Google AdsWhat a service level is for
A service level says what the client can expect, and how fast, in plain words. Written once, it stops the question of what was agreed from coming up after something goes wrong.
What to put in it
- Response time: how long until a reply on a working day, for normal questions and for urgent ones.
- Update rhythm: the day of the weekly update and the day of the monthly report.
- Change requests: how they are sent, who approves them, how long a change takes, and how the result is read back to the client.
- Urgent issues: what counts as urgent, such as tracking that stops, and who is called.
- Working hours: the working days, the time zone and the holidays when nothing is done.
- Client duties: approvals, store access and data, and the date each is needed by.
What to leave out
- Promised sales or returns. A service level promises actions and timings, not results.
- Hours the team cannot keep. Write down the times the team actually works.
Made-up scenario: a made-up agency's service level for a made-up outdoor gear store promises a reply within one working day, an update every Monday, and a change made within two working days of approval. An urgent tracking fault gets a first reply within two hours in working hours, and the account lead's phone number is on the page.
Keeping it plain
- One page, in the order the client uses it: response, update, change, urgent, client duties.
- Review it at the quarterly review, and after any argument about timing.
