When going into a digital client needs analysis meeting it can be hard to determine where to start. There are so many products and options to consider it can be daunting to everyone involved. To avoid overwhelming clients with all the different possibilities, it is helpful to do your homework and research first.

Prepping for the meeting:

  • Use K-meta.com and check out some keywords to recommend and talk about Keyword Targeting
  • Look at all the pages of their website, check out their products and services. How many locations do they have?
  • Do they have a Live Chat box?
  • Do you see some good ideas for conversions to track on their website? What actions do they want people to take on their website? Take notes and jot down ideas.
  • Google them, do they show up on the first page for keywords related to their business? Do they have a knowledge graph that appears when you Google the name of their business? If not, you may want to discuss SEO options.
  • Look for brand names and manufacturers they list on their website; they may have some co-op money to utilize!

Taking the time to walk through these prep steps will give you an edge and help you narrow in faster on possible needs and ideas.

Next, it is time to ask questions, be a good listener and take more notes!  Remember to ask WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, HOW:

Who is the target audience? Remember digital can get hyper targeted so ask and ask some more. If they say, “women” you say, tell me more about her, what age? What is she interested in? Where does she shop? Where does she dine? Tell me more about how she behaves.  Get as specific as possible and take notes!

Next ask, What advertising do you currently do both traditional media and online ads? This is a brilliant way to narrow in even more. If they talk about doing outdoor boards, you can talk about Mobile Conquesting, if they talk about email marketing, you can talk about using email lists with Native Ads or Facebook Custom Audience.

Ask Where does the customer live and work. Find out if we want to target zip codes or cities. Do we need to geo-fence some tighter locations? Do we need to have enough budget to cover the state or multiple cities?

Next you want to match up the goals of the client with the correct products. If they want to drive people to the store, talk about tracking in-store visits with Mobile Conquesting. If they want to drive website traffic talk about Native, Display ads, and SEO.

Finally, finish by asking When they would like to see a proposal and How much budget to use.

The goal is to avoid causing death by power point or information overload – the goal is to guide, not to blow minds on all the super cool things we can do.

Vici has a fantastic new checklist that helps you prepare prior to the meeting and ensures you stay on track during the meeting, reach out to your Trainer for a copy.  Asking the right questions is the key to marrying client expectations and goals to a robust effective campaign that hits the nail on their needs.