As the pandemic is still at large, businesses across all domains are suffering immensely. The result is visible in the form of revenue dips and the resultant cost-cutting.
When it comes to trimming business expenses, marketing has borne the brunt to a considerable extent. Surely, the sudden cuts in marketing budgets have affected business for digital marketing agencies as well. If you run one, clients may not be coming as usual and even the ones that are there may not be spending normally.
In these circumstances, the retention of existing clients becomes the key to survival. It boils down to investing in the right strategies to convince them about the value of your services even during a crisis like this one.
At the same time, it is also about retaining their trust and loyalty. Here are some strategies that can boost client retention for your digital marketing agency during the pandemic era.
Focus on Saving and Surviving
Right now, your focus should be on saving your clients and you will be able to survive automatically. It is obvious that the conditions are tough for businesses and they would be more concerned about survival rather than sales right now.
If you want to keep the clients on your roster, offer them cost-effective yet result-oriented alternatives for campaigns and tactics. They would also need to realign their messaging, so go the extra mile by providing them some good suggestions.
This will enable you to deliver to the expectations and show that you care about their business. Moreover, they will be willing to stay, even if with a lower ad spend right now. But that shouldn’t bother you; retention should be the bigger concern!
Convince them About the Value of “Staying Active”
The current mindset of business owners is apprehensive and confused, so it probably gets hard to spend money without thinking twice. Making them stay with your agency would require you to convince them about the “staying active” through the pandemic. Explain to them how each of the services you provide can get them through the tough times.
For example, SEO will keep their site visible, which matters the most when people are searching for businesses online. Social media marketing is very important when building engagement and maintaining close connections with customers matters more than anything else. If you can justify the value of your services to the clients, they will go nowhere.
Keep Your Pricing at an Optimal Level
Cost is the biggest concern for any company right now when money is tight and there isn’t much hope for an immediate uptick in the future. Retention would require an optimal approach to pricing your services at this stage. But you cannot afford to get too cheap because it can affect your survival immensely.
You can go through https://seojet.net/blog/how-much-to-charge-for-seo to get a fair idea about SEO pricing. Similarly, researching the market and competitor pricing for digital marketing packages would help you arrive at an optimal price point that is affordable for the clients and feasible for your agency.
Be Lenient and Empathic
For any business, including digital marketing agencies, empathy towards the customers is the best approach during the period of crisis. Only if you step into the client’s shoes will you be able to understand their problems. You can expect last-minute budget changes now, while some clients may even pull back campaigns.
Invoices may get delayed and launches postponed, so expect the unexpected even with the best clients. If retention is your main agenda, you need to be lenient and empathic. As long as there are transparency and good communication, there isn’t much to worry about and things will get on track eventually.
Think Outside the Box
When it comes to client retention during the pandemic, thinking outside the box would help. Whether it is about enhancing campaigns or improving service delivery, look for innovative ideas that impress the clients and give them reasons to stay.
Stronger collaboration can take you a long way in this direction. Involve the clients in brainstorming sessions to get ideas and share concerns. Such meetings can give you a different perspective and also foster trust and loyalty with the clients so that they would want to continue with your services.
When client retention matters more than anything to your agency, you must focus on clear communication and consistent availability at all times. Being there for them justified trust and makes clients inclined towards your business. They might spend less but they will definitely stay and come back stronger!