6 Client Retention Red Flags All Agencies Should Know

In today's world of digital marketing, our clients have endless choices when it comes to their marketing agency. Customer retention is one of the most important aspects of running a successful digital marketing agency. It is our job to not only deliver results to our clients, but to become a trusted consultant and advisor to their future marketing efforts.However, things don't always go as planned and it's not always easy to convince clients to spend their marketing dollars with us. Usually, there are signs that remain along the way that your customer relationship might not be working. Follow these 6 red flags that all agencies need to know, and what to do about them, when it comes to retaining clients.1. Your project has no measurable goalsThis is by far the most important red flag. If your marketing project doesn't have measurable goals, how can you communicate the value of your project to your client, let alone promote renewal or a larger budget?

Ideally, when you first start a project, setting goals should be one of the first initiatives you discuss with your client.Action Item: If you're 3, 6 or more months into your project and you don't have measurable goals, I suggest you take a step back and phone your client. Ask them what their goals are and how they are measured internally for success. What is important for your customer, conversions, new leads? Start with a range and grow from there, documenting your goals and progress over time.2. The customer has no visibility into what you are doingThis one Egypt Phone Numbers List seems pretty obvious, but when you're in the thick of a project, it can be easy to overlook your client's involvement. Does your client know what stage of the project plan you are at? Does your client have visibility and support for your strategy? Do you have regular communication with your client on this strategy? If your client has no visibility into your project, how can they possibly communicate what's going on to the people inside who pay the bills?Action item: This can be tricky depending on your client's personality and their approach as a marketer. If your client doesn't have visibility, you'll want to place a call with them or schedule an in-person meeting right away.

The focus of this meeting will be to have a less tactical conversation, reviewing the current status of the project at a high level. Review goals, progress toward goals, accomplishments, and most importantly, any questions your client has. Also consider how you want your client to connect to establish a closer working relationship in the future.3. Customer touchpoint has changedThings happen, it's business after all. Customer touchpoints evolve, are promoted, and sometimes we find ourselves working with a whole new team on the customer side. This can be frustrating not only for the agency, but also for the client. Also, sometimes these new people come in with their own strategies that may not include your agency or have other agencies they prefer to work with. You might find your partnership at risk in this case.Action Item: Pretend to start the project again. New personalities to learn, different marketing approaches to consider. If you find yourself with a new customer touchpoint, take the time to upgrade it. Schedule an in-person meeting, find out their goals and what they plan to bring to the team. Gather all the material so far and present it to them, sharing your approach, strategy, goals and questions. Do your homework too. Who is this person and where does she come from? Speak their language as much as possible.