Google Ads is concerned that there is some confusion around its sales and support departments.
Marketers recently claimed that support is at an all-time low, accusing reps of bombarding them with “aggressive” phone calls that drive the implementation of automated solutions.
But Google is now telling Search Engine Land that the employees making those calls are in no way support reps — that’s the sales team. The sales team has competitive targets and is rewarded with performance-related commissions, which may explain why they’re so keen to bring you on board with automation.
That being said, why are the lines between support and sales so blurred?
Misconceptions
The confusion appears to stem from how sales and support teams coordinate with each other, according to Google. For example, sales representatives don’t just sell you products. In some cases, they also try to help advertisers report issues that require helpdesk help to resolve.
Stating that Google has a responsibility to provide clearer distinctions between its sales and support departments, Georgi Zayakov, SEA/Amazon team leader at The Reach Group, highlighted to Search Engine Land that this clarification could improve the trust between Google Ads and its customers. He said:
“I can understand that there are tough targets, and with the recent layoffs, people may be anxious and fear for their jobs. But it’s never been clearly communicated that the people making these calls are sales.” “Even their positions in their email signatures never mention ‘sales’ but rather ‘solutions’ or ‘account management’ etc. “Google needs to do more to clarify the difference because it creates unrealistic expectations by advertisers.” “This might explain why so many agencies and in-house professionals are frustrated: we expect genuine help and an unbiased perspective. When the other side’s incentives are misaligned, tensions and mistrust are a normal consequence.”
“Google is not transparent”
Attributing the lack of clarification on sales and support to Google, PPC consultant Peter Bowen told Search Engine Land that the search engine needs to take more proactive steps in communicating to improve its relationships with marketers. He said:
“It’s hard to distinguish between support and sales, and I don’t think Google has ever done anything to explain the difference.” “When you find you’re talking to a vendor’s sales person, you’re aware that their interests drive more sales.” “When you talk to someone you think is supportive, you think they’re helping you.” “The problem is that Google isn’t transparent, and the calls and emails from its representatives are couched in language designed to make you think you’re talking to someone who’s interested in helping you get the most out of your account.”
“Clarification needed”
Anthony Higman, CEO of the online advertising agency acquire, told Search Engine Land that in the past two years, no one from Google who has contacted him or his company has identified himself as a sales representative. Despite receiving “thousands” of emails and phone calls, Google representatives have consistently presented themselves as “representatives” or “Google Ads experts”, creating the impression of a focus on providing support rather than completing transactions of sales, which has caused mistrust. He said:
“We’ve been so aggressively harassed in the last two years that we also don’t want to engage with anyone at Google because of the horrible experiences.” “We’re a smaller agency and we get five calls a day and five emails – answering each one would take us away from doing our job.” “Regardless of what they’re called, all the outreach we’ve gotten has been to push automatically applied recommendations or smart offers, and no one who’s contacted us has offered any support or been able to fix any of the ongoing issues with accounts .” “So I’d definitely be interested in some clarification on who actually provides any kind of support and what the difference is between sales and support, since they all claim to be Google Ads experts but clearly don’t know much about ads from Google”.
Fortunately for Higman and other marketers struggling with the distinction between Google support and sales, Search Engine Land asked Google directly for clarification.
Support explained
Help Desk, also known as Google Technical Services or gTech, is tasked with helping customers resolve technical issues related to Google Ads products or services. Access to the available support channels can be found in the “Contact Us” section at Help Center or via the “Help” icon when you log into your account.
The support team has targets to meet when it comes to response time and should respond to your questions “quickly”. However, Google is aware that this is not always the case and has explained that response times can vary based on volume and complexity.
In light of these issues, the search engine is investing in improvements to the Ads Help Center, which is designed to help customers resolve issues more quickly and reliably. It has also been experimenting with possible AI solutions. Google assured that AI is not replacing human assistance, but is being explored as an additional component to improve customer service.
If you can’t find a solution to your problem through the Ads Help Center or support team, Google encourages advertisers to complaint about your experience as this should not happen. While some advertisers are hesitant to file complaints, the search engine has reiterated the importance of customer feedback so it can improve.
The roles of sales
Google sales representatives are tasked with engaging customers in discussions about new solutions, products, and features, including AI solutions. It’s worth noting that not all roles within the sales department involve direct selling, as Google’s sales organizations span multiple job roles, with some roles not directly interfacing with customers.
Advertisers are periodically assigned Google sales representatives, determined by various factors, as the company offers different types of sales support. For example, an account strategist may be assigned for a short-term tenure to help onboard and scale an account. So this may provide some insight into why your sales rep may seem to change so often.
Sales account representatives can also proactively reach out to customers to provide updates on product offerings or suggest ways to optimize their campaigns. Given Google’s continuous introduction of new products and improvements, this may explain these constant phone calls.
Get the daily search newsletter marketers trust.
After your initial interaction with a member of the Google sales team, you should receive an email with a link to a feedback survey. Google encourages users to share their feedback, whether positive or constructive, to help improve sales processes and improve the overall customer experience with Google Ads.
Hopefully, this in-depth exploration has cleared up some of your questions about the distinction between Google Ads support and sales. For more information, you can read our research on the quality of Google Ads support.
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