How to Choose the Right Clients for Your Digital Marketing Agency: Avoiding Problematic Projects for Long-Term Success
As a digital marketing agency, one of the most important lessons we’ve learned is the significance of selecting the right clients. The wrong client can drain your resources, damage your reputation, and hinder your ability to deliver successful marketing campaigns. The right client, however, can lead to long-term success, mutual growth, and impressive results.
But how do you differentiate between good clients and bad clients? What should freelancers and agencies look for before taking on a project? In this article, we’ll explore:
Whether you’re a freelancer or a full-fledged agency, this guide will help you choose clients who align with your goals, while ensuring that every project leads to digital marketing success.
But how do you differentiate between good clients and bad clients? What should freelancers and agencies look for before taking on a project? In this article, we’ll explore:
- The characteristics of good clients
- Red flags to watch for in bad clients
- Why turning down a project can sometimes be the best decision for your business
Whether you’re a freelancer or a full-fledged agency, this guide will help you choose clients who align with your goals, while ensuring that every project leads to digital marketing success.
The Good Clients: A Dream to Work With
Let’s start with the ideal client. These are the businesses that understand their own goals but need a professional digital team to make them a reality. They’re not only looking for leads and conversions, but they recognize that optimization is a process.
They want results, but they respect the phases of growth—and they’re ready to invest the time it takes to get there.
In the world of digital marketing, working with good clients makes all the difference. These are businesses that understand the value of what you bring to the table.
They want results, but they respect the phases of growth—and they’re ready to invest the time it takes to get there.
In the world of digital marketing, working with good clients makes all the difference. These are businesses that understand the value of what you bring to the table.
- They Understand the Optimization Process: Good clients know that website optimization and marketing improvements take time. Whether it's improving their website speed, enhancing mobile performance, or refining their conversion rate optimization (CRO), they are willing to invest in the long-term success of their business.
- For An In-Depth Look at the optimization process, check out this guide on Conversion Rate Optimization by HubSpot.
- They Focus on Their Core Business: These clients want to spend their time growing their own business. They leave the operational and technical digital work to the professionals because they understand that outsourcing to experts is how they’ll get ahead. They know their strengths and trust you to handle yours.
- Realistic Expectations: Good clients understand that success in digital marketing is a process, not an overnight achievement. They are patient, provide valuable feedback, and trust the necessary iterations to deliver meaningful results. Whether it's A/B testing landing pages, optimizing ad copy, or refining campaigns across PPC (Google/Bing Ads) and Paid media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc.), they recognize that both time and budget are crucial for optimization. They value the process and rely on expert guidance to achieve sustained growth.
The Bad Clients: Red Flags to Watch For
On the other hand, there are clients who make the job more difficult than it needs to be. These clients often don't understand the value of professional expertise, or they expect unrealistic outcomes with little budget or patience.
Advice for Freelancers: Beware the Unwinnable Projects
For freelancers, taking on bad clients can be particularly risky. You might be tempted to take every project that comes your way, but bad clients can ruin your portfolio, damage your reputation, and make it difficult to produce exceptional results.
3 Tips for Freelancers to Avoid Unwinnable Projects:
- Lack of Understanding About Their Product: This is one of the biggest red flags. When a client doesn’t fully grasp the issues their product or website has, it’s a sign of trouble. For example, if their website loads slowly, isn’t optimized for mobile, or has major UX flaws, but they refuse to acknowledge it, the digital marketing strategies you implement won’t perform as they should.
- Expecting Instant Results: Bad clients are the ones who demand overnight success—even when you’ve explained that digital marketing is a process. They expect to see their conversions skyrocket within days of launching a campaign, and when that doesn’t happen, they place the blame squarely on you. These are the clients who don’t respect the phases of growth and often abandon ship when the going gets tough.
- Refusal to Take Professional Advice: Some clients just don’t want to listen to the expertise they’re paying for. We've seen clients who argue with every recommendation, from improving mobile speed to fixing a broken website structure. No matter how many examples or case studies you present, they’re unwilling to change.
Advice for Freelancers: Beware the Unwinnable Projects
For freelancers, taking on bad clients can be particularly risky. You might be tempted to take every project that comes your way, but bad clients can ruin your portfolio, damage your reputation, and make it difficult to produce exceptional results.
3 Tips for Freelancers to Avoid Unwinnable Projects:
- Have an Open Conversation: Before accepting a project, have a clear discussion about the challenges the client’s product faces. Do they understand what needs to be fixed? Are they willing to make improvements?
- Set Clear Expectations: Educate the client on the phases of optimization, whether it’s improving mobile vs. desktop speed, fixing images that don’t load correctly, or restructuring the website. Transparency upfront is key.
- Gauge Their Commitment: Is the client willing to invest in long-term success? Or are they hoping for quick, easy wins? If they aren’t serious about building a solid foundation for their digital presence, it’s better to walk away.
Why Saying No Can Be a Smart Business Move
Sometimes, the best decision you can make is to turn down a project. It’s not an easy choice—especially when you’re passionate about your work—but in the long run, protecting your reputation and your ability to deliver quality results matters more than the quick paycheck.
Bad clients can drain your energy, destroy your morale, and, worst of all, ruin your credibility. As a freelancer or digital agency, your job is to produce results. You can only do that if the client is willing to work with you and make the necessary changes to their product or digital infrastructure.
Bad clients can drain your energy, destroy your morale, and, worst of all, ruin your credibility. As a freelancer or digital agency, your job is to produce results. You can only do that if the client is willing to work with you and make the necessary changes to their product or digital infrastructure.
Conclusion: Choose Clients Who Invest in Their Success
Ultimately, your success as a digital marketing agency or freelancer hinges on working with the right clients. Good clients understand the value of your expertise, trust you to handle the digital side of their business, and are willing to invest in the optimization process. Bad clients, on the other hand, can make the work harder than it needs to be.
When selecting clients, remember this: It’s better to build a strong foundation than to rush for quick results. Choose clients who are ready to collaborate, improve, and grow.
For more resources on client management and success in digital marketing, visit Moz’s Client Guide.
When selecting clients, remember this: It’s better to build a strong foundation than to rush for quick results. Choose clients who are ready to collaborate, improve, and grow.
For more resources on client management and success in digital marketing, visit Moz’s Client Guide.
23.09.2024