Delivering bad news to an ecommerce client, step by step

Tell it early

• Call the client as soon as the problem is confirmed, not at the next scheduled report. A report is not a way to deliver news.
• Send a short written message after the call with the same facts, so the client has them in writing.

Say the number

• State the figure that moved, the period it covers and the figure it is compared with. Avoid words like 'significant' unless a number sits beside them.
• Separate what is known from what is not. 'Sales are down, the cause is not confirmed yet' is more useful than a guess dressed as an answer.

Own what is ours

• If the agency made the change or missed the signal, say so in the same message. Clients usually trust a plain admission more than a polished excuse.
• Do not blame the platform, the client's team or the market before the cause has been checked.

Plan the next step

• Name the one action being taken now, its owner and the time it will be done.
• Set the date of the next update and keep it, even when nothing has changed. 'No change yet, next update Thursday at 16:00' is a complete message.

Checklist

• The client heard the news from a person before any report reached them.
• The message separates facts from open questions and names an owner and a date for the next update.