Posted March 31, 2015 by Team UpCity | Written by Puya TurkiyanOn boarding for digital marketers is ...

1. 28 Questions When On-Boarding Digital Marketing Clients
Posted March 31, 2015 by Team UpCity |
Written by Puya Turkiyan
On boarding for digital marketers is probably 1 of the most overlooked aspects of a successful online
marketing campaign. I am guilty of it myself. As an agency, we have forgotten to ask critical
questions in the past from different clients. Even when I worked for previous agencies, there wasn't
really a good foundation with what information needed to be on the on boarding document for each
client. Over time that process has been streamlined and we don't have to waste time chasing simple
information.
Your Team Needs Access To Key Information
As a project manager, you have to make sure the whole team has access to key people on the clients
end. For example, they might need to know if they have an in-house developer, designer, social
media manager etc. With each campaign we need to make sure everything is benchmarked and all
key contacts highlighted in a master file.
Here's a sample technical list to get started:
Who installs technical code?
Will we have to take care of that?
What's their contact information?
How do we setup a sub-domains or landing pages?
Do we have FTP/cPanel access?
Can we have access to social accounts?
Can we have proper CMS access?

2. You might end up looking really dumb if you ask a client who handles social media 3 months down
the line. So it's critical to know everyone in their organization before starting any campaign.
Handling Content Creation
"The more content you have, the better your site will do". HubSpot has pushed this fact for the last
few years. However, I always like to think quality is a lot better than pushing worthless content.
We've seen how some of the top names in our industry are now trying to push quality over quantity.
Think about it. Wouldn't it be better to have one amazing article vs. five okay articles? That's what
we're trying to do here at New Media Sources and hope you take note.
Here's a sample checklist for content creation
Who is responsible for approving content or copy?
Can anyone else contribute for your team or on the clients end?
Is it possible to outsource content and how much can budget?
Can we train staff to write articles?
Do they have time?
Do they even want to write?
Can they stick to a schedule?
Working with the sales team or the front desk
In most cases you'll be working with only a couple of people, which deal with sales. In some cases,
there will be a full sales team. In all cases, you have to have access to anyone that deals with
customers directly or indirectly.
A list of what you'll need to know with the sales team
Learn everything you can about their business
Make sure the process they have is correct
You don't want to see all your effort go to waste when qualified leads are not being closed properly
What data and details are available about customer personas?
In most cases you won't have enough information on their customers so you'll need to dig that out
with surveys and running tests
Try to subscribe to relevant blogs so you can learn about what the industry is doing
Would it be possible to attend conferences?
Are there product updates happening? Will there be new products?

3. Meeting and speaking to your client and their team
Depending on budget, regular meetings are essential to keep misunderstandings and what you're
doing on track. In most cases the employees of the client you'll be working with will actually know
more about the day-to-day operations than the client.
A meeting checklist to get you started
When is the best time to meet the most important people in the organization?
How often are there going to be meetings?
Should there be meetings with the shareholders?
Can meetings be online or in person?
What metrics will be covered with each meeting?
The first few months
The first few months are always the hardest in terms of getting everything right. Some clients will
prolong the on-boarding process by not giving you what you need. Some clients will give you
everything you need within the first month. Having a standard on-boarding template will save
countless hours when it comes time to completing projects. By having all the information you need,
you will not only impress your client, but also get your team back on track whenever they need help.
It's also very important to tie your online marketing checklist with your on-boarding template. This
way nothing is left or forgotten.
Preparation is always key to a successful digital marketing campaign.
The full list
Here's the full list if you want to copy and paste it:
Who installs technical code?
Will we have to take care of that?
What's their contact information?
How do we setup a sub-domains or landing pages?
Do we have FTP/cPanel access?
Can we have access to social accounts?
Can we have proper CMS access?
Who is responsible for approving content or copy?

4. Can anyone else contribute for your team or on the clients end?
Is it possible to outsource content and how much can budget?
Can we train staff to write articles?
Do they have time?
Do they even want to write?
Can they stick to a schedule?
Learn everything you can about their business
Make sure the process they have is correct
You don't want to see all your effort go to waste when qualified leads are not being closed properly
What data and details are available about customer personas?
In most cases you won't have enough information on their customers so you'll need to dig that out
with surveys and running tests
Try to subscribe to relevant blogs so you can learn about what the industry is doing
Would it be possible to attend conferences?
Are there product updates happening? Will there be new products?
When is the best time to meet the most important people in the organization?
How often are there going to be meetings?
Should there be meetings with the shareholders?
Can meetings be online or in person?
What metrics will be covered with each meeting?
Questions/Comments
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. I would love to hear
how others on-board clients. By using the list I've written, you will definitely impress your clients
because you'll end up learning more about their business in a short period of time.
You can tweak and change the list based on the different clients, which get signed.
Have I missed anything? Are there improvements you can make to the list? You can contact me
directly and we'll change or add to the list.

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Categories: Agency Marketing Tips, UpCity
http://upcity.com/blog/2015/03/28-questions-when-on-boarding-digital-marketing-clients/