I get this question a lot from broadcasters: “How do I educate my client about digital advertising?” Honestly, it’s not such much they we have to educate them, but rather we need to educate ourselves about our client’s unique needs.

The only numbers your client cares about are their own. Your entire proposal should be designed around their measure for success . . . the result that will make them say, “Hey this was a successful campaign.”

Here’s a brief template of the first conversation you can have with a potential new client:

First ask:  “What is your marketing goal?”

It might be for a new product launch. Could be a seasonal campaign. Maybe it’s a campaign to boost business during their slow season.

Then ask: “What is your measure for success?”

They might say it’s collecting email addresses, adding mobile numbers to their datasbase, getting people to redeem an online coupon, getting people to following them on Facebook, etc.

Start Sharing Marketing Ideas

Once you know their measure for success, then you can start sharing marketing ideas with them that will impact that goal.<

Don’t overwhelm them with telling them about every digital advertising capability your station offers.

Share a couple of case studies of successful digital campaigns you or someone else at your station has execute. It’s even better if they are from the same ad category or similar type of business.

This approach uses little or no advertising jargon at all. It uses the client’s jargon. If your client only spoke Italian, would you demand that they spoke to you in English? That’s what broadcasters are demanding, when they say, “Client’s just don’t understand digital.” As Paul Weyland always says, “Speak to your client in language they understand.”

Here is another recommended LBS resources on this topic you might find useful:

Consultative Selling for the Web

Hope this helps!