This blog post is part of an insightful series of interviews we are conducting with successful & well regarded web designers, SEOs and agency owners. Read all our other SEO Agency Q&A articles here.
*All answers are the words of the interviewees and any opinions expressed are those of the interviewee and not necessarily of BrightLocal.
This Q&A interview is conducted with Brian Childers from foxxr.com
Brian Childers
Brian is the CEO of Foxxr, a highly successful internet marketing company founded in Capitola, California in 2008 offering Web Design, Local Search / SEO and Live Local Workshops.
*All answers are the words of the interviewees and any opinions expressed are those of the interviewee and not BrightLocal.
1. How often do you physically meet with your customers?
There is no better time than face-time. For our local monthly customers, at least once per month. Our new web development customers meet with us for an initial consultation. We find this is crucial to set the expectations. We take them through a short Powerpoint to explain the development process, the SEO landscape and the scope of their project. We also meet before launch to review our “launch sequence” and ensure that all necessary steps are completed for a smooth launch.
2. How important is trust in your client relationships & how do you develop trust between you & your clients?
Trust is the number one reason people buy from us. We do our best to build that trust by keeping the client in the loop, offering weekly workshops, support material and being available to answer their concerns. We try to actively build our build our testimonials which leads to more trust from prospective clients. We use Ace of Sales CRM to send our branded emails and printed thank you cards.
3. How do you manage client’s expectations if progress is slow in the first few months?
This is a critical area with SEO and this is why it’s so important to set the expectations ahead of time. Just like a lawyer cannot guarantee the outcome of a trial, we cannot guarantee ranking. We can only explain the top ranking factors and set in place a process that follow those guidelines. Our clients want to hear the phone ring, an increase in traffic and measurable conversions.
4. Do clients take a keen interest in results & reports?
Well….we are more interested in the reports than our clients. They do tend to show less interest over time, but a simple follow-up call after we email the reports keeps them in the loop.
5. What KPIs do you report to your clients and how frequently do you report?
We send ranking reports every Monday along with a narrative based on their analytics and modify their website accordingly. Google Analytics is becoming more of a focus for us. In fact, my web developer Matthew is in the process of becoming certified through Market Motive. The bottom line is to improve upon their ranking position, traffic, email list building, and the ringing of the phone.
6. Once you achieve good results for a client, how do you keep them investing in their SEO?
I try to call my clients on Monday’s to keep them engaged and ask questions about any new activity, their understanding of the reports, and the top revenue generating products and services. It’s a necessary step to keep them interested and let them know that we active and engaged.
7. Do you find it’s more lucrative to upsell existing clients on extra services than to go out and win new clients?
As our business grows, so will our list of services we offer. As it stands, we offer service packages that we know we can handle and we are adding new services (such as copy writing) that seem to stall our progress when outsourced. Our objective is to maintain our residual business first and foremost, and continue with our workshops and push referrals for our new business.
8. How long does a typical customer stay active with you?
We have been fortunate to maintain most of our residual clients. We have the occasional cancellation, but we hope to counter that with the launch of some new services in the next 60 days. Did I mention Market Motive? We are excited about picking up additional skills and implementing these into our arsenal.
9. How do you handle problematic or difficult customers?
Typically, we will tactfully part ways to avoid the time suck. These type of clients are almost always the ones that baulk on price. On the other hand, customers that agree on our rate have our full attention. In an environment where testimonial strategies are part of the equation, we don’t want to burn any bridges and start aquiring negative reviews
10.What’s the ‘key’ to good customer relationships?
Trust. When it comes down to it, I will only surround myself with people I trust. I expect that others would feel the same, both in business and personal relationships.