Successful marketing agencies are masters of client retention. Client retention is less expensive than client acquisition, which means the clients you retain are more valuable to you than the prospect of hunting down new ones. On top of that, client retention is a sign that you’re doing something right; your clients appreciate you, and will be more likely to spend more with you, be more flexible, and recommend your agency to other businesses.
Agency Secrets for Client Retention
So how do those successful marketing agencies do it? If you’re a marketing agency struggling with client management and client retention, you’ll do well to learn and execute these important factors:
1. They respect the client’s time. First, they respect their client’s time. There are many ways in which this respect can manifest; for example, a client manager may schedule meetings with a tight timetable and a clear agenda, so the action items can be cleared quickly. They may spend extra effort writing concise emails, or may offer extra flexibility when trying to plan for the future. If a client feels disrespected or undervalued, they’re going to leave.
2. They proactively communicate. Account reps of successful marketing agencies are also inclined to proactively communicate. They don’t wait for an issue to develop and worsen; they recognize and address the issue as soon as possible. When they have a schedule conflict, they don’t wait until the last minute to cancel the meeting; they reach out as quickly as possible and try to compromise to find a solution.
3. They’re consistent. Consistency is vital for setting proper client expectations, and for ensuring the client-agency relationship can continue successfully for as long as possible. This consistency should apply to several areas; if you’re going to meet regularly, strive to keep to a pattern. If you’re seeing underwhelming results in a given month, step things up so you can keep your forward momentum.
4. They outsource areas of weakness. Agencies can’t possibly be good at everything. The less experienced ones try to compensate for this by simply trying harder, or offering lower prices to their clients. More experienced, successful agencies aren’t afraid to outsource their marketing services to agencies who can execute them more efficiently. Specialized agencies who offer white label services can offer better results, higher efficiency, or both. Alternatively, agencies can also look into implementing white label tools, to offer solutions that they would otherwise not be able to offer to their clients due to lack of resources or bandwidth. For example, are your clients needing an analytics solution? No worries! You can take advantage of tools such as Cumul.io, which features a white-label dashboard that allows your users to open up data, and build their own custom dashboards from scratch in just minutes!
5. They under-promise and over-deliver. This is popular advice for a reason: it works. Client expectations can make the difference between a lukewarm sentiment toward your agency and an enthusiastic one. The same results, seen through two different lenses of expectation, can be perceived very differently. Early on in your client relationship, set reasonable, grounded expectations for how you’re going to communicate, and what kind of results you want to see. Too many agencies try to close deals quickly by exaggerating what they’re capable of, but this is problematic. Then, once those reasonable expectations have been set, do everything in your power to surpass them. A single unmet promise can compromise the trust you’re building.
6. They’re transparent. Speaking of trust, successful marketing agencies are transparent. They don’t attempt to hide anything, and go out of their way to disclose details about their inner workings, so clients have a better understanding and appreciation for the process. Things aren’t always going to go well; successful agencies aren’t afraid of admitting mistakes or acknowledging points of weaknesses, while weak or inexperienced agencies intentionally try to cover them up. Make sure you answer client questions honestly, even if it reveals the imperfections of your organization.
7. They take accountability. Along similar lines, it’s important that you take accountability for your mistakes, failures, and accidents. These flaws are inevitably going to arise, but if you ignore them or make excuses for why they happened, your client is going to lose trust in you. Experienced, successful agencies step up to take accountability; they freely acknowledge what went wrong, and explain what they’re going to do to make things right, whether that means making it up to the client in the short-term, making changes to avoid this happening in the future, or both.
8. They know all clients aren’t equal. Successful agencies also understand that all clients aren’t equal; and this is an important concept for several reasons. First, there’s the Pareto principle; the idea that 80 percent of your results are going to come from 20 percent of your clients. That doesn’t mean you should neglect the other 80 percent of your clients, but it does mean you should be willing to go the extra mile for that 20 percent. This also means you need to understand that your clients are going to come from different industries with different backgrounds, and will respond better or worse to your varied client management strategies.
9. They establish credibility and expertise. Writing persuasively can help you find new prospects and close deals faster, but if you want to build and maintain those relationships for longer, it’s important that you spend time establishing your credibility and expertise. There are several ways to do this, but the most straightforward is to work hard to deliver consistently good results. You can also build credibility faster with new clients by writing content that establishes you as a thought leader, showing off your best work for other clients, and getting involved in industry speaking events.
10. They set goals together. The client-agency relationship isn’t just about the client, nor is it just about the agency. The best agencies understand this, and resolve to set goals together as a team. Agencies have the advantage of understanding the “typical” client case, and may be able to set more realistic expectations. Clients understand their internal motivations and brand standards better than agencies, and can push for the right goals to pursue. More to the point, working together as a team builds a stronger bond and a more productive mentality that ultimately benefits you both.
Growing into a successful online marketing agency requires these and many other traits in order to reach the critical mass necessary to become a market leader in their particular niche. Executing on these principles, while time-intensive, will prove critically important for the would-be marketing agency looking to expand and grow.
