Before the first call with a client, even an experienced SMM manager gets nervous. Of course, we all want to spread our peacock feathers and show that you won't find anyone better or more creative than us. But that's not the most important thing. Read further for hints on what to ask the client during the first call and why it's important.

First, you need to understand the business and niche the client operates in.

• What do they do? What products/services do they offer?
• Who are the competitors and how do they differ from them?
• In which price segment are they located? What is the average check?
• If selling products, do they manufacture them or buy them somewhere? If they buy, then where?
• Is the project regional or working throughout Russia, the world?
• Is there seasonality?
• If there are many products/services, which one is the most profitable?

Be sure to independently study reviews of the company you will work with. You can find a lot of interesting things there and ask additional questions.

Target audience

This is the most important thing. If you don’t understand who you will be creating content for, what is important for these people, the project is doomed to fail.

1. Request access to Yandex.Metrica or Google Analytics if the client has a website. If there are already active social networks, then to them as well, to view statistics. Assess the audience's socio-demographics and geography.

2. How does the client themselves describe their audience?

3. What are the most common objections about the product/service from the target audience?

Some clients are well-oriented in their target audience, some are not. If there is insufficient information and the client cannot answer all your questions, ask them to involve their colleagues. For example, sales managers. They communicate with clients the most and are aware of all the nuances.

4. What needs/problems does the product or service solve for the target audience?

Previous experience

Find out if the client has tried to promote themselves on social media independently or with the help of other contractors. What results did this lead to? What did they like, and what didn't? A lot of interesting things can come up here, and the information obtained will help understand which hypotheses have already been tested and why they didn't work.

The client might think you're a secret agent trying to uncover their company's confidential information. Just kidding. Many are wary of questions about previous contractors and their experiences or about the current number of sales in the company. Reassure the client. Explain that you’re not going to immediately write an exposé on social media after talking to them. You just need to gather as much information as possible to better immerse yourself and be MAXIMALLY USEFUL FOR THEM (sorry for the caps, it was important to emphasize this point).

Goals, KPI

If you do not understand what the client wants and expects from SMM promotion, this client will not stay with you for long.

There is a catch — the client may say they need subscribers, “I want people in my group to interact, love me, talk about me, and recognize my company.” Yes, these are all real goals of SMM promotion. But no one will invest money just like that. Any investment must return. Therefore, in 90% of cases, the goal is sales. You must be unwavering and get to the heart of the matter.

If the client immediately stated that they need to increase the number of sales, you need to understand the numbers — by how much to increase. Ask how many sales from social networks there are now? If there are no social networks yet, then from the website. At a minimum, it should pay off what they spend on social networks.

KPI is a separate topic. Never agree to KPIs from the first month! The client will put pressure and say they need guarantees, they need to understand what they will get, they want to be sure that what they invest in SMM promotion will pay off. That is normal. But if you agree to KPIs from the first month — that’s an empty promise.

Always think about your reputation and cherish it, do not make empty promises.

Even if you have worked in the same field or an adjacent one, you don’t know for sure what will happen with this particular project. Your experience may allow predicting but not promising. Without one to two months of active posting and a solid test ad campaign, do not commit to specific numbers. After all the tests and assessment of the audience’s reaction to the content, you can discuss further KPIs.

Interaction scheme

It is important to determine who is responsible for what, as well as your main contact person on the client’s side.

1. Where does your responsibility zone end and the sales managers’ area start?

2. Who approves the budget for advertising, post texts, design, etc.?

If contact persons change frequently or there are too many of them in the project, information starts to get lost and/or distorted.

For example, you called the marketing director who oversees your work:

— Ivan Ivanovich, let's write a post about the year-end results? We’ll be all honest and cool — tell them that revenue doubled, but also mention the failures. Like, we are reducing the distance with the audience and are not afraid to tell all the details.

— Cool idea, Vasya. I like it. They will surely love us.

The next day:

— Here you go, Ivan Ivanovich. How’s the post?

— Looked at it, seems cool to me. I’ll show it to the boss just in case and we’ll post it.

30 minutes later, the boss yells on the phone:

— Who allowed writing the revenue figures? Where did the info about the failed project come from? All competitors are watching us, such things must not be disclosed!

Warn the client about this, say openly that a large number of people on the project will hinder work. They must determine the main filter — either remain there themselves or appoint a person who knows the project no less than them. Otherwise, contradictory edits from dozens of contact persons will slow not only the work but also the promotion’s effectiveness.

Important conclusion

Unfortunately, many think that asking many questions = looking like a fool. My advice — pretend to be fools. Ask everything that is unclear. This information will help you understand the client, set the correct goals, and define metrics, which means building a strategy. The result: happiness and money for everyone. Be happy, fellow SMM managers!