As an agency owner, I understand the value of keeping clients over the long term. While there are certain circumstances that are out of your control (such as the pandemic), there are many areas where you do have control and can influence the longevity of your best clients.
Here the top three (3) ways I’ve found to keep working with the clients that I value and appreciate!
1) Go above and beyond what other agencies offer – what’s your purple cow?
Seth Godin, one of the fathers of great marketing, wrote a book called “Purple Cow” which explores how being remarkable, in the true sense of the word, helps your agency rise above all others.
Your “purple cow” is how you do what you do that’s unique to you. It separates you from the others – it’s your true differentiator. For example, my purple cow is providing easy-to-read data and reporting for my clients so that they know exactly how they’re doing – based on the criteria that we’ve decided on together.
2) Refer business to your clients
Doing what other agencies do is – well – normal. One way to keep your valuable clients is to show them your value that’s far above normal. What are they getting from you that is of value and not a commodity – when they can buy marketing tactics on any number of low-cost sites, paying very little for the minimum-value outputs?
One of the ways to do this, in addition to finding your purple cow, is to become their marketing partner – meaning that you’re always on the lookout for them. For my clients, this means that I’m always on the prowl for a new prospect for them, or even services that will be of extraordinary value.
For example, if I have a client that is looking for government work or clients, I refer them to a colleague who specializes in RFP’s (Requests for Proposals). Or I may refer someone else who can partner with them, a “referral partner,” so they help one another sell their products or services.
Being on the lookout at all times for your client is a great way to show your value as their marketing partner!
3) Show them the data – what’s their ROI from working with you?
Nothing spells value more than a return-on-investment (ROI)! How can you show your clients that the marketing dollars spent on you are coming back to them? While there are basics that need to be reported at all times, the biggest ROI you can report on might be from the number of new visitors to their website, or growing their brand presence over time, or the number of leads generated from the website (for B2B clients), or increasing sales.
Additional ways to show ROI are the lifetime value of customers – which shows the value of every new client that you help find. Or the value of new organic traffic you’re sending to the website – from SEO – or the value of sales closed from click-throughs to the website.
No matter what pathway you choose, it’s critical that you show your client that you’re invested in helping move their business forward – not just “going through the motions” of providing a marketing function or service.
Are you struggling to keep valuable marketing clients? Let’s chat and talk about ways that I can help you keep them!
Janet Granger
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