4 Ways to Increase Your Client Retention Rate
We’re all looking for ways to scale our businesses, and while attracting new leads is often our goal, we can’t forget about the importance of retaining current clients. Not only is it more cost-effective for your business to maintain current clients and grow their package over time, but it’s also a great way to generate positive word of mouth and referrals. Read on for four ways to increase your client retention rate!
CLIENT RETENTION STRATEGY #1: SET THE TONE DURING ONBOARDING
The best provider-client relationships stem from the work done and expectations established during the onboarding process. Even before this process begins, take the time to hop on a discovery call to ensure you’re a good fit and don’t foresee any major problems working with one another. Some red flags to watch for on lead calls include:
Lack of punctuality
Disorganization on the call
Lack of clear direction
Unrealistic goals (especially considering their allotted budget)
Resistance to boundaries
Once you’ve determined you’re a mutually good fit, send them a social media management contract with your systems, processes, and boundaries clearly stated. Enforcing expectations from the start will prevent any surprises or friction arising later.
CLIENT RETENTION STRATEGY #2: HAVE A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR NEEDS AND OBJECTIVES
Once the contract is signed, work to have a strong understanding of the client’s needs and objectives. Have them fill out new client onboarding questionnaires, whether they can detail information like:
Their brand mission and vision
Their brand story, voice, and feel
Demographics and psychographics of their target audience
The painpoint their product or service solves
Who their competitors are
The concrete goals they’re hoping to get out of your services
A strong understanding of the above will inform your social media strategy to follow and ensure clients are happy with the work provided.
A great partnership not only requires meeting current needs but it also anticipates and provides solutions to future needs as well. As experts, sometimes you’ll know what clients need before they do. For instance, if one of your clients is a local restaurant and they plan to open a second location next quarter, consider suggesting they add influencer marketing onto their package to help set the business up for a successful opening. Clients will appreciate that you’re offering well-rounded and strategic marketing approaches that they may not have considered.
CLIENT RETENTION STRATEGY #3: PROVE YOUR EXPERTISE IS INVALUABLE
The secret to retaining current clients is proving to them that your work is invaluable. A foolproof way to accomplish this is through the hard facts: data. Create social media analytics reports regularly and reflect on how the metrics you’re seeing tie back to their goals. Call out where you succeeding and provide optimization recommendations for areas you’re hoping to improve. For more organic social media analytics tips, check out our latest course on social media analytics, Decode Your Data.
Another way to ensure you’re providing best-in-class strategies and services is by staying up-to-date with the latest industry news and trends. To do this, we love attending regular webinars, conferences, and subscribing to newsletters and blogs! A few of our favorite online resources include:
CLIENT RETENTION STRATEGY #4: HAVE A COMMUNICATION PLAN IN PLACE
Lastly, ensure you have an established and regular communication plan in place. You want clients to know you’re actively working on and bettering their account, while also being mindful of how often you’re taking up real estate in their busy inbox. Set clients up for success by letting them know exactly when they can expect to hear from you.
At Homemade Social, our clients can expect us to email them every Wednesday with fresh content for their review. Additionally, we have a scheduled recurring call with them on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, depending on their pacakge. We also pride ourselves on providing prestigious client concierge and being readily available to assist them via email (during office hours, of course) outside of these two expected interactions. Pro tip: turn on email notification sounds!
To further encourage customer retention, aim to build a relationship with clients during each of your interactions. Be human and take an interest in their lives inside and out of their business. Remember that there is a hospitality element to account management, so consider even sending client gifts for holidays, birthdays, or major milestones.
We hope you found this blog post helpful in discovering a client retention strategy to implement within your business! Want more organic social media analytics tips? Check out our latest course on social media analytics, Decode Your Data. Enjoy!
xx,
The Homies
