While talent can attract customers, retaining them is a whole other challenge. Today, you will learn that building on loyalty is more profitable than recruiting new clients. Some of the most effective ways for marketing agencies to retain clients include establishing a good product fit, setting realistic expectations, having monthly reports and implementing a leads management program in their project. This will require you to take on multiple roles at the same time… from sales to human resources to the content creator role.
Customer retention will increase your clients’ lifetime value and will boost your revenue. It will also help you build amazing relationships with your customers. You won’t be just another website or store. You will get to know them and with time, you will be able to read their mind and know exactly what they want or need. Always think of providing a customer experience rather than a service. If you bet on the satisfaction of existing clients, you will be assured of having long-term contracts.
To provide a great customer experience and to achieve customer loyalty, you must have good communication with them, you must establish a strategic plan that meets their needs and you must avoid unpleasant surprises.
Communication is key
Even though every business needs a marketing strategy and marketing tools, not every company will necessarily be a good fit for your style of marketing. Before you begin working with a new client, you will need to ensure that both your style and their needs will be a good fit. The retention process truly starts by understanding your client. As a marketing agency, you will need to get a clear picture of what their long-term goals are. Knowing these vital pieces of information will allow you to create a marketing strategy that is in line with their goals.
In order to develop good relationships with your clients, you must know if they have the money or workforce available to benefit from your services properly. Many small businesses will hire a marketing agency so that they can grow quickly, only to find out that they can’t even handle the growing demand.
Inviting clients on your projects as guests will also lead to good communication as they will feel that they are involved in your strategies. Some project management software like Nutcache will allow you to invite customers as guests and they will be able to see the progress of their project and add comments to ongoing tasks. You will also be able to establish multiple points of contact. Most clients prefer to have a team working with their accounts. It helps them feel confident that they can talk to someone if an unexpected situation arises.
Become a true partner
Building meaningful client relationships will give you a deep understanding of your customer’s brand requirements and objectives. Becoming a true partner will help them know exactly what they want or need. Learn how to serve their own customers, think as they would think, don’t be afraid to be creative and get to know their competition. Make sure your client has confidence in your work and let them know that anything is possible.
By becoming a true partner, you will be able to clearly identify the platforms that will meet your client’s needs. You need to work with your client as if you were operating your own business and investing your own budget.
You will also need to consider automating some tasks and even scheduling some operations. Software like Nutcache will allow you to automate management operations such as task assignments. You can schedule the automatic assignment of one of your team members each time you create a new task in your task list. Or, when a task is accomplished, the status can be automatically changed to “Complete”. Several social media channels will allow you to schedule posts in advance. Note that it is also very convenient to schedule certain key emails in advance. Be proactive!
Avoid surprises
Like we have said before, as a project manager, you should avoid unpleasant surprises at all costs. Unfortunately, a bad customer experience could cause you to lose a customer. Worst… a long-term loyal customer. To avoid surprises, consider using Nutcache’s project budget tracking feature and its management tool integrated with key performance indicators. Show your clients that you are ahead of the game and that you can react quickly.
Nutcache also offers the possibility of invoicing your clients as you work. Note that it is more convenient to bill your client regularly than giving them a full-price invoice. Thanks to Nutcache, you won’t be perceived as the bearer of bad news.
Retaining clients is easier, more cost-effective, and less stressful than spending the time and resources to hunt down new leads, qualify them, and then work to convert them into paying clients. Always focus on exceeding your clients’ expectations and having positive relationships with them. Your clients are important and they should feel that you are following their project closely. Make sure they are satisfied and do so on a regular basis.
A software like Nutcache will allow your clients to follow the progress of their project. Keep in mind that planning is just as important as the outcome. With Nutcache, you will also be able to spend more time creating than planning. Register to Nutcache today!
