Be Ready for the call (1 of 2)

In these tumultuous times, we all have a sense of trepidation when we see our client's number on the caller ID. As solid as your client relationship may be, you've heard too many stories and seen too many blog posts detailing the spending cuts advertisers are making. Picking up that phone may be the start of a journey down an ugly road.

Often, the irony of these situations is the revelation that we're asked to perform exercises we should have been doing all along.

If you are as embedded in your clients business as you should be, you have decent access to business performance. You have an idea of which campaigns (and parts of campaigns) are performing best and which need improvement.

With access to that kind of information, account managers (especially team leaders) should always take time to not only analyze success and failure, but prioritize elements within each campaign from essential to wasteful. Always push to eliminate or tweak areas marked wasteful, and surround, protect and defend the essential.

This is where a business analytics function combined with a tracking-focused media (online & offline) program can be a critical asset.

When the client calls and tells you they have to cut 10% of the budget, you'll know right where to go. Even if they tell you to cut 40% of the budget, you can make educated decisions about the programs you'd recommend sacrificing.

By being prepared for the "B" questions, your clients will see you as understanding their plight and proactively finding best possible solutions. Some clients will have an idea of what they want to cut. Having your analytics handy will give you the firm ground to either agree with their assessment or suggest alternative options. Either way, it looks a lot better than arbitrarily cutting from certain areas or doing the worst possible thing and cutting across the board.