Setting realistic measurement expectations with clients
Launch library · evergreen read
Clients new to communication work sometimes genuinely expect measurement to deliver a level of precision closer to direct response advertising than the communication discipline can realistically ever provide, and setting expectations honestly right from the outset prevents genuine disappointment when results eventually arrive in a somewhat less tidy form than originally hoped for.
This particular conversation is easiest to have before a campaign actually begins, explaining clearly what genuinely can and cannot be measured, and why exactly that is the case, rather than allowing a client to simply assume a level of measurement precision the agreed budget and methodology were never actually designed to deliver in practice.
Clients generally respond quite well to this honesty once it is explained clearly and patiently, particularly when it is paired with a genuine plan for what will actually be measured and how it will be reported. The relationship suffers far more from unmet unspoken expectations than from a realistic conversation held early and entirely openly at the start.