PPC ROAS can mask hidden inefficiencies or mistakes.
Take a moment to think about the expectations that were set pre-engagement regarding results or deliverables, as well as ongoing promises made. Are they usually met, or constantly broken?
Do they have the relevant experience, qualifications and accreditations to service your needs? Can they prove this where applicable? For example, with industry case studies or proof of their Google Partner status. Please keep in mind that PPC is very diverse, even if it seems like one discipline, there are many areas of specialization. It is common for an agency to take on a request from a client that they are not equipped to deliver on because they don’t want to appear weak or lose the business. As an example, at WSI Paid Search we don’t offer Google Hotel Ads as a service. Technically, it’s part of PPC and Google Ads, but we don’t specialize in this particular area of Google Ads so we don’t offer it.
Do you trust each other, and find yourselves on the same wavelength more often than not? Does your interpersonal relationship transcend that of the client and PPC agency? This doesn’t mean you need to be best friends and become over-familiar, but if you have a strong relationship and mutual success it’ll set you up for success through good times and bad.
True paid media experts should be blowing you remind with results you never imagined possible, and new experiments you had never considered.
If the standards of delivery, results, communication or effort are dropping over time, it’s a sign that your agency may be taking you for granted or growing complacent.
Let’s say your PPC agency asked for a monthly fee of $2.00 and you negotiated them down to $1.00; who is the real loser here? If you ‘won’ your negotiation of your agency’s fees, you are actively telling them that you don’t value their time and wish to reduce their profitability. As a rule of thumb, we and many other PPC agencies seek to earn one dollar of profit for every one dollar spent on cost of delivery. In this case, you’re essentially asking your agency to work for free or very little profit. Furthermore, if your agency let you negotiate their pricing down, what does it tell you about them?
It tells you that they either inflate their pricing in anticipation of negotiation which brings their integrity into question or they’re not very good at their job and don’t mind working for basement prices. Is this the type of agency you wish to entrust the success of your PPC investment to? At WSI Paid Search we have universal pricing for all clients and we never negotiate. This isn’t because we’re inflexible – it’s because we know our value and don’t inflate our pricing.
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