If you offer a service that requires a technical skill, e.g., implementing a social media strategy, booking your clients on podcasts, running paid traffic for clients, i.e., running FB or Google ads for them, you know how frustrating it gets to justify the value of your work. Especially, if initially, your campaign is not producing the desired outcome.
Therefore it is critical to weave into your service delivery the magic of reporting.
When I say “reporting” I mean communicating to the client the results you are in the process of producing for her.
WHAT IS SO
Let’s take FB ads, for example. A more common way of reporting is throwing at the client the alphabet soup–ROAS, CPC, CPM, CPA, CTR, and sprinkling in a bunch of numbers…
For one, it’s very overwhelming. For two, it’s not that helpful.
So, why can’t we just share a spreadsheet with a client and call it a day?
WHY
Well, that’s because not everybody gets numbers; not everybody sees what you see when you look at the results of a social media, podcast outreach, or FB ads campaign.
When *you* look at the results of your campaign, you see a story. When your client looks at the same results, all she sees is a wall of meaningless numbers.
HOW
How do you remedy this situation? You take the time to translate numbers into a story, be that number of likes or shares, pitches, or ad impressions.
The numbers that the client will most appreciate are the results they are after and the customer behaviors that lead to that happening.
Going back to our FB ads example, the “results” numbers will be the number of programs sold, revenue, and return on ad spend.
The “how did we get those results” numbers will be how many people saw the ad, of those, how many people clicked it, of those, how many signed up for the free training, etc.
BUT REALLY, HOW?
You can deliver your reports in a number of ways. In my experience, the least efficient ways are spreadsheets or written reports. Deciphering the numbers and reading takes time and energy.
What makes reports fun to consume (and easy to create) is if you record short, 2-3min videos to go over the “results” and “how we achieved those results” numbers.
Practically any screen sharing software would work for that.
SECRET SAUCE
And what the clients will absolutely love you for, is if you sprinkle in how the numbers you are seeing drive your next actions.
For a FB ads manager it can look like:
- Commenting on how profitable the client’s ads are and sharing whether it makes sense to do more of what works;
- Reviewing how the client’s leads are going through the funnel, noting what parts of the funnel work as expected and where people drop off;
- Talking about how the ads themselves are performing and whether that means you should stick with your original strategy or need to tweak it;
- Explaining how the numbers you are seeing guide your thinking about how to make better ad-buying decisions.
Trust me, talking through your thought process and decision making has a magical effect on your clients.
That’s what shifts their perception of you and the value of the work you are doing.
That’s what transforms how your clients perceive you and take your relationship with them from great to amazing.
That’s how you go from yet another service provider to an indispensable strategic partner.
