When the project at hand is content marketing, the client supplier relationship should be a partnership. The client to supplier ratio in regards to input, output and feedback should be, approximately, a 40:60 relationship. What this means is that anything less that 40% involvement from the client could result in ineffective content, inaccurate information and the possibility of a marketing strategy that could have been very successful yet fell short. Both parties must be actively involved in the process from beginning to end.

Let us consider the type of scenarios where the client should be pushing the project to enable the supplier to give his or her best in pulling the weight.

The Project Brief

In the initial planning of the content marketing strategy, the client’s initial briefing must be all encompassing and accurate. The project size should not be minimised or maximised. Minimising the vastness of the project in the hope of getting a low quote will be detrimental. Time estimates and deadlines will end up not being met; communication will be negatively affected, and so starts the slippery slope.

Decision Making

The supplier must provide creative solutions and innovative options to help the client in making decisions. The client should then make their decisions based on the options provided. It is important to come to a conclusion regarding every single detail, and then, last but definitely not least, stick to those decisions made.

Project Implementation

The supplier must do all the planning with the client, and not start any work without the client’s official sign off. There is no way of knowing what one person to the next will prefer, so for the provider to take initiative and go on his or her own tangent is risky. The client must be involved throughout the implementation process, i.e. providing information and feedback. For the client to request vast changes in the final phase of the project could result in weeks of work being redundant, which is painful for the provider but also a schlep for the client’s team.

Scope Creeping

While the supplier is to stick to the original brief and pull through on all requirements according to the set deadline, the client should not interrupt this process through scope-creeping. Scope-creeping at the supplier’s expense results in a resentful supplier and tension in the relationship. Trying to score freebies out of your supplier is never a good idea. The content marketing agency is a business of their own, and what’s more is that they probably have way more than a single client. Abuse from the client, as subtle as it may be, will unfortunately move the client to the bottom of the supplier’s priority list, plus, that extra bit of effort that the supplier loves giving to their clients, will simply not be worth it in a case like this.

Payment

When all is done the supplier should invoice the client on time and provide everything that the client needs to make the payment, like the company VAT number. The client should not delay payments. A delayed payment will, unfortunately move you to the bottom of the priority list.

In Closing

The content marketing agency needs information from the client in order to produce content. Whether they are marketing the client’s website, blog, and social media or generating a database through newsletters and competitions, any piece of content needs to be informed by and approved by the client. The client should, as a start, make him or herself available for providing information, interviews, sign-off and feedback. The relationship should be one that is based on clear communication, excluding manipulation, abuse and any kind of unfair practice.

The supplier’s role is then to take what is given by the client and turn it into content marketing magic.

Sound Idea Digital is a full service digital marketing agency.
For more information contact 012 664 4227 or email to info@soundidea.co.za

Carla van Straten is a writer for Sound Idea Digital | Carla@soundidea.co.za | @SoundIdeaLMS | Sound Idea Digital l www.soundidea.co.za