Managing Client Expectations Without Losing Your Mind (Or the Sale)

Let’s be honest: setting digital campaign expectations with clients is kind of like starting a new workout program. Everyone wants to look like Jennifer Lopez at 56 or have abs like Jason Mamoa …. after just one workout. We all know that’s unfortunately not how it works – whether you’re building muscle or building momentum in a digital campaign. Digital advertising is no different. It takes a plan. It takes consistency. Most importantly, it takes time for results (clicks, conversions, awareness, even muscles) to compound and grow. If your client is constantly “checking progress in the mirror,” that will only stall results, lose confidence and risk abandoning a strategy that simply just needed more time to work.

That’s why one of the most powerful tools in your digital toolbox isn’t a platform or a fancy acronym or a cool new product—it’s expectation management. And just like a personal trainer, your role is to keep the goal in sight by setting expectations and then managing them through education, communication and guidance throughout the campaign.

Even the smartest campaign can underwhelm someone if expectations aren’t set from the start. So, grab your water because we’re about to get our digital form right and start working toward results worth flexing. 💪

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Key Takeaways:

Start at the beginning - Setting client expecations from the jump is key to long-term campaign satisfaction.

Manage the objections - If a client asks, "Why haven't I seen my ad?" you missed this step.

Be goal specific - If you set goals be sure to explain the metrics that matter upfront. No surprises!

Set the Foundation: Define Campaign Goals & Timeframes

Start with the goal. Not a budget. Not a product. The goal. Ask what your client considers a “win.”

• Are you trying to increase your Q4 online revenue 20% year over year?
• Increase foot traffic to your store on Main Street?
• Build brand awareness with a niche B2B audience?

Each goal warrants its own strategy which then warrants different success benchmarks. A Connected TV (CTV) campaign won’t perform the same way as Google Pay-Per-Click ads or YouTube+—and it shouldn’t.

And, before your client comes down on you for not having six-pack results in week one, make it a best practice to ask: “What are your 30/60/90-day expectations from this campaign?”

Then, you can let them know:

• Campaign algorithms need time to learn and to optimize
• Customers move through the funnel at different speeds

·       Digital is a frequency medium and results build over time

Objection: “Why Haven’t I Seen My Ad?”

This one’s a classic. The patient zero of digital advertising objections really. But here’s the truth:

• There are millions of available ad impressions.
• Your client’s budget is only buying a fraction of those impressions – specifically targeting their ideal audience.
• Your client may not be in the target audience we’re bidding on.
• Even when we bid, we don’t win every impression.

Selling broadcast? Tune in at the 7 p.m. news hour to see your new :30 spot!

Selling radio? Listen to Joe Shmo & The Rodeo on 107.1 at 6:52 a.m. to hear your new ad!

Selling digital? We can’t tell you to log on to Facebook Messenger at 8:06 pm to see your ad.

The win isn’t your client seeing the ad – it’s the right person seeing the ad, in the right geography, the right number of times.

Worth noting that even frequency differs by channel:

https://www.thetradedesk.com/resources/ideal-frequency-optimization

More on Social Mirror features here

Track What Matters: Conversion and Attribution Tools

Some clients hyper-focus on clicks. But clicks alone don't measure the full story. That’s where container tags come in.

Your container tag is your must-have for: website retargeting, conversion tracking and even tracking people who have seen an ad, didn’t click and still made their way back to the website (View-Through Tracking).

Container tags (also sometimes referred to as Google Tag Manager or conversion pixels) allow us to track:

·       Downloading coupons, PDFs, or brochures

·       Job applications

·       Calls and live chats

·       Appointments booked

·       Google Business Profile engagement (yep- even if they never even click)

·       De-anonymized website visitor information

Remember: About 60% of Google searches don’t lead to a website visit but that doesn’t mean they didn’t act (Search Engine Roundtable). Zero-click searches are real—if they get all the info from your client’s Google listing, that’s still a win.

More on how to identify site visitors—with Website Visitor ID

“What If I Don’t See Conversions?”

The campaign is generating a lot of clicks, but no conversions. This is your cue to play digital detective and to wow your client with your digital chops.

Ask:

• Are forms too long or buried on the page?
• Is the landing page mobile-friendly? Does the site take long to load?
• Is the CTA strong, urgent, and above the fold?
• Is there a big pop-up as soon as someone gets on the site?

https://www.gartner.com/en/digital-markets/insights/lead-generation-forms

It’s like trying to run a marathon in flip flops—it might technically work, but it’s not ideal. The funnel needs to support the campaign, not trip it up.

Tips to boost conversion rates:

• Fewer fields = more completions. Auto-filled fields = way more completions!
• Book now = action. Submit = passive.
• Add a guarantee, testimonial, or explainer video. We like to see what our peers say. 90% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (SEO.com Pricing)
• Include live chat so users can act when they’re ready.

According to industry data, more than 40% of online inquiries happen outside of normal business hours.

Want to add Live Chat? We can help track lead activity there too.

Product-Specific Expectations: Mobile Conquesting

Clients often expect website conversions from Mobile Conquesting. But that’s not always realistic. Mobile Conquesting uses some of the most impressive and highly intelligent location-based technologies and is your go-to for things like:

·       On-site visit tracking

·       Geo-Fencing - competitors, events, highways

·       Geo-Retargeting - following people after an event

·       Geo-Retargeting Lookalike - targeting the neighborhoods of people from your geo-fenced location(s)

Address Targeting, Weather Triggers and so on!

Explain up front that conversions often happen on larger devices like tablets and desktops. For clients who need website conversions, recommend Cross Platform Targeting to accomplish the best location-based targeting and track conversions.

Omnichannel campaigns produce a 250% higher rate of purchase frequency than do single-channel campaigns. Keeping your brand top of mind across numerous channels will drive more revenue. (Source: ClickZ)

Reporting: Context Is Everything

“Why is our CTR only 0.10%?”

“Why don’t I burn 1,000 calories from walking to the fridge?”

Instead of focusing only on CTR, use the reporting time to:

• Show optimization progress
• Explain view-throughs and conversion metrics
• Highlight actions users are taking—on-site and off-site

Apples to Oranges: Help Them Compare Smartly

“We’re running a cheaper campaign with another vendor.”

Educate them:

• Is the competitor buying brand-safe, double-verified inventory?
• Are you getting true behavioral targeting or just broad geo? Do they charge hidden fees for retargeting or audience layers?
• Is reporting transparent, including view-throughs (after an ad impression, if the user doesn’t interact with the ad, then later converts)? Do you have a real-time dashboard?
• Do they have a sales enablement tool like adtini full of resources, tracking and customizable proposals?
• Can you request Social Mirror spec ads, Research Reports, Customer Insight Reports and receive detailed Co-Op information to help you sell?
• Do they have a team of seasoned vets that genuinely love what they do and enjoy making themselves available for reporting questions, client pitches, helping place a container tag, or even fly to your city to do in-person seminars?

“With digital, you get what you pay for.” If it’s too cheap, it’s probably not quality.

Scale your Digital Offerings with a suite of products

“Can We Just Try This for One Month?”

Here’s how to reframe that (for non-event-based campaigns):

“Unless you have a very healthy budget, one month isn’t enough time to build brand awareness, optimize performance and track long-term impact.”

• Platforms need time to learn and adapt. These algorithms aim to maximize the relevance of ads to users while also meeting advertisers’ goals (Source: AlgoCadaemy).
• Audiences need frequency to convert
• Conversions take touchpoints—rarely are they instant

Short campaigns fizzle. Thoughtful campaigns build trust—and renew.

Final Thoughts: Managing Expectations = Managing Success

The best campaigns rely on a number of things but at their core, they’re built on clarity.

Here’s your playbook:

• Talk about goals, map out the goals, and then choose the right tactics
• Be proactive, not reactive
• Use product-specific education to explain performance
• Track what matters (not just what’s easy to measure)
• Turn objections into opportunities for deeper strategy

One of my favorite marketing phrases is: Drowning in data, starving for insight. We need to move beyond the dashboard to connect the data to insights and then to specific actions that address business goals (Synaphtos).

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