What is the Key to Retaining Agency Clients?

Are you struggling to retain agency clients? Having trouble helping them appreciate the value of your service? Do your clients even know all of what do? Communication is the key to retaining agency clients. And you might not be communicating as well as you think. If you don't communicate it, it didn't happen.  

In today's episode, we'll cover

• How to help your clients see the value of your agency.
• 3 Ways to increase client communication and retain more clients. 
• Why you should always err on the side of over-communication.

Today I sat down with Jordan West, founder, co-owner, and COO at Mindful Marketing, a digital marketing agency focusing primarily on e-commerce. Jordan started his career as a small business owner and quickly found, the more he communicated, the more his company grew. With that, he became an accidental agency owner. Jordan's here to discuss what he has learned about effective communication and how it can make all the difference when it comes to your agency's success.

How to Help Your Clients See the Value of Your Agency

Have you ever put your blood, sweat, and tears into a project, only to have your client jump ship and find someone new? If so, you're not alone. I've been there. Jordan's been there. Most agency owners have been there. And 99% of the time, it comes down to one thing — communication. It doesn't matter how hard you work if your client doesn't know what you are doing. Jordan says his agency has a mantra, "If we didn't communicate it, it never got done." In other words, if you don't tell your client about all the work you put in behind the scenes, how are they supposed to know?

The number one way to help your clients see the value in your work is to communicate. Check-in with your clients. Schedule weekly phone calls. Tell them what you are doing. It's great when the work speaks for itself, but that's not enough. 

3 Ways to Increase Client Communication

Communication is important. So how do you make sure there is productive communication going back and forth on a regular basis?

1. Get your client involved. Sure, your client counts on you to make a lot of the major decisions, but that doesn't mean you can't have them weigh in. Do you have a successful ad campaign that might benefit from a little extra spending? Make sure your team is talking to the client and let them make the choice. 
2. Create availability and accessibility. Not all clients want to talk on the phone. That's fine. Your project managers need to understand this means they need to go the extra mile to communicate their availability. This means leaving the calendar open for active clients to request a check-in and scaling up communication in other forms like emails and text messages.
3. Benchmark your client's progress. When you do communicate with your client, make sure you can show them the value of your service. Provide benchmarks that show where they started, where they are now, and future projections. 

Why You Should Always Err on the Side of Over-communication

"But Jason, I'm all over communication. This is one area I don't have to worry about." Really? Do you have a 100% client retention rate? Do your clients understand what you do so well that they literally never ask you any questions? No? There is always room for more communication. 

Take a look at your messages. When was the last time you sent an email to your biggest client? Your smallest client? If it has been more than a week, it's been too long. Communication is vital in everything you do. If you don't communicate enough, you're going to fail. Plus, as an added bonus, the more you communicate and help your clients understand what you do, the more likely they are to send you referrals. 

If you don't communicate with your clients, you leave them questioning and guessing what you do and how you help. Don't assume your clients know the value of your work. When you take the time to communicate and actually be there for your clients, they're more likely to be loyal to you.

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