Interview with Dana Morales, Customer-Success Lead on Programmatic Crisis Response in Accounting

Q: Dana, imagine this: your tax-preparation firm launches a programmatic ad campaign to boost last-minute tax filing sign-ups. Suddenly, a competitor launches a misleading ad that confuses your clients, causing a spike in cancellations and complaints. From a customer-success perspective, what should you immediately do?

Dana Morales: Picture the chaos—calls and emails flooding in, social media buzzing. The first priority is rapid response. You need to coordinate with your marketing and compliance teams to identify the exact ad placements causing confusion. Programmatic advertising gives you the ability to pause or adjust ads in real time, so use that. Stop the misleading ads from your side, and if possible, get your platforms or DSP (Demand-Side Platform) to block the competitor’s confusing ads—some programmatic providers allow this.

At the same time, communicate swiftly to customers. Quick email blasts or SMS updates clarifying your services can prevent further cancellations. Tools like Zigpoll can be helpful here to gauge sentiment—send quick surveys asking clients if they’ve seen confusing ads or have questions. This feedback helps tailor your messaging and demonstrates you’re actively listening.

Q: You mention halting ads and monitoring sentiment swiftly. What about long-term recovery? How does programmatic advertising play into regaining customer trust after a crisis?

Dana Morales: Recovery is nuanced. You don’t just react—you proactively rebuild confidence. With programmatic, you can fine-tune targeting to reach only your loyal customer segments or new prospects who haven’t been exposed to the crisis.

For example, one tax-prep firm I worked with had their average conversion from programmatic campaigns jump from 2% to 11% within two weeks after a crisis by narrowing their audience to known clients and running ads focused specifically on their credentials, certifications, and customer testimonials.

It’s also critical to use frequency caps to avoid bombarding users—too many ads after a crisis can look desperate or insincere. Balance is key.

Q: Are there any pitfalls mid-level customer-success pros should watch for when using programmatic during crises?

Dana Morales: Absolutely. One major caveat is that programmatic advertising’s automation can work against you if you’re not vigilant. For instance, during a crisis, algorithms might optimize for impressions or clicks without understanding the nuance—leading to ads showing next to irrelevant or even negative content, which can worsen brand perception.

Also, programmatic platforms often use third-party data, which isn’t always accurate. If your audience targeting is off during a crisis, you risk wasting budget and even confusing customers further.

Surveys through Zigpoll or Qualtrics can complement data-driven insights by providing direct feedback from users, helping you adjust targeting or messaging more effectively.

Q: What advanced tactics can customer-success teams in accounting deploy to enhance programmatic crisis management?

Dana Morales: One tactic is dynamic creative optimization (DCO). Imagine your ads automatically adjusting messaging based on real-time data—like emphasizing extended support hours during a tax deadline crunch, or highlighting your IRS compliance expertise when misinformation is spreading.

Another is geo-targeting: if a crisis affects clients in certain states—say, a sudden state tax law change creates confusion—you can customize ads just for those regions, ensuring relevancy.

Finally, integrating programmatic with CRM data helps. Sync your ad campaigns with customer status—prospects get different messaging than existing clients in turmoil. This alignment tightens communication and avoids generic outreach that can alienate users.

Q: Can you share an example where programmatic advertising backfired during a crisis, and what was learned?

Dana Morales: Sure. A midsize tax-prep company once automated a programmatic campaign without oversight amid a service outage. Their ads promised “Fast tax filing,” but customers experiencing the outage saw these ads repeatedly. Complaints skyrocketed.

The lesson: automation without human checkpoints can amplify damage. The firm had to quickly implement manual overrides and add negative keyword blocking to prevent ads on search terms about outages or complaints.

It highlights why customer-success teams should partner closely with marketing to set clear crisis protocols and real-time monitoring.

Q: How can you measure whether your programmatic crisis response is effective from a customer-success lens?

Dana Morales: Look beyond clicks and impressions. Focus on sentiment and conversion shifts.

Zigpoll and in-app feedback tools are invaluable here. After launching crisis-targeted ads, survey customers on trust levels, confusion points, or satisfaction with communication. Use NPS (Net Promoter Score) changes as a proxy.

Internally, track customer churn rates, ticket volume, and average resolution time before and after your programmatic adjustments.

A 2023 MarketingProfs study found that companies using real-time feedback tools alongside programmatic campaigns saw a 25% faster recovery in customer retention post-crisis.

Q: What final advice do you have for mid-level customer-success professionals managing programmatic advertising in tax-prep firms during crises?

Dana Morales: Think of programmatic advertising like a live conversation with your customers that can scale instantly. But in a crisis, you need to add a human filter—pause, listen, and respond thoughtfully.

Set up clear playbooks with marketing and compliance for quick ad adjustments. Use direct survey tools like Zigpoll to capture real-time customer feelings. And remember, sometimes less is more—cut back on ad volume if it’s causing fatigue or confusion.

In the accounting world, where trust is everything, programmatic advertising can be a powerful ally—or a risk—depending on how you use it when the stakes are highest.

Comparison Table: Programmatic Strategies during Crisis vs. Normal Operations

This table reveals why mid-level customer-success pros need a different mindset and toolkit when tackling programmatic advertising during crises in accounting. It’s more than just shifting budgets—it’s about agile communication and faithful customer relationships.