Putting Numbers To Nonsense

Ever run into a situation where your client is just insisting on what you know is a poor practice?

It happens a lot, especially in digital, where metrics can be learned pretty quickly. At some of my gigs, I've been front line with clients who just had to do things in a certain way, even when it meant they were leaving money on the table.

(A small aside: of all the places to leave money, isn't the table one of your better choices? At least there, you'd think you'd be able to get to it pretty quickly. Moving on.)

You'd be surprised, honestly, by just how hard it is to change some processes, especially in more conservative verticals. Bringing in more aggressive e-commerce practices and design work can seem like you are downgrading the brand or threatening the margins.

In moments like this, your only real course of action as a marketing and advertising change agent is to try to put numbers to the practice. Ideally, this is done in a test cell, but if you aren't getting enough traction to change the poor practice in the first place, maybe a test is also asking too much.

Here's the process that I usually take.

1) Defuse the situation. Often, changes can be seen as a threat to outside creatives, or a situation where you can come off as insensitive or threatening. So what you need to do is point out that your motives in making this recommendation are for the long-term success of your client. It seems like something that's so obvious that it doesn't need to be said, but believe me -- it needs to be said.

2) Clothe it in a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) moment. If a competitor is doing better because of the practice, if you feel like you've established a little bit of rapport, then show the better practice in question. While you should never quote a performance boost in a way that seems promissory for obvious liability issues, quoting a general "up to" number can be effective. 

3) Don't get doctrinaire. You don't need to make this a my way or the highway kind of approach. If your new way of doing things inspires a test because it speaks to a new thought process, that may be a bigger win that what you were recommending. Remember, the point isn't to just improve performance; it's also to learn something significant.

4) Make it seem like their idea. If you can tie the thought process from your clients's supplied materials, it's a spoonful of sugar. Again, it's all about where you get to, not who will get credit for the direction.

5) Identify the blocking agent, and if necessary, set yourself a reminder. Every meaningful change tends to come all of a sudden in most testing situations, so if you do find yourself blocked, keep in mind the name of the person performing the block, and a 3 to 6 month window where you ask again. Persistence pays, especially if you work in a restrictive environment.

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Persistence can also pay off when you like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit our RFP boxes at top right. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.