“It’s been 10 months since the Coronavirus has shaken our lives and flipped the world upside down.”
Sadly! Coronavirus has impacted 188 countries and marked 1.01 million deaths that dramatically led us to an undeniable economic crisis.
Well, this is something I would never have expected. Nobody did, right?
So, I can understand that these staggering facts are quite disturbing for you.
That’s stressful, really it is, especially for the business owners, marketers, investors, and stakeholders.
When the coronavirus first hit the US states, I was in a quite worrisome position. Because search behaviors were dramatically changed due to this viral disease and expected to continue for an unlimited duration.
The more I thought, the more I got stressed about how would we survive?
What could be the impacts on online businesses and how would I deal with my SEO clients?
What would happen if they stopped paying and using the service?
Honestly, I did not appear to have any satisfactory answer, even for my clients!
Yes, I know this was something more alarming for me and also for my SEO fellows who are owing the pleasure to read my post.
So, I took this as the biggest challenge and developed proper plans and ideas for me and my fellow SEO professionals to deal with clients during this pandemic.
1. Consolidate the costs, don’t be mean!
Business owners love to save money!
That’s what everybody wants, right?
Especially in this devastating scenario, you can’t afford to lose money where your client may think to leave or scale back.
But you must need to understand that leaving is definitely not a good option either for the client or an SEO professional like you and me.
I remember when the first time that happened to me like years ago, I felt a great hit on both my ego and finances! I wasn’t ready to experience failure so I took that so seriously and decided to crush the next project with dedication and the most advanced SEO methodologies.
Unfortunately, now is not the best time to experience that, not for me and not for anyone of you.
So, the best you can do is minimize the damage through cost consolidation.
When you personally reach out to your clients, show them the consequences after leaving, it always impacts them negatively and they think twice before making such a serious move.
That’s why I believe it’s essential to approach them with a lot of ideas and strategies to scale back the costs and outline everything from the start.
This is probably such a daunting and time taking task so SEO professionals may feel better to leave than to handle this professionally and sensibly.
Your clients need to know what they are going to lose, and how this could impact their growth. Believe me, this works a lot in retaining clients.
“Being an SEO professional, you should always view your clients as your potential partners.”
When you think that way, you would ultimately want to lower the costs for them.
I did the same thing, and I would suggest you do it as well.
Performing free technical audits and cutting the costs on keyword research, and ongoing off-site SEO may solve a lot of problems at both ends.
Clients show gratitude after paying less, and you as a professional overcome the fear of losing a long-term client.
Not only that, sharing in that mutual objective may create a special bond with the client which never lets him go whatever the situation is.
You can assure your clients that you will keep working this way during challenging times no matter how far it goes.
So, whether you are an individual SEO expert or running an agency, following that tactic may help you keep getting paid for months.
As a result- things will work smoothly in the long run!
2. Adjust the strategy and inspire by the numbers!
I hate to break this fact, and I know you won’t be agreeing with me when you hear that I am asking you to make adjustments in your SEO strategy and play by the numbers.
Yes, this is the most hectic job of SEO professionals as they need to revise the things from the start and make adjustments to stay ahead of the curve.
But here, the scenario is changed and we are living through a pandemic where we have to sustain the client’s business among big boys in the industry.
So, it’s important to adjust the strategy to show continuous performance improvements, and help your clients understand that their business cannot survive without SEO.
The more you unleash positive KPI’s, the more the chances to cultivate positivity in clients. By doing that your client will get an exact idea about how you are performing.
Your clients are anxiously waiting to see the results and they can’t wait to experience the benefits of SEO that you promise to deliver at the time of signing the contract.
Well, it’s natural, you can’t do anything to control this.
If your client has set some specific goals, then you are required to meet them through innovative methods.
Because you are not only required to report the numbers that depict your performance in a positive light.
But you also need to show how you managed to save their site from being spammed and what significant steps you have planned for the next week.
Show them a half part of your strategy (make them curious), and briefly summarize what plans you are following ahead to keep the consistent flow of leads.
Report all the new sources of traffic and conversions, and make them realize that your efforts are worth the investment.
Highlight how you boost the process of visits and clicks on your site, and what steps you take to decrease the bounce rate.
Inspire them by the numbers, even if they are making slow progress. This might boost the credibility of your service, and they would require your help to save their sinking business.
Show them the latest keyword monitoring trend you have been following and mention that you won’t be seeing that for next 2 or 3 weeks. Give them the strategy that just works for a while and not for the coming weeks.
Prove with your actions that how some companies are threat for them and why SEO professionals are the only hope that can help them compete in this digital landscape.
Remember what Matt Cutts said a few years ago?
“SEO is like a resume; you polish it so you have your best foot forward.”
This proves that the more you polish your SEO efforts and bring constant changes according to the trends, the more are the chances to show your best side to the world.
I would recommend the same. I would also recommend you to follow the tactics that nobody else is following so far.
Perform in-depth research, study evaluations, check graphs, and do everything to come up with something unique that motivates your clients to continue getting your services.
Hence, I believe it’s the best thing to stand by the numbers rather than manipulation; and keep it straight to the client that you need to follow a more reliable approach for the next few weeks if they want outstanding results during the corona pandemic.
As a result- you might receive appreciation and motivation, as your client is already hoping for excellence.
3. Keep the clients in a constant communication loop
Did you know what’s the most crucial and challenging parts of the SEO process?
Keeping your clients in a constant communication loop where they are getting updates every minute, increases the trust of your client which ultimately helps you release quick payments while maintaining a strong dialogue with them.
Now it doesn’t matter if you are crushing all the SEO metrics, completing targets, and delivering winning figures.
If your client is not in the loop and you are approaching him in the end dates to clear invoices, he won’t be satisfied with the results ever.
In fact, he would think that it’s still not worth the investment.
Establish regular client communication in terms of SEO methods and technical conversation so he can get accurate ideas about how you have been managing the things and what direction your business might take after a few months.
Believe me, this doubles the trust of your client and he would feel more passionate to take his business to the next level.
I have met some SEO clients who do not feel satisfied with 1 monthly report. Instead, they demand biweekly or weekly reporting so they can better track the results while getting leads.
Clients also love to dive deep to get proper insights and analytics of their website, and some SEO professionals believe that the client has zero knowledge about the stuff and they don’t understand any metrics.
Well, don’t tell me if you are living with that misconception too! But if that’s true, then I would recommend you to change the perspective soon, a real soon!
Keep reminding your clients that success is not an overnight process and quitting won’t speed up the whole process.
I am sure they would understand what you want to convey!
If you think that your team is doing great in SEO, and hitting surprising figures every month, it’s still not going to make any difference if the client is not able to get everything you have done for his site.
It’s important to convey what’s working and what needs more improvement, what are your next plans, and how you aim to achieve his long-term goals. Check Top Seo Trends 2020.
When you make your client a part of your decision-making process, you will see how it could double his interest.
It’s also quite essential to speak with your clients by staying at their level of understanding. It’s not at all appropriate to communicate with your client in terms of technical language or discuss things they have zero ideas about.
Building a reputation and maintaining an excellent relationship with the client always streamline the overall process both in terms of workflow and cash.
When you further grow as an SEO company, you can even recruit a full team of professionals whose main purpose is to engage clients and maintain communication to keep them involved in everything.
This is undoubtedly the best secret to build raving fans as well as strengthen brand loyalty.
As a result- you can expect great rewards and long-term contracts.
Conclusion
Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic may get potentially worse in the next few months. There is no escape and there is no solution discovered so far that could help us fight with the situation.
The daily count of positive COVID19 cases is tremendously increasing and we still need to practice social distancing for an unannounced period.
From my personal standpoint, all we can manage is to follow preventive measures, wash our hands more often, and stay indoors.
But from my professional standpoint, its important to make the change during that period and show your clients that how you can take their business to the new heights of success while positioning them as an authority in the industry. Your clients may think that SEO can do no good for their company and they might consider implementing more advanced strategies of growth.
But the fact is, online marketing like SEO, is showing remarkable growth and development to all the businesses who have not ever followed the bandwagon of using SEO.
Make your clients believe that this is the time to utilize for their advantage and assure them how you can put great efforts to recognize yourself as the best service provider in town.
By doing that, chances are you might come stronger and courageous out of this corona pandemic and beat all the competitors who think that this is the end!
So, are you ready to implement the above-mentioned ideas to deal better with your clients?
If you felt inspired, let me know your thoughts in the comments.