How to Master the Transition Between Inbound Campaigns
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We’ve been talking all about the Inbound Partnership Journey this season on the Happy Client Show.
The Inbound Partnership Journey is the way to successfully take a client relationship from on-boarding, to intensive strategy, to establishing the marketing automation environment, to finally launching that automation effort with content. Here are a recap of the milestones we’ve outlined:
Inbound Campaigns Isn’t the End—It’s Just the Beginning
Once you reach the Inbound Campaigns stage of the journey, doesn’t mean the journey is over. This journey we’re on has a long runway until lift off.
Once we’re in the air, we have to keep our clients climbing and soaring above their competition.
Transitioning Inbound Campaigns is the Key to Long-Term Success
Our goal as an agency, however, shouldn’t be to just cultivate amazing campaigns that score results. From a client relations standpoint, we need to make sure our clients don’t be spooked by turbulence.
As an agency, we have a lot to do with turbulence and whether or not our clients feel it.
If you want to keep the relationship in good standing and moving forward, you need to master the transition between Inbound Campaigns.
Transitioning Inbound Campaigns is Like Drawing Blood …
If you’re a regular Happy Client Show follower, you know I’m a man who loves analogies and metaphors.
If you’re trying to envision how sensitive our clients are during the transitions between Inbound Campaigns, think of it this way.
Have you ever had your blood drawn?
If I didn’t lose you there, then let’s dive into this further. If you’re getting more than one vial taken, the steadiness and experience of the person taking your blood makes a world of difference. It’s in these moments that an amazing technician and a not-so-amazing technician are extremely evident. Even the subtlest wrong move sends you jarring.
Inbound Campaign Transitions Are the Same Way
This is what it’s like for us. Yes, we’ve done all the necessary preparation to get to this point.
We might even nail that first Inbound Campaign, but we have to master that transition and achieve it with delicacy.. We have to be steady, calm, collected, and thinking ahead if we don’t want our clients to go jarring.
Master the Transition Between Inbound Campaigns
Here are a few ways you can master the transition.
Prepare Early
Our structure for running Inbound Campaigns spans over the length of a quarter. Halfway through that quarter, it’s time to plan the next Inbound Campaign.
If you’re trying to scramble the next campaign together one-or-two weeks before it needs to begin, you’re in bad shape. This will often lead to rushed work, cramped client communications, and overall discomfort in the relationship. Again, we need to show forethought and delicacy.
Start planning for the next Inbound Campaign at least five weeks out. Get a meeting on the books with your clients to discuss the next campaign and the transition.
You’ve already accomplished your major GamePlan, but this will act as a mini-GamePlan session to center everyone before we hit it again.
Communicate the Transition When It Happens
So you’ve prepared ahead of time. You got your client on the same page. You got the content in place. You’re ready to go!
Once one campaign has ended, and another has began, we need to let out clients know. Give them a heads up when the next campaign goes live.
Also, during this time, you should be pulling the results of the first campaign. Your client is going to ask for it, so you need to be in front of the topic.
What’s Coming in Season 3
We’ve had a blast this season overviewing the Inbound Partnership Journey. Our claim to you is this—if you cycle back through this season, and read the eBook, you’ll be well on your way to happier clients.
Happier clients has a lot to do with you and the way you set expectations. Next season, we’re going to be talking about the tough things. These are the items that are hard conversations like:
- Writing better contracts
- Handling scope creep
- Knowing when to fire a client
- Firing a client properly
