Making clients happy should be at the core of every business. When you build positive relationships with them, you’ll be able to retain them. But keeping your clients happy doesn’t just happen while you work with them – it should start even before they sign a contract.
Agencies and companies have experienced their fair share of challenges since 2020. It has forced companies to think outside the box, stay flexible, and innovate while the state of the economy and consumer landscape is constantly ebbing and flowing.
What You Need To Know About Churn in Marketing Agencies
In fact, many small marketing agencies are accustomed to a revolving door of clients. Every month, clients leave — and you’re left scrambling to fill the gaps.
In some cases, a client leaving feels natural. They need help with a particular product launch or rebranding, and once that’s done, they’re ready to move on. In other cases, the departure is unexpected, and the results are much more devastating.
That’s why to combat the economic crisis, agencies must keep up with client demands and maintain a good relationship with them for retention. Avoiding churn may not be easy, but there are ways you can do this and keep more clients happy. Read on to find out!
Five Strategies for Client Retention
- Innovate Based on Client Needs
In order to survive and conquer the changing times, you must be resolute. Learn from trends, analyze data, improve what isn’t working, and see which benchmarks will lead you to success.
Customers are now spending more time online and on social media than ever before, so if your ways as a business are still traditional, it may not work. You have to innovate and grow to retain clients. You’ll only be able to achieve this by being flexible, offering extended monitoring hours, creating more visual content, advising clients on their comments on current events, and more.
- Test the Waters Then Strategize
It may seem counterintuitive, but now is the right time to try something new.
By proactively sharing ideas and helping to create unique marketing strategies, you’ll be able to connect clients to their consumers in a way that is timely and relevant. When people already know your company and trust the work you do, it often shortens the sales cycle.
Aside from that, it’s especially important to be nimble. Clients may be reluctant to sign large contracts or take on a big project at the moment. That’s why you need to explore ways to flex your business model by starting small or taking on quick assignments that can pave the way for larger engagements.
- Balance Flexibility & Stability
Retention and growth within existing client bases will always be more accessible than capturing new business, so agencies need to balance flexibility with stability when it comes to contract terms.
A lot of businesses have had to adapt to new restrictions and guidelines, so agencies need to invest in and offer services that meet the current demand.
Other successful approaches to gaining new business during tough times include offering a referral program to existing clients and strengthening the relationships you have with your partner agencies, who have been invaluable in helping you gain new business.
- Offer a Unique Product
Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have been the hardest hit in the previous years. With lower sales volume and fewer employees, marketing budgets have dwindled. Clients need to see results quickly, which is a tough ask when it comes to social.
Still, economic downturns are known to bring about massive change and growth. That’s why you need to develop a program that allows your ideal clients to take the reins of their marketing efforts, supported by your expertise.
- Deepen Your Connection with Clients
Building meaningful client relationships will give you a deep understanding of your client’s brand requirements and objectives. Client relationships are the heartbeat of your agency’s success, especially in a climate where businesses are very vulnerable like during a pandemic or a recession. We believe that if you do not know how the cogs move in the machine, it is difficult to identify why they are not moving. So choosing to be closer to your clients will help you identify their needs better and you’ll be able to retain them in the long run.
Strengthen Your Agency Value with Ringbot
When universal challenges emerge in the agency world, having a network of support is like having a port in a storm. That’s why here at Ringbot, we provide you with SMS software that could help engage with your clients, improve your lead generation efforts, and streamline your overall sales process. Having the right partner for your agency’s growth is crucial so you won’t have to deal with the ruthless consequences of churn and keep scaling when you retain clients. Get a free trial today, and explore your options with us!