Keeping up with the times means adapting to ever-changing situations and circumstances. Becoming a key player in business involves knowing where the pitfalls exist and how to navigate around them. Ultimately you need to cater your services to fit the needs of your customer and here’s where being proactive rather than reactive can keep your customers satisfied and coming back to you time and time again.
As an agency it is your responsibility to be on top of the market and completely versed in up and coming trends that reflect your particular niche area. A report from Agency Management Institute, cited that 50% of its respondents had indicated that they’d had the misfortune to fire an agency within the past two years.
Taking this fact into account, it’s important to understand the reasons that prompt a business to go elsewhere. Knowing just what causes an agency to lose business can truly assist companies to design effective future game plans for success.
Here are the top 6 reasons that cause agencies to lose customers:
Reorganization or change in leadership;
Budget issues;
Poor management of expectations;
Trust issues/chemistry problems;
Lack of risk-taking;
Push too hard for same-customer revenue.
Now let’s zero on the solutions.
When an organization changes ownership or leadership it must be viewed as an entirely new company and treated as such. You must seek to connect with the new executive management team as soon as possible. It’s prudent to schedule a meet and greet so that face to face relationships can be fostered. However, where this is not possible, a brief overview of your agency’s strategies to combat challenges will suffice.
You want to make it extremely clear that your agency, above all else, has a grasp on the challenges facing the company. Provide a detailed manifesto outlining viable solutions for each and every obstacle. It’s important that the new management team see that you have already taken the time and effort to plan for the future.
Make sure you heavily emphasize the role your agency played in each and every obstacle that had previously been overcome. The new management team must view your agency as an essential service going forward, so take every opportunity to play up your successes.
Another word of advice. Strive to develop relationships with multiple team members within the executive class of management so that your breadth of connections runs deep and is not reliant on one individual. This will guarantee your company success in future reorganizations as you will continue to have more than one connection with which to depend.
Budget Issues
Budget cuts can sometimes put your agency on the chopping block. A business relationship that ends this way is a tough case to crack. It leaves you feeling a bit stumped because at first glance it appears to be an element far beyond your control.
However, if you factor this into your game plan then you can create protocols for the future that will have all respective clients understanding and appreciating your value from the get-go.
Your inherent value must be established from the moment you walk through the door. It’s vital that you can show how your marketing activities are directly tied to the ROI of a company. Here’s where you consistently provide a detailed report on your metrics and employ regular meetings with upper management to foster a relationship of trust.
Those in positions of power must make the correlation between your services and leads coming in, influenced sales and conversion rates. To put it bluntly, they must see how you are helping them to make money. Consistently employ these tactics effectively and you will find that companies will create a room within their budget to house your services regardless of cutbacks.
Poor Management of Expectations
Set and manage expectations and ask the right questions. This is a fairly straightforward point. Your team must communicate and work effectively to meet the needs of the customer. Asking just the right questions helps you to get a handle on your client’s vision. While there may be creative differences, your client is your customer and to avoid disappointment, confusion, and frustration you must keep in mind that it’s their vision that truly counts.
It is your job to keep the customer happy with the service they receive. Therefore, it’s essential that everyone be on the same page. Too often, missed deadlines and inefficient teamwork create a bad impression and your client is likely to go elsewhere. Word of mouth travels fast and disgruntled customers can often leave your company with a negative reputation.
To sum it up, make sure you are consistently on top of your game with a solid team who communicates regularly, works diligently and listens to the needs of the customer.
Agencies, who continue to respond in a timely fashion and consistently apply a high level of attention to the business they serve, remain employed and successful. This is due to the fact that they truly understand the power of trust. Chemistry and trust go hand in hand towards building successful and strong client relationships.
Building trust must be a top priority for agencies seeking to thrive in a highly competitive marketplace. Ultimately the sales process, which is built around case studies and testimonials, will lend itself to establishing meaningful and respectful connections. However, it’s not the only point of consideration. Trust must be the focal point of each and every business transaction.
The process is fairly simple. You must communicate results in a transparent manner. Be clear and precise as to further action steps as well as risks and roadblocks. Establishing consistent and direct communication allows companies to develop respect for your integrity and honesty. They are looking to you to provide an accurate depiction of their situation. Therefore, it’s essential that you don’t sugarcoat the problems but provide feasible long-term solutions. If you strive to respond in a quick and steady manner and use client feedback to motivate future changes, then you will keep your customer satisfied and your company in business.
Failure to respond and give adequate attention was touted as the second most common reason for firing an agency according to Agency Management Institute’s Hiring and Firing Insights report. This fact only serves to underscore the importance of building and maintaining trust. It’s through your attention and responsiveness that you gain favor and amplify the success of your business.
Lack of Risk-Taking Risk-Taking is a Good Thing!
Don’t be afraid to take a risk! Your agency is your business and in order to succeed you must push the envelope and try new things. Forward thinkers, who step out of the box of what’s comfortable, are the ones making waves within the industry and attracting business.
Mystery and intrigue give your agency perceived value as businesses will look to you for innovation and creativity. While there is a sense of familiarity in the ways of the past, there is a danger that your agency will be deemed predictable and your services will be rendered ineffective if the company sustains a loss.
It’s important to stay on top of your game and keep your eye’s peeled for any signs of a client’s unhappiness. Even your best clients have a shelf life. To avoid stagnation watch carefully for signs of discomfort. Keeping things fresh and innovative will keep your clients engaged with your services.
To avoid unnecessary hardship, ensure that your account managers are held responsible for the organic growth of a client’s account. It’s vital that they have a handle on all possible marketing growth opportunities and continually assess new prospects. The strength of your agency lies in the power you have to create opportunities for new business. Sometimes you must embark on a completely new and creative endeavor in order to meet the client’s needs. Don’t be scared to be uncomfortable!
Push Too Hard to Grow Same-Customer Revenue
Building a strong following and maintaining a loyal customer base are completely different processes. Too often companies zero in on their current client roster with the hopes of creating more business opportunities. However, it’s important to have a handle on just what makes a successful strategy.
Here it is crucial that you are familiar with the needs of each customer individually and make every effort to meet those needs as promptly as possible. It’s important to know when to push and when to pull back. Your customers appreciate when you are honest and straightforward but are not keen on being oversold. Only suggest products you KNOW your customer needs.
Customers want their problems fixed. That’s what it comes down to. Good customer service focuses on providing solutions not referencing policies and procedures. Employees should use these policies as guidelines rather than rules. Giving your employees autonomy to make their own judgment calls in complaint-resolution gives them the freedom to tailor their responses and effectively handle customer complaints.
Customer complaints are to be expected but it’s the means by which you address and respectfully manage these conflicts that truly matters. Strong companies have good customer relations and handle complaints with grace and ease. You want your customers to have a pleasant experience even during the complaint process.
Your business depends on the relationships that have been established and fostered over the years. Often it is your employees who sell and maintain your business. Customers return time and time again because they have become accustomed to dealing with particular employees for certain facets of their business. These relationships are paramount because they continue to attract a huge amount of business on a consistent basis. It’s the personal touch that keeps your customers coming back. For this reason, you must value these connections and strive to maintain them to the best of your ability. Keep key players in positions of authority whether in sales positions or as customer service reps and don’t rotate staff too often.
In this day and age, loyalty to a business is a rare commodity and it should be valued. Offering incentives and discounts to existing customers shows appreciation for their business and continued support. Often returning customers have frequented your business for years and validating their loyalty is a sign of respect.
Using appropriate strategies will help you to maintain your customer base and instill loyalty in new customer to boot!
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