As anyone in the agency business knows, the first week of the month is generally taken up by completing monthly reports for clients. That is what I have been doing over the past couple of days.
We begin all of our reports with a list of quick facts that can be scanned quickly by clients, particularly executives, so they can get a sense of what we have accomplished (e.g., x releases distributed, x interviews, xx placements, etc.) without having to read the whole report, which is generally quite a few pages long.
Another item our clients like is a matrix of interviews completed, including information on the reporter or analyst, the executive(s) who participated, the topic of conversation, and next steps.
We include hours worked for each category (strategic planning, press relations, events, databases and other admin-style work), then total the hours worked vs. hours billed and give a total value received against the agreed-upon retainer (we never go over budget on monthly retainers).
With this structure, our clients can look at the first page and the last page and get a very good sense of where we stand each month. Also, our matrices stand out for a quick look as well.
Are there any methods you use as agency people that your clients like?
For those of you who are clients, are there particular things you'd like to see on reports?
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