A client in Austin told me my reports were useless, and she was right

Back in March, a retail client sent me a 2 page email tearing apart my monthly reporting. She said, and I quote, "These numbers tell me nothing about whether my ads are actually working." I was defensive at first. Then I looked at what I was sending. It was just a wall of metrics. Clicks, impressions, CTR, all that stuff that looks busy but says nothing. She wanted to know one thing: did the campaign make money, and what should we do next week? So I rebuilt everything. Now every report starts with revenue and cost per acquisition. Then I add 3 bullets on what I changed and why. That's it. The client loved the new format. Other clients asked for the same thing. Has anyone else had a client basically force them to simplify their reporting? What does your report structure look like for your biggest accounts?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery2191mo ago

Two pages? She took time to write TWO PAGES about your reports? I can barely get clients to reply to a single text, let alone send a full essay on what's wrong. That level of detail is almost a gift, honestly. My biggest account just stopped opening my weekly dashboards and I only found out when they asked for a refund.

the_lee29d ago

Damn, that stings but honestly you gotta respect a client who tells you exactly what's wrong instead of just ghosting you. At least you knew what to fix. The silent treatment thing is way worse because you're left guessing if it's the numbers, the format, or something you did in a meeting three weeks ago. That refund request is brutal though, sorry you had to deal with that. Most people just bail quietly and you never get the chance to make it right. Getting a clear breakdown of what they hated is like finding a map when you're lost in the woods. Hopefully that client at least gave you a chance to fix things before they walked.

the_jake29d ago

Not to nitpick, but two pages doesn't necessarily mean they gave you a chance to fix it first. Some folks write out the whole novel just to justify the refund request, so you get the map but the treasure's already gone. Either way, still better than the silent treatment, I guess.