Advertising software can count impressions, track clicks, manage Campaigns and collect payments, but successful advertising still depends on something decidedly old-fashioned: taking good care of the customer. WaypointAds gives you the tools to manage advertisers efficiently, and its built-in  system now gives administrators and advertisers a direct line of communication without requiring either person to leave WaypointAds.

The relationship you build with those advertisers can determine whether they purchase one package or continue advertising with you for years. The software can provide the machinery, statistics and communication tools. What you do with them is still very much up to you.

Advertisers Are Customers

It is easy to think of an advertiser as another account in the system. They have a business name, Campaigns, Creatives, a Wallet balance and a collection of statistics. Behind all of that, however, is a person who has decided to spend money with your website because they believe you can help their business.

Treat that decision with respect. Answer questions promptly. Explain things clearly. Help new advertisers through unfamiliar territory when necessary. If there is a problem, investigate it rather than immediately assuming the advertiser did something wrong. A customer who believes somebody is actually paying attention is much easier to keep than one who feels they are dealing with an automated advertising machine.

WaypointAds can manage the mechanics of the relationship and now provides a convenient place for the conversation itself. It still cannot replace good customer service.

Talk to Your Advertisers

WaypointAds includes a built-in Message System specifically designed to keep communication between the administrator and advertiser simple.

Administrators can start a conversation with an advertiser directly from WaypointAds. Select the advertiser, enter a subject and write the message. The advertiser can then read the conversation from the Messages area of their Advertiser Dashboard and reply without having to search through old emails or contact the website through an unrelated form.

Advertisers can also start conversations themselves. If someone has a question about a Campaign, Creative, payment or anything else connected with their advertising, they can open Messages, start a new conversation and send it directly to the advertising team.

Messages remain together as a conversation, making it much easier for both parties to see what has already been discussed. Unread indicators draw attention to new correspondence, while the conversation history provides useful context when a discussion continues over several replies.

This is intentionally a communication system rather than a complicated support-ticket system. There are no departments to select, ticket numbers to remember or mysterious priority levels to decipher. An advertiser has something to say to the administrator, or the administrator has something to say to the advertiser. WaypointAds simply gives them a sensible place to say it.

Keep Conversations Organized

A conversation can remain open for as long as it is useful. When the matter has been dealt with, the administrator can use Send & Close to send a final reply and close the conversation. Closed conversations remain visible, preserving the history rather than making the discussion disappear simply because it has ended.

That history can be particularly useful when managing advertisers over time. Instead of trying to remember what was discussed several weeks ago, the administrator can return to the conversation and see the exchange in context.

Closing a conversation should mean this matter has been dealt with, not please never speak to us again. Advertisers can always begin another conversation when they have a new question.

Help Them Get Started

The first Campaign is particularly important. An experienced digital advertiser may understand impressions, clicks, Creatives and Advertising Locations immediately, but a local business owner purchasing online advertising for the first time may not.

Don't make customers feel foolish for asking basic questions.

If someone doesn't understand which advertising package to choose, explain the differences. If their Creative is the wrong size, help them understand what is required. If they have created a Campaign but forgotten to add an advertisement, point them in the right direction. With Messages available from the Advertiser Dashboard, that assistance can now happen directly alongside the system they are trying to learn.

The objective isn't merely to get the Campaign approved. It is to help the advertiser become comfortable enough with the system that the second Campaign is easier than the first.

That is how customers become regular customers.

Review Campaigns With the Advertiser in Mind

Campaign approval should be more than looking for reasons to click Reject.

Certainly, advertisements that violate your site's policies should not be published. Broken links, inappropriate material, misleading advertisements or Creatives that don't meet your requirements need attention. But many problems can be corrected without turning the approval process into a confrontation.

If something is wrong, tell the advertiser what is wrong and what they need to do about it. Messages gives you an especially useful way to provide that explanation when more detail is required.

"Rejected" isn't particularly useful.

"Your advertisement was designed for a different Advertising Location. Please upload the correct size and resubmit the Campaign" gives the advertiser a problem and a solution.

That distinction matters.

Remember Who Their Advertisement Represents

The advertiser isn't purchasing impressions simply because impressions are delightful things to own. They are trying to accomplish something. They may want customers to visit a restaurant, purchase a product, book an appointment, attend an event, join an organization or simply become familiar with their name.

Their Campaign represents their business and, quite possibly, their livelihood. Keep that in mind when working with them.

A small advertiser spending a modest amount deserves the same professional treatment as a larger advertiser purchasing your biggest package. Today's cautious first-time customer may become tomorrow's largest account.

Give Them Results

Good manners will help keep a customer happy, but eventually advertising has to do something.

WaypointAds provides Campaign statistics so advertisers and administrators can see how advertising is performing. Use that information. If an advertiser is receiving impressions but very few clicks, perhaps the Creative needs work. Maybe the message isn't strong enough. Perhaps the call to action is unclear. Maybe a different Advertising Location would be more appropriate.

This is also where Messages can become more than a support tool. The administrator doesn't have to wait for an advertiser to complain. If you notice something useful, start a conversation.

A simple message such as, "Your Campaign is receiving plenty of impressions, but I think we might be able to improve the click rate with a stronger Creative," turns statistics into customer service.

You don't need to become the advertiser's marketing department, but there is nothing wrong with helping a customer get better value from the advertising you sell.

In fact, there is quite a lot right with it.

An advertiser who receives useful results has a very compelling reason to purchase another package.

Don't Promise What You Cannot Deliver

There is an important difference between helping an advertiser succeed and guaranteeing success. You control the advertising opportunity. You don't control whether somebody ultimately purchases the advertiser's product, visits their store or hires their company.

Avoid promises such as guaranteed sales, guaranteed customers or guaranteed business growth unless you genuinely offer something that can support such a claim. Advertising can provide exposure and traffic. What happens after someone clicks the advertisement depends on many factors outside WaypointAds.

That principle applies to Messages as well. Direct communication makes it easier to discuss results, but it shouldn't become an opportunity to make promises the advertising cannot support.

Be enthusiastic about the opportunity you provide, but be truthful about it. Trust is considerably easier to maintain than to rebuild.

Pay Attention to the Numbers

The statistics in WaypointAds aren't useful only to advertisers. They can help you understand your customers.

An advertiser whose Campaign is performing particularly well may be ready to expand. Someone whose Wallet is approaching exhaustion may soon need another package. A customer running one Creative might benefit from experimenting with another. An advertiser who hasn't run anything for several months may simply need a friendly reminder that the opportunity is still available.

The Message System makes acting on those observations particularly easy. Instead of looking up an email address and beginning a conversation elsewhere, the administrator can contact the advertiser from within WaypointAds.

This doesn't mean bombarding customers with messages every time their Wallet changes by three Credits. Nobody enjoys being pursued around the Internet by an overeager salesman. Use judgment.

The best sales opportunities often come from paying attention rather than pushing harder.

When Something Goes Wrong

Eventually something will.

A Creative may not appear where expected. A payment may need investigating. An advertiser may misunderstand their statistics. A Campaign may be rejected. Someone may become convinced that the computer has eaten something important.

This is where good customer service earns its keep.

Start with the facts. Look at the advertiser's account, Campaign, Creatives, payment history and Wallet activity as appropriate. Determine what actually happened before trying to explain it. If additional information is needed, Messages provides a convenient place to ask for it while keeping the discussion associated with the advertising relationship.

If the problem belongs to the advertiser, explain it politely and help them correct it. If the problem belongs to your website, say so and fix it. Customers are surprisingly forgiving of occasional problems when those problems are handled well. What they remember is whether somebody helped them.

Don't Forget the Human Touch

Automation makes advertising management practical, particularly as the number of advertisers grows. WaypointAds can handle much of the routine work that would otherwise consume an administrator's day.

But automation should make human communication easier, not eliminate it.

Thank a new advertiser for joining. Check in occasionally with a longtime customer. Congratulate someone when a Campaign performs particularly well. Ask whether their advertising is helping their business. If you make a significant change that could affect their advertising, tell them before they discover it themselves.

The built-in Message System means those conversations can now happen inside the same environment where advertisers manage their Campaigns and review their results.

None of this requires elaborate customer-management machinery. It requires remembering that there is a human being on the other side of the Dashboard.

Give Them a Reason to Come Back

Acquiring a new advertiser takes work. Keeping a satisfied advertiser is usually considerably easier.

A customer who understands WaypointAds, trusts your website, knows they can reach a real person when necessary and sees worthwhile results has already crossed the biggest barriers to purchasing again. They know how the system works. They know what advertising costs. They know where to find their Campaigns and statistics. They know where to ask a question. Most importantly, they know what happened the last time they trusted you with their money.

Make that memory a good one.

Provide a professional advertising environment. Keep your Advertising Locations attractive. Maintain sensible pricing. Answer questions. Resolve problems. Help advertisers understand their results and give them a reason to believe another Campaign is worthwhile.

Then don't be afraid to ask for their business again. 

Treat Them Nicely, Give Them Results, and Expect Better

There really isn't much mystery to managing advertising customers. Treat them nicely. Give them results. And expect better.

Expect the relationship to grow. Expect the advertiser to become more comfortable using WaypointAds. Expect their Campaigns to improve as they learn what works. Expect satisfied customers to return, purchase additional Advertising Credits and perhaps recommend your advertising opportunities to other businesses.

WaypointAds provides the system that makes all of that manageable. Campaign management handles the advertising. Statistics show what is happening. The Wallet keeps track of Credits. And Messages gives the administrator and advertiser somewhere to talk about all of it.

The administrator still provides the part software cannot manufacture: a business relationship worth continuing.

Take care of the customer, and there is a very good chance the customer will take care of your advertising business.

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