PPCChat | Lack of Support from the Advertising Platforms | 10th September 2019

Posted by & filed under PPCChat.

This week’s PPCChat session was focused on “Lack of support from the Advertising Platforms”. Host @amaliaefowler sought experts view on the support they get from Google Ads and Facebook, what is it lacking, how can they improve and thoughts on support from the other platforms (non-Google or FB).

 

Q2: Let’s start by discussing some positives. What works for you with regards to ad platform support (Google & Facebook mainly)

 

For me, even though it is hit or miss, occasionally I get an absolute gem of a support person that gives me hope that not all is lost. @amaliaefowler

CHAT. Since I usually can’t understand a word they say on the phone. @SEMFlem

Chat support! I love Chat support. And often when I contact support I magically find the solution at that exact same time somehow. Love that too. @StephanieErne

Dedicated  @MSFTAdvertising reps are great. Chat for FB is also great. @Mel66

When I initiate the request (i.e. support ticket) and know the specific help I need, the problems typically get resolved right away! Can’t remember any support-ticket folks being rude or unkind when I know and ask for a specific kind of help. @akaEmmaLouise

I agree about chat (Messenger for FB). Until it gets referred to email for “further investigation”…@NeptuneMoon

Not having to call works great and only doing it when I have no other choice. Big/tech issue or adding a new GMC to our agency GMC. @andreacruz92

What’s working = chat incl screenshare, and an instant call/chat from login. stop asking me who I am when i’m already logged in! @JuliaVyse

Until you get up to 100K a month in spend, I find that chats like these are very helpful. It allows me to see things I don’t know and research more. I learn a lot from the #ppcchat community. @RyBen3

For some situations, the help documentation can be good for not only addressing the issue but also educating the client.  @mandybpenn

As long as I can get someone on the phone or chat, who knows the platform better than me, I am content. @JonKagan

 

Q3: What frustrates you the most about @GoogleAds support?

 

I’ve had the entire gamut of support. At the top, agency support has always been incredible. Quarterly support that changes every 3 months is useful sometimes depending on your rep (STOP CHANGING THEM), and other support is basically a failure for me every time. I also find the push towards whatever Google product is ‘new’ very frustrating @amaliaefowler

I think a lack of understanding basic goals and strategies that are running is my biggest frustration. If you don’t know that, how can you offer advice? @DarthSamK

Comes down to lack of knowledge in all my cases. Poor training and reading off the script does not make support the customer centric and helpful place it should be. Does not mean I’m always right, just use more logic please… Google CSR. @duanebrown

That some reps have no idea about how the platform works, what digital marketing is or even the rules/restrictions Google has. @andreacruz92

Lack of follow up is a really big problem, especially in some situations that I – as either a client or paying agency – would deem urgent. There isn’t empathy. @mandybpenn

Really listening to the issue we’re facing and working with us to brainstorm a relevant solution. Not just kind of listening and then provide a cookie cutter answer or deflect the question. That’s a waste of time. @jmcdannald

False information. sometimes they say stuff not concerning the question and it is just BS. And lack of overall knowledge and common sense. Sometimes it sounds like they have never managed an account in their live. Which is probably the case. @StephanieErne

Having just lost my Microsoft and FB agency reps, makes me miss them even more. FB I had for a few years now and their CSR support has been good when we lacked an agency rep. Wish I can say the same for Microsoft. @duanebrown

Can we talk about the emails that go to clients introducing them to their Google Ads rep? @mandybpenn

Also when you’ve explained everything.. they send you a link… which leads to the GAds support articles. While you have just explained why that was not working or why this is not the issue described there.. @StephanieErne

I’m fortunate enough to have great support from Google. My only complaint is that it is painfully obvious when they are pushed to talk about certain products. Smart Shopping and overall “smart bidding” is their main push right now. @alexnicoll93

I can present the same identical issue to three or four different reps and get three or four different answers… there is no consistency. @amaliaefowler

Hard to pick a ‘most’ but I’d say the drip drip of info. Tell me all the steps, not do this, then call back, do this, then call back…ugh. @JuliaVyse

The ongoing issue is, they can impress a noob, but they often given wrong information and know way less than they should. @JonKagan

Aside from incorrectly disapproving ads, nothing. Experience has taught me they know little-to-nothing. When I want to know something, I ask. @stevegibsonppc

 

Q4: Given the frustrations we as experts experience with Google Ads, what advice would you give to small businesses who lack our perspective on these situations? (Other than hiring one of us)

 

You have to be patient when you are a SMB working with a Billion Dollar Ad company. I’d encourage them to do research so they can become better informed, but setting the expectation that sometimes, it really is out of our control. @RyBen3

Do your own homework. Lots of places to get information on G-Ads. Don’t take every piece of input from a Google rep & implement blind. Test, Analyze, Repeat, etc @Mike_Jarmz

If you’re doing this yourself, don’t underestimate the amount of time it’s going to take or be prepared for poor results that don’t change. @DarthSamK

Educate yourself. And keep in mind that the more you spend the happier Google will be. @StephanieErne

You really have to be willing to educate yourself to be a smarter consumer of their products. You also need to be your own advocate and be persistent. I have seen persistence pay off in support situations gone wrong. @mandybpenn

Knowledge is power. They need to know their business, KPIs and Google Ads inside and out. Otherwise, they get taken advantage of. We already see it with shit agencies selling fake dreams to SMBs. @duanebrown

Be patient and stand up for yourself. You know your business best, and they know Google best. so it can feel intimidating to insist with them. but it’s your money and your business. insist on getting the help you need. @JuliaVyse

I remind SMB’s that Google doesn’t know everything. I remember early in my career I’d be so excited to get on the phone with “Google”. The name carries a lot of weight. But do your due diligence & don’t implement every suggestion. @amaliaefowler

Don’t blindly accept Google Ads’ advice. Watch your account after changes are made. Ask “why?” a lot. @NeptuneMoon

Do your research and know your target audience/market and how much a lead is worth to you if you aren’t doing eCommerce. It is very difficult to prove worth if we don’t know these things. @alexnicoll93

Know when to get an expert involved. Situations that challenge you are good because they help you grow, but know when it’s time to hand off to someone with experience. You can get to that level, but be realistic about your capabilities. @mandybpenn

Be sure to gather knowledge and learnings from sources other than Google. Learn what works in your niche while trying to replicate and craft your own strategies. @jmcdannald

Stop thinking it’s going to be easy. Here’s the reality: It’s an auction medium where, chances are, the other bidders are pros. How are you planning to beat them? @stevegibsonppc

Don’t jump in, learn as much of the basics before you launch. And never trust Google Express. @JonKagan

 

Q5: Facebook support, what is your biggest frustration here?

 

Usually, they suggest to increase the bid, change the bid to automatic bidding, increase geographical area and all such suggestions which get more money to Google. And after that, they never call back to check how effective suggestions were. @desaibhavesh

Billing. Holy moly. The back and forth I’ve had between billing and ads to try to get invoicing set up or a credit line established. Internal communication at FB between departments. @mandybpenn

This was rather timely. Ad disapprovals. I’m just talking to a bot to request the exact same review process I already asked for. @EricHeiken

Oh Facebook. They’re good with reviews and I’m pro the chat function, but they lack understanding about how agencies work. Anytime I have a billing issue, I’m asked to prove I’m the credit card owner. When I say I’m at an agency, confusion ensues. @amaliaefowler

Remembering how to get to the support. Every time I contact them the answer is ‘I am sorry that is not possible’. So other than that no complaints. @StephanieErne

Does the fact that they offer no alerts or other notification or info when their platform is down as to when it might be back up again? @NeptuneMoon

The support handoffs HAVE to get better here. I’ve had reps who have been absolutely wonderful and wish I could keep them forever. But getting transitioned to another team or rep to continue toward a resolution is painful. No information feedback loop. @mandybpenn

I will say I look more kindly on FB support than Google support, but I’ll also say that I generally have lower expectations of Zuckerberg & co. So is it really better? Or am I just expecting less? @amaliaefowler

*cracks knuckles* they don’t know what agencies are. they only ever want you to use all placements no matter what.  AAAAAAAAND NO IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT. @JuliaVyse

The fact that this oxymoron exists {excuse the rant} @JonKagan

I’ve had calls with Facebook Ads Strategists and I’m not completely sold on the idea. Sometimes they provide insights that are helpful, especially when new features are rolling out, but for the most part, their decisions & opinions are generic and ‘playing it safe’. @RyBen3

Only used it once to up how many ad accounts I can add to our Business Manager. Haven’t used it since and that was flawless 2 years ago. We have had a rep until it ended June. @duanebrown

 

Q6: A quick jaunt into other platform land. Any thoughts on support from the other platforms (non-Google or FB)?

 

Just notices yesterday LinkedIn has Chat support now. So happy! @StephanieErne

Shoutout to @QuoraBusiness support for being responsive, concise & helpful. @DarthSamK

I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Spotify and Snapchat. Spotify’s email support has been super helpful. Snapchat is great with follow up – they proactively ask to schedule. @mandybpenn

You guys, @pinterestbiz is REALLY good! yes I was surprised. Yes I didn’t know what to expect. and YES, they really impressed me. @JuliaVyse

Hit and miss on other platforms but if you can get an AM… like we do on Pinterest, makes life easier. @duanebrown

 

Q7: Philosophy time – what should support include? What exactly do we expect from support?

 

Answers that I can’t find when I Google the question. And I think improving the support articles by all the issues reported trough the support would be really nice. And also you should know the platform better than I do. @StephanieErne

Support should include access to deeply knowledgeable reps (even if that means having tiers internally), providing accurate information & answers in an extremely timely manner. Again, these aren’t a free products, we are ongoing paying customers! @NeptuneMoon

For me, support should be about solving technical errors and answering questions about implementation. I think Google has mixed sales with support, and I find that incredibly frustrating. @amaliaefowler

I expect a listening ear, clear communication, and sleeves rolled up, ready to help. @JuliaVyse

Support should be just that: support. They should help us trouble shoot. They should not have upselling as their primary objective. The objective should be helping us solve problems & get better results for clients. @Mel66

Treat me like a person. Ask for and listen to context. Provide a feedback loop. Don’t ghost. Be consistent. Educate your reps to be experts in the platform, how it’s really used, and empathy for your situation. Train them on how to handle what’s outside the script. @mandybpenn

Support should include a sense of perspective. You can’t give marketing advice to a business unless you understand that business. Yet google reps call up small business owners and do this all the time. It’s quackery. @stevegibsonppc

Some follow up would be nice. Also, dedicated knowledge team for B2B, Ecommerce, B2C, would be nice. @Mike_Jarmz

This sums up my response. There should be an obvious difference between Support & Sales and that should be obvious to both agencies and business owners. Support should be helpful in a timely manner as well with whatever is needed, however technical that may be. @DarthSamK

Help solve tech issues and bugs, so I can spend more money. Beyond that, how the system works, campaign seup and stuff would be great but that is a nice to have. @duanebrown

1. Competence, 2. Human engagement (video chat and screenshare will expedite everything) @JonKagan

Support should have the ability to punch developers in the face if they roll out a crappy new version of the interface or editor. It’s inexcusable. @stevegibsonppc

 

Q8: The platforms are big and we know change is hard. What do you wish @GoogleAds and FB knew from our side? How would them streamlining support ultimately help them gain success (read: $$$) in the end?

 

Here’s my thoughts on this. If you improve support quality, you’ll expedite time it takes to solve a problem. You’ll be able to hire less and solve more, ultimately saving money employment wise. On the flip side, you’ll have more advertisers using your platform. @amaliaefowler

If you recommend more spend, I will not give you more spend. Give me recommendations within what is right in front of you and nothing more! @JonKagan

Salty answer: that just because we’re paying for it doesn’t meant that we always want to spend more money. Gentler one: treat me like a human plz. @mandybpenn

I wish Google knew that not everyone is an engineer. I wish Facebook knew that we sometimes need you to go into the account and make fixes. @JuliaVyse

Clients do not have unlimited budgets. Experienced agency folks know about GDN and all your bidding options. If we’re not using them, there’s a reason. Traffic is not always the ultimate goal. Work with us, not against us. @Mel66

Have agency level support. Don’t want to give us all dedicated reps? Ok, but create a higher level of support for us. We don’t need 101 stuff. We need help with urgent tech or billing issues and help with sophisticated things. It’s a win-win. @NeptuneMoon

For Google Ads: Ask me how you can improve. Stop sending stupid questionnaires to see how I feel about FB support, over and over again. Communicate with us. Get a peergroup or something like that. Hire and pay for some experts that worked agency side. @StephanieErne

I wish Google knew about direct marketing because Google Ads is just a DM delivery system. They have no historical perspective and it’s costing them. e.g. I could increase their PPC revenue by over $1bn/year with just one idea – and it’s an old idea. @stevegibsonppc

 

PPCChat Participants:

 

Related Links:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop wasted ad spend with Karooya

Stop the wasted ad spend. Get more conversions from the same ad budget.

Our customers save over $16 Million per year on Google and Amazon Ads.

Start free trial Schedule a demo

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.