7 Tips for Managing Client Expectations

Managing client expectations is a critical skill in delivering good quality work, which both you and your clients are happy with. Client expectations tie directly into the level of satisfaction a client will receive from your work.
Here are eight tips for managing client expectations.

1) Set goals, and point to these goals during every single conversation.

You can’t manage the expected success of a project without first setting mutually agreed upon tactics that align with the client’s business goals. This is the first step to getting you and the client on the same page and working towards the same end result.

In addition, when the client’s goals are established, you can point to these when they request a last-minute project or want to start over on a campaign. Will this help them to reach their goals? Or is this simply another distraction?

2) Create a detailed plan for all projects.

Even if your client claims he doesn’t care how it gets done, as long as it gets the results he wants, you still need to detail a plan of action with timelines. The client should be able to point to the status of a project at all times.

This also helps with managing expectations as the plan or scope of work should outline what deadlines the client must meet and the deliverables your team needs to stay on track.

3) Be upfront about what happens if plans change.

This could be as simple as adding a line that details that if approvals are missed, the timeline will be moved back to reflect the delay in approval from the client. It might also be a conversation where you detail the possible risks in the project, how you are working to prevent these from holding up the project, and what your backup plan is. It’s ultimately your job to get the results, so you need to be considering what could prevent you from delivering a project on time.

This helps the client to adjust their expectations that things always go smoothly. There are roadblocks and setbacks in most projects. They just need to trust that you’ve thought through how a detour might impact their project.

4) Set expectations about how your agency works.

To build off of the last point, increasing trust is one of the best ways to manage expectations.

When beginning the relationship, communicate to the client how your team works. Introduce them to the people who will be working on their account so they can put a face to the person working on their project.

Make them a list of promises that you will adhere to, such as: You’ll never receive a surprise bill. If something is out of scope, the agency will discuss why it is beyond the limits of the project, and we will get written approval before doing any work that would cause additional costs to the client.

It could also be as simple as: We will respond to any email within 24 hours. If we don’t have an answer, we’ll still respond and let you know we’re working on it.

When it’s a new relationship, there are just too many unknowns. Giving the client a better understanding of your promises as a business partner will help them set their expectations and allow you to always meet them.

5) Be transparent about what you can accomplish.

Be transparent about what you can and can’t accomplish — what the limitations of the process are. Share case studies and examples of your previous work. Reveal what previous client’s wanted and how you accomplished their goals even though there were adjustments to the original asks of the client.

6) Always underpromise.

You might want to deliver a fully functional, lead generating machine of a website in less than 30 days, but this is far from realistic. However, when you’re sitting face-to-face with a client who states that the site must be done in the next month, it can be tempting to respond with, “We might be able to do that.” The problem is the client only hears that you said you could get it done.

Give your team some cushion for the unexpected, and then deliver ahead of time. If you miss a deadline because you agreed to an unrealistic deadline, then all the trust you’ve built up will quickly be forgotten.

7) Overcommunicate and overcommunicate and then communicate some more.

It’s a mistake everyone makes. We think we hear something. We misremember a conversation. We focus in on one sentence in an email and glaze over the rest. We make assumptions.

You should excel at communication so we need to make it a point to deliver clear and actionable information that keeps clients informed of progress on a project, wins from a campaign, and details they need to keep reinvesting in your agency.

In addition, it’s not enough to just keep your point of contact on the client side informed. Make sure your contact is also communicating with her managers or provide her with the emails and documents she needs to report on to her bosses. Everyone should be clear about the strategy, the plan, the goals, the accomplishments, and the next steps at all times.