The role of a web marketer often entails telling the client what they believe needs to be done in order for the site to succeed online. But before an SEO campaign can even begin, there is a good amount of “listening” that needs to happen.
Before starting any web marketing campaign, we ask our clients a series of questions designed to help us get a better understanding of the client’s needs, wants and desires. This is used to help us set the strategy in a way that serves the client’s best interest.
For the most part, clients have a pretty good idea of what they want, but they don’t usually know the best way to achieve their goals. This is where the listening goes both ways.
Clients should also be sure to listen to the web marketer’s plan and then ask questions as necessary to help them understand how it all plays out. When clients, who undoubtedly know less about web marketing than the web marketer, are dictating the course of the campaign, they tie the hands of the marketers. Ultimately, this keeps them from doing what truly needs to be done to succeed.
When both parties take the time to listen to needs, desired outcomes and courses of action, then the web marketing campaign moves forward much more smoothly and effectively. If either side pretends to know it all, the outcomes will be fairly predictable, and it’s rarely good for anybody.