Questions Agencies SHOULDN’T Ask  ## Metadata - Author: [[Jay Leonard]] - Full Title: Questions Agencies SHOULDN’T Ask - Category: #articles - Summary: If you’re an agency starting a new project, you might be tempted to give the client a barrage… - URL: http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/questions-agencies-shouldnt-ask-0996685 If you’re an agency starting a new project, you might be tempted to give the client a barrage of intake questions on their goals, budget, what’s working, what isn’t working, what creatives they’re using, and so forth. We’re not saying you shouldn’t ask any questions. **But if you’re a strategic marketer, you know that half of the problem is defining the problem.** And if you do this, you’ll know the client is asking you to figure out the right channel mix, the appropriate budget for the upcoming campaign, and what set of tactics to use. If your heart surgeon is asking you, the patient, which scalpel to use, then you should be worried. But if your surgeon starts operating without knowing the problem or having sufficient skill, then you should panic. Let the client define the [business goals](http://allfacebook.com/10-questions-your-facebook-marketing-consultant-better-be-able-to-answer_b116177) sufficient enough for you to figure out the rest.  As you’d expect, your primary goals are driving sales, which are the bottom of the funnel. But we have [audience and engagement goals](http://blitzmetrics.com/10-bad-ass-mofus/), too, depending upon the type of content: * For example, with YouTube, they’ve stated they want more views at a lower cost per view. * We want to pin (maximize click traffic to first position) on branded terms. * We want to measure the overlap between various channels ([omni-channel marketing](http://www.dennis-yu.com/facebook-and-omniture-ink-analytics-and-ad-serving-deal-problems-lie-ahead/)). You should be able to see past performance via access to AdWords, Omniture, and other tools we have, native or third-party. The client is looking to us to define the right channel allocation to drive each of the [three parts of the funnel.](https://alexhoug.com/3-campaign-system-facebook-funnel-operates) If we have to ask them what their goals are, what the budget is, and how to allocate, we’d then be asking them to teach us and manage our efforts. In the pursuit of these goals, we may ask them for clarification around target CPA, CPV, CPC, etc… Or perhaps get the marketing calendar for what’s going to go live in Q3 and Q4, so we can plan around it ([balance channel spend](https://alexhoug.com/mechanics-facebook-ad-budgeting)). Or even listen to their views on what has worked or not, which is not something we’d know from merely looking at the data. We want to balance the need to do our homework with the need to work collaboratively with the client. In the case of the former, by erring to far, we shoot in the dark. In the case of the latter, by erring too far, we show we’re lazy and need to be micro-managed like offshore labor. Rather than use a traditional agency mentality, where we hide behind bureaucracy, we recognize we’re part of the same team. Think of what this means in terms of actions for each of us., Questions Agencies SHOULDN’T Ask, Jay Leonard, 01gnmd09hwn8efyk31x5924ty6.