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Client lifecycle
Universal flow — applies to every client regardless of services purchased
1
Contract signed → pre-onboarding
Owner
Sales Rep → Account Manager
Handoff within 24 hours of signing
Hard deadline
Kickoff call within 5 business days
Welcome email sent same day as handoff
Sales rep delivers to AM
Signed contract + full scope of work
All promises and special conditions made during sales — documented, not remembered
Client's business overview, goals, pain points, and preferred communication style
Key stakeholders and who has final approval authority
Competitive notes from discovery calls
Ops completes within 24 hours
Create client folder in PM tool + CRM profile with all sales notes
Create and share Client Master Brief — single source of truth for all departments
Assign Account Manager and activate service-specific checklists
Send automated welcome email + onboarding questionnaire
Begin access collection: Google Ads (MCC), Meta Business Manager, GA4, GSC, CMS, social accounts, email platform, brand assets
Policy: No service work begins until platform access is received and confirmed. Client is notified of this dependency in the welcome email.
2
Kickoff call
Agenda — timed
5 min — Welcome and agency intro
20 min — Client business deep-dive: sales cycle, best customers, competitors, seasonality. Let them talk.
15 min — Walk through purchased services, deliverables, timelines, and approval process
10 min — Confirm KPIs per service — what does success look like in 90 days?
5 min — Communication rules: channel, cadence, who contacts who
10 min — Next steps and homework from client
10 min — Q&A
Post-kickoff — within 24 hours
Send written recap: decisions made, action items, owners, deadlines
Finalize and share Client Master Brief with all service teams
Brief every department on client context — goals, voice, competitors, KPIs
Log all kickoff notes in CRM
Client master brief — required fields
Business overview: industry, service/product, geography, unique selling proposition
Target audience: demographics, psychographics, buyer personas, primary pain points
90-day goals: specific and measurable — e.g., 50 new leads/month, 20% revenue growth
KPIs by service: SEO: rankings/traffic · Ads: ROAS/CPL · Social: reach/engagement · Email: open rate/revenue
Tone & brand voice with examples they like and dislike
Top 3 competitors — what the client admires and wants to differentiate from
Content do's and don'ts — topics, imagery, and language that is encouraged or prohibited
Approval chain — who has final sign-off on content, ads, and emails
Seasonal priorities — key promotions, launches, or events on the client's calendar
3
Strategy & setup
No department begins execution until the Client Master Brief is complete and distributed. Strategy before execution — always.
AM publishes unified monthly delivery calendar by end of Month 1
Content shoot date (if applicable)
Blog publication dates — Week 3 and Week 4
Social posting grid — which content type posts which day
Email send dates
Ad campaign launch and refresh dates
Monthly report delivery date — target by Day 5 of following month
Monthly check-in call date
4
Active delivery
Weekly internal sync — every Monday AM, 20 min max, led by AM
Review delivery calendar — what's due, what's in flight
Flag blockers: pending approvals, access issues, creative dependencies
Share new client intelligence across departments
Confirm all weekly deliverables are on track
AM monthly rhythm
Days 1–5
Collect all dept reports. Compile unified client report.
Day 5
Deliver report + written summary to client. Schedule review call.
Days 7–10
Monthly client review call — 30 minutes, AM leads.
Day 15
Proactive mid-month check-in. We call them; they don't chase us.
Day 20
Internal strategy review. Flag performance issues before month-end.
Day 25
Confirm all next-month deliverables are calendared and assigned.
5
Monthly report
Report sections — remove non-applicable services for single-service clients
Executive summary — 1 paragraph: key wins, what happened, what's next. Plain language.
SEO — keyword ranking movement, organic traffic, blog performance, technical health
Paid advertising — impressions, clicks, CTR, conversions, ROAS, budget pacing (Google and Meta separately)
Website — uptime, page speed scores, updates completed, security status
Content — assets delivered, shoot recap, distribution performance
Social media — reach, impressions, engagement rate, follower growth, top 3 posts
Email marketing — open rate, click rate, revenue attributed, list health
Integrated observations — cross-channel insights. What did one channel reveal that should change another?
Next month's focus — confirmed priorities and any strategy pivots
6
Quarterly business review (QBR)
Review last 3 months of performance vs. goals set at kickoff — show the data
Strategy assessment: what's working, what needs to change, what we'd do differently
Competitive landscape update — what's changed in their market
Set next quarter's priorities and KPIs
Service expansion discussion — identify gaps in the client's marketing that a new service addresses (data-backed only)
At Month 12: renewal — present 12-month roadmap and pricing
Upsell protocol
Any dept logs upsell opportunities in the CRM as they spot them during delivery
AM presents them at QBRs — never mid-month and never without data to back it up
Every upsell pitch must tie directly to a stated client goal
Account management
Owns the client relationship. Coordinates all departments. Does not execute service deliverables — conducts the orchestra.
Every client has a dedicated AM
Single point of contact for client
Owns client retention
Weekly rhythm
Monday AM
20-min internal sync across all assigned clients. Review delivery calendar. Flag blockers.
Tue–Thu
Client comms, content and ad approvals, deliverable reviews, proactive strategy updates.
Friday
Confirm all weekly deliverables completed. Update CRM. Log client feedback and concerns.
Core responsibilities
Maintain and update the Client Master Brief whenever goals, strategy, or contacts change
Share client intelligence with all departments at every Monday sync
No department launches a major deliverable without client approval — AM owns this gate
Own and redistribute the Unified Monthly Delivery Calendar at the start of each month
Escalate performance issues to dept heads before they reach the client
Lead the last-Friday-of-month cross-dept Integration Sync — 30 minutes
Search engine optimization
Gets the client found on Google organically. Long-term compounding returns.
2 blog posts/month
1 SEO performance report/month
Min. 900 words per blog
Month 1 setup protocol
Technical audit — crawl for errors, broken links, page speed, mobile usability, Core Web Vitals. Document and prioritize all fixes.
Keyword research — build master keyword map by service, location, audience language, competitor gaps. Group by intent: informational, navigational, transactional.
Content gap analysis — identify topics competitors rank for that the client does not.
On-page audit — review title tags, meta descriptions, header structure, internal linking, content quality on existing pages.
Local SEO setup (if applicable) — verify/optimize Google Business Profile, build citation list, confirm NAP consistency.
Baseline report — document current rankings, organic traffic, and domain authority as Month 0 benchmarks.
Share keyword map with Content and Advertising teams immediately upon completion.
Monthly execution — 4-week rhythm
Week 1
Pull ranking + traffic from GSC & Analytics
Pick 2 blog topics from keyword map
Brief writer: keyword, word count, internal links, CTA
Week 2
Blog 1: write → optimize → AM review → client approval
Fix technical items flagged in audit
Update internal links
Week 3
Blog 1 published after approval
Blog 2: write → optimize → AM review → client approval
Monthly technical health check
Week 4
Blog 2 published
Pull end-of-month data
Compile SEO report
Share ranking data with Ads team
SEO report must include
Keyword rankings: tracked keywords and movement vs. prior month
Organic traffic: sessions, users, top landing pages
Technical health: crawl errors, index coverage, Core Web Vitals status
Content performance: blog views, time-on-page, clicks from search
Backlink summary: new links acquired, toxic links removed
Observations and next-month priorities
Handoffs to other departments
→ Ads: top organic keywords monthly for paid bidding
→ Social: promote every blog within 48 hrs of publish
→ Email: both blogs go in the monthly newsletter
→ Web: all technical fixes with priority level attached
Digital advertising — Google & Meta
Paid campaigns on Google Search, Display, YouTube and Meta (Facebook + Instagram).
Min. $1,500/mo management fee
Ad spend billed separately
Google + Meta
Month 1 setup protocol
Account audit (existing clients) — review prior performance, identify wasted spend, document top performers.
New account structure — Google Ads via MCC link. Meta: Business Manager → Ad Account → Pixel → Catalog (if e-comm).
Pixel & conversion tracking — install/verify GTM, Google Ads conversion tags, Meta Pixel, custom conversions. Confirm all events fire correctly before any campaign launches.
Campaign strategy doc — campaign types, targeting, budget allocation, bidding strategy, 90-day goals. Client approves before launch.
Creative brief to Content team — exact specs: 1080×1080, 1200×628, 1080×1920 static; 15–30 sec video (Meta); 6–15 sec bumper (YouTube).
Campaign build — campaigns, ad sets, audiences, ads. Use SEO keyword data for Search. Internal QA before go-live.
Compliance check — verify all ads meet platform policies before submission.
Monthly execution rhythm
Daily
Monitor performance — flag unusual spend, drops, policy issues
Watch budget pacing
Weekly
Bid adjustments based on CPA, ROAS, CTR
Negative keyword review (Google)
Rotate A/B test variants
Mid-month
Budget pacing review
Creative refresh if Meta frequency > 3.0
Snapshot to AM for client update
End of month
Full performance report
Document learnings
Share audience insights with Social + Content
Ads report must include
Platform breakdown: Google vs. Meta side-by-side
Key metrics: Impressions, Clicks, CTR, CPC, Conversions, CPA, ROAS, Total Spend
Budget pacing: planned vs. actual spend
Top and bottom performing ads with creative thumbnails
Audience insights: top-performing segments
Conversion summary: leads, purchases, calls generated
Month-over-month comparison + next month recommendations
Handoffs to other departments
→ SEO: share paid keyword data for organic content opportunities
→ Content: brief with exact ad creative specs and messaging direction
→ Social: identify top organic posts to boost with paid
→ Email: sync email lists to Meta Custom Audiences
→ Web: alert immediately if any landing page goes down or slows
Website maintenance
Keeps the site fast, secure, live, and updated. The foundation everything else runs on.
Monthly maintenance report
Uptime monitoring
All updates tested on staging first
Month 1 setup protocol
Confirm CMS admin credentials, hosting access, and domain registrar access.
Create and test full site backup. Store in two separate locations.
Document platform, theme/builder, plugins, hosting, SSL status, and known issues.
Establish staging environment — all significant updates go to staging first, then production.
Security baseline: install/verify security plugin, enable 2FA on all accounts, run malware scan.
Monthly maintenance checklist
Core updates
CMS core (staging first)
Theme + plugin updates
Remove unused plugins/themes
Performance
PageSpeed + GTmetrix scores
Image compression check
Cache clear if degraded
Security
Resolve security scan flags
SSL certificate expiry check
Verify GA4, GTM, Pixel firing
Content
Publish SEO blogs from SEO team
Update homepage promos/banners
Fix 404s + redirect chains
Alert protocol: AM notified immediately of any site outage, significant error, or security breach — do not wait for the next sync.
Serves these departments
← SEO: execute all on-page technical fixes
← Ads: fast, mobile-ready landing pages
← Content: upload and format all blogs and visuals
Content creation — photo & video
One shoot feeds the entire machine. Every department receives assets from every shoot.
6–8 videos per shoot
65 photos per shoot
Each video in 3 aspect ratios
Captions on all video
Pre-shoot protocol — starts 2 weeks before
Content brief — AM coordinates with all departments: what does SEO need, what specs does Ads need, what formats does Social need, what does Email need for headers.
Shot list — document every required shot: hero brand shots, product/service, team/culture, B-roll, UGC-style clips, direct-response video hooks for ads.
Client approval — share shot list for client sign-off. 48-hour turnaround. Minimum 5 business days before shoot.
Confirm talent, location, permits — all subjects and timing confirmed with client.
Style alignment — review client brand guide with production team before shoot day.
Shoot day
Arrive 30 min early for setup and lighting/sound confirmation
Check off shot list items as captured — do not wrap without completing it
Content Lead reviews captures during shoot to confirm quality before leaving
Raw files backed up on two separate drives before leaving location
Post-production — 7–10 business days to first delivery
Select and edit 65 photos — color-corrected, on-brand, exported in web and print resolution
Edit 6–8 videos: hook in first 3 seconds, captions on all, brand color grade, exported in 9:16, 1:1, and 16:9
Organize all assets in delivery folder by format and platform
AM reviews all content before client sees it
Send client gallery for review — 48-hour client turnaround requested
One round of revisions included. After approval, distribute to all departments immediately.
Post-approval distribution
→ Social: social-formatted videos + photos with copy direction
→ Ads: ad-spec assets — correct dims, no text in safety zones
→ Email: header images and email-specific graphics
→ Web: blog feature images and web-optimized photos
Social media management
Consistent, on-brand presence across all platforms. Every week without exception.
1 Reel/week
1 Carousel/week
1 Graphic/week
12–13 posts/month
Respond within 4 hrs
Month 1 setup protocol
Platform audit — review all active accounts: bio optimization, link in bio, historical content performance.
Brand voice guide — document tone, vocabulary, emoji usage, hashtag strategy per platform, audience persona.
Content pillars — define 3–5 pillars aligned to business goals. Examples: Education, Behind the Scenes, Social Proof, Promotion, Community.
Hashtag library — research and build platform-specific hashtag sets by content type.
Content calendar setup — establish monthly template aligned with promotions and shoot schedule.
Scheduling tool setup — connect all accounts (Later, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social).
Monthly execution rhythm
Last week prior month
Draft full next-month calendar with copy, hashtags, CTAs
AM reviews → client approves (48 hrs)
Schedule all approved posts
Daily (ongoing)
Reply to comments + DMs within 4 business hours
Community engagement 15–20 min/day
Flag viral content or PR issues to AM immediately
Mid-month
Check content is pacing per calendar
Note top-performing posts for Ads team
End of month
Pull reach, impressions, engagement, follower growth
Compile social section of unified report
Flag top posts for Ads to boost
Handoffs
← SEO: promote every blog post within 48 hrs of publication
→ Ads: flag top organic posts for paid boosting
↔ Email: cross-promote both channels to each audience
Email marketing
Highest-ROI channel. Nurtures leads, retains customers, drives repeat revenue.
Campaigns per agreed calendar
Automated flows monitored monthly
A/B test every primary send
Month 1 setup protocol
Platform setup — verify email platform (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign). Authenticate domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Warm up sending domain if new.
List audit — remove invalid addresses, unsubscribes, inactive subscribers. Document deliverability score and bounce rate as baseline.
Segmentation — build core segments: all subscribers, active (opened in 90 days), inactive, buyers, leads, VIPs.
Brand template — build on-brand email template. AM and client review and approve before use.
Welcome flow (if not existing) — automated 3–5 email series: brand intro → value content → social proof → offer/CTA.
Email calendar — plan all Month 2 sends aligned with promotions, blog content, and client goals.
Monthly execution rhythm
Week 1
Draft all campaign emails + 3 subject line variants per send
Request images from Content team
Build in platform — confirm mobile render and all links
Week 2
AM reviews — brand voice, accuracy, offer details
Client approves (48-hr turnaround)
Set up A/B tests on subject lines
Weeks 3–4
Execute sends per calendar
Monitor deliverability within 24 hrs of each send
Flag any issues to AM immediately
End of month
Pull open rate, click rate, revenue, unsubscribes
Review automated flow performance
Compile email section of unified report
Handoffs
← SEO: feature both monthly blogs in newsletter
→ Ads: sync list segments to Meta Custom Audiences
↔ Social: cross-promote both channels
← Content: source all email images from Content team output
Cross-department integration
How every team feeds every other team — the shared intelligence layer
From → To
What gets handed off and when
SEO → Ads
Monthly: top organic keyword ranking report → Ads adds to Google Search campaigns
Organic content that converts well is identified for paid promotion
SEO → Social
Every published blog promoted on social within 48 hours — no exceptions
Blog titles and hooks used as social copy inspiration that week
SEO → Email
Both monthly blogs featured in the newsletter as educational value-add content
SEO → Web
All technical fixes handed to Web with priority classification: Critical / High / Low
Ads → Social
High-performing organic posts sent to Ads for paid boosting
Winning ad copy informs organic social copy — paid tests, organic scales
Ads → Email
Email lists synced to Meta Custom Audiences for retargeting
Top email segments used to build Lookalike audiences on Meta
Content → All
Social: social-formatted videos + photos with copy direction
Ads: ad-spec assets — correct dimensions, no text in safety zones
Email: header images and promotional graphics
Web: blog feature images and web-optimized photos
Social → Ads
Engagement data (top posts, comment themes) shared to surface winning ad messages
Top organic posts flagged monthly for boosting with paid budget
Web → Ads
Immediate alert if any ad landing page goes down or page speed drops
Page speed improvements coordinated to improve Google Ads Quality Score
Monthly integration sync — last Friday of every month, 30 min, all dept leads
Each department shares one insight from the month that another team can use
Review next month's content calendar — confirm all asset handoff timelines
Strategy changes affecting multiple teams are decided here — not in Slack
AM documents decisions and distributes updated calendar to all teams by EOD
Standards & QA
Non-negotiables — these apply to every person in every department, always
Quality gates — every deliverable passes all three before the client sees it
01
Creator QA
Person who made the deliverable
Accurate and complete
Correct format and specs
No errors or typos
Aligned with the brief
02
Department review
Department lead
Strategy alignment
Brand voice consistent
Cross-dept consistency
Performance expectations met
03
Account manager
Account manager
Client-specific requirements
Tone and voice match
Scope alignment confirmed
Ready for client eyes
Client communication standards
Email response
Within 4 business hours — Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm
Urgent issues
Within 2 hours. Urgent = site down, campaign misfiring, budget error, PR crisis
Proactive updates
AM reaches out before the client does. No client should ask "what's happening?"
Bad news
Communicated immediately — never at month-end. Always with a solution attached.
Scope creep
Log it. Tell the client it falls outside scope. Issue a Change Order before any work starts.
Missed deadlines
Notify AM at least 3 business days early — never the day of.
Content approval SLA
Client has 48 hrs. Follow-up at 48 hrs. At 72 hrs: AM notifies client of potential delay.
Escalation framework
Level 1
Missed internal deadline · minor delivery error · client feedback on quality
AM resolves with Dept Lead. Client informed only if it impacts delivery.
Level 2
Repeated misses · KPIs significantly below target · budget error · client expressing dissatisfaction
AM + Dept Head + Account Director. Client gets proactive communication with a recovery plan.
Level 3
Client threatening to cancel · major account error · data breach · contract dispute
AM + Account Director + Agency Principal. Full response within 24 hours.
Revision policy by deliverable
SEO blogs
1 round included. Additional rounds billed at hourly rate.
Ad creative
1 round included. Additional rounds require a Change Order.
Social content
1 round per monthly calendar. Minor copy edits at no charge.
Video content
1 round per shoot delivery. Additional edits billed at hourly rate.
Photography
Gallery selection changes: no charge. Re-editing selected photos: 1 round included.
Email campaigns
1 round before send. No revisions after a campaign is live.
Monthly reports
Factual corrections at no charge. Additional data requests require a Change Order.
Access & credentials policy
All client credentials stored in one encrypted password manager — never in Slack, email, or spreadsheets
Access is role-based: only the assigned team member and their Dept Lead have credentials for their service
When a team member leaves: all client access revoked within 24 hours of departure
Clients maintain their own owner-level access — we are always added as manager/admin, never sole owner
No work starts on any service until access is confirmed — stated in the welcome email