Client Retention: The Unsung Hero for Agency Growth

What is Client Retention?

Client acquisition could be putting you out of business.A hard pill to swallow? Hear us out.Most marketing agencies today invest a lot when it comes to the art of “persuasion”, despite being aware that the chances of closing a sale even today hover between 5-20%. But when it comes to the art of retaining a customer, a measly 18% of businesses choose to invest in it.In a bid to onboard new clients one after the other, many marketing agencies are finding it hard to stay afloat. The idea of expanding your client base is no doubt the founding principle of any business, not just a marketing agency. However, onboarding clients isn’t as easy as it sounds.According to Callrail.com, most agencies experience a customer churn rate of upwards of 40% which often leads to losing clients on a regular basis and putting them out of business.Which brings us back to retention, retaining existing clients that is.Let’s dive in deep to explore more about Client Retention in this blog.

Why is Client Retention the ‘most foolproof’ growth strategy?

Client is the King.If by now, you haven’t internalized it, you should consider doing something else. Honestly.Marketing agencies are finding different ways to bring down that churn rate and keep existing clients happy in the long-run. It’s about forging relationships that grow stronger with each passing month and year.Here are a few interesting numbers to drive home the point of Client Retention:

1. Client Retention outperforming Client Acquisition: According to an HBR study, acquiring a new customer is as much as 25 times more expensive than keeping an existing one. WPP’s and Ford’s decade long partnership proves that if you are driven towards making your clients feel special through market research, accurate campaigning and digital marketing solutions, you are in the marketing game for the long haul.
   Even e-commerce giant Amazon Prime’s customer retention model which focuses on retaining Prime members by continuously adding value to the subscription is a cost-effective approach compared to acquiring new customers with every purchase.
2. Client Retention promotes Brand advocacy: Existing clients are an unbiased source of marketing know-how. They bring you business, at no costs, simply through the power of referrals, which by the way are 7 times more likely to be converted than the new leads. Have you ever wondered why you know about Hubspot? It’s highly likely that someone waxed lyrical about their magnificent customer service and seamless user interface to you. And that’s called Brand advocacy using client retention.
   Even Mailchimp focuses on client retention by educating and engaging its clients by offering educational resources, conducting webinars and providing exceptional customer support. Such efforts eventually translate into long-term Mailchimp users recommending the platform to their peers and colleagues.
3. Client Retention a gateway to expanded business: If you have been helping your existing client with the deployment of a highly optimized website, they know you can write and design. It’s more than 55% likely that if you have done your job right, they are going to come back to you for their organic social media marketing too.
   Google, through its advertising platforms like Google Ads and YouTube Ads, continually looks to expand its services for businesses. Businesses that are successfully able to leverage Google Ads for search advertising, are eventually drawn towards exploring display advertising, video ads on YouTube, and other services to reach a broader audience. Google’s proactive approach helps clients leverage a full spectrum of advertising options and expand its user base.

Think of it this way. You are great at SEO. Your client in the e-commerce industry knows it too, because of all the substantial increase in traffic and revenue through the website. 9 times out of 10, they are going to wonder, “What if my SEO agency could do PPC advertising as well? Isn’t that another pool of revenue for me?”So, how can your agency master the art of “retention”? What’s the Master Plan?

Client Retention Strategies that Spell Success

Before any agency jumps on a bandwagon to deploy multiple strategies for client retention, they have to realize that a client, being more than a revenue churning machine for your agency, is a human, or an organization of multiple humans.So, start treating your client like one. How?Here are a few sure short-way how you can elevate the client retention game for your agency:

1. Customer Service begets Customer Retention: Initial meetings with the client should be all about quick wins and leaving nothing to chance when it comes to extracting maximum information from your client. Client expectations and delivery targets should be delineated with minimum ambiguity. Communication channels should be established to ensure a seamless feedback loop so that a client witnesses the much-talked about customer service in real time. This will translate into increased customer loyalty by 77% as reported by Zendesk
2. Perfecting Preparation for Client Retention: Prepare a comprehensive checklist every time you acquire new clients and keep them in the loop about the progress and results of your marketing efforts as time goes by. Hold regular performance review meetings to discuss achievements and areas for improvement. Amanet reckons that proactively reaching out to at-risk customers regularly can increase chances for customer retention by 10%.
3. Vendor to Partner Transformation for Client Retention: After the initial onboarding phase, next 60-90 days determine whether you will retain this client or not. Your strategy should be about transforming from a “vendor” to a “partner” This is only possible if you act like one. Rely heavily on communicating more with your client so that for any/every problem, the client comes back to you. Statista backs this client retention strategy as 73% of customers say that they would like to receive regular emails from companies that they do business with.
4. Engine of Recommendation for Client Retention: During the course of these 90 days, present yourself as a prescribing partner. Provide recommendations for services for their business, even if you don’t have anything to do with them. Focus on becoming a 360-degree consultant for your client. Dropbox, which offers its users free storage space for referring friends to the service, is a case in point.In the realm of client retention, there’s no alchemy, no hidden sorcery. There is only one secret, which everyone KNOWS and most of them OVERSEE: Don’t just focus on onboarding new clients and meeting their expectations. EXCEL at EXCEEDING them for mastering the art of Client Retention.