Why We Rebuilt a SMM Client’s Package
Have you ever had a client whose account isn’t necessarily getting bad results…but also isn’t getting anything special either?
That’s exactly where we were with a social media management client recently. This was a luxury design firm we’d been managing on Instagram for nine months.
Engagement rates were not the greatest.
Posts were getting reach.
The feed looked amazing.
Results were stagnant.
And, we were seeing the same patterns month after month.
And we had to ask ourselves the uncomfortable question: Are we actually helping?
When we stood back and looked at the leads? They weren't enough to meet our KPIs as outlined in our strategy. They were slow. And risking losing this client for mid results wasn't an option in our eyes.
It was the sign that it was time to restructure our client's package.
Restructuring The Package
After we went back and looked at the strategy again, we realized that it was the number of posts leading to our issues. We were exhausting her current audience. And, even with location tags and keyword-heavy captions, we weren't quite tapping into the local SEO that we'd hoped.
For this industry, especially, SEO is huge. When you're looking for this large a project, you're likely searching on Google and searching locally. Secondly, we needed a better place to prioritize current clients and warm leads beyond Instagram. So, we knew exactly what we had to do.
We decided to challenge the scope, without changing their monthly rate. Meaning, we needed to make shifts, but also stay at the client's same rate without scope creep and losing profitability. This was a guaranteed way of making it an easy yes for the client to shift over to as well. We knew this client didn't have any changes in their budget, so upselling was off the table.
So, we shifted from IG-only to an ecosystem. This is exactly what we needed to create less pressure on Instagram to “do everything.” We decreased the number of Instagram posts and stories for the client and added email and blogs to her scope instead.
This way, we had all our bases covered,
Instagram supported discoverability
Email supported client retention and leads management
Blogs supported authority and website traffic
Limitations of Managing One Platform Alone
When you're only managing one piece of the puzzle, it can be very frustrating when all of the other puzzle pieces aren't fitting together. You could have the most amazing strategy on paper, but if your platforms aren't supporting those goals in a well-rounded way, they aren't going to lead to the results you or the client is hoping for.
It's so important as a marketer to be able to call it out and say, “This isn’t enough,” when your own strategy just isn't working despite pivots. And while we often work with budget restrictions, this is where smart proposals and packaging structure will help you greatly.
Sometimes being a marketing agency looks like restructuring, optimizing, over upselling, and that's completely okay too. Why?
Happier clients = referrals and better relationships
The same amount of hours put in + better results for your case studies = priceless.