Rest and Relaxation is key of course, and especially over the Summer months and when we have heat waves, but what about the other R&R?
Retention and Relationships!
In today’s business world of sometimes hard to win and easy to lose in terms of opportunities and new business, retention and relationships are so key.
According to Dentsu – Retaining existing customers is 5 to 25 times more cost-effective than winning new ones, making it the primary driver of sustainable revenue.
Balancing customer retention and new business acquisition is critical in the UK market – so how do you do this?
One thing is to make your business sticky.
How? I do by being fun to work with, being caring, having your interests at heart, sending gifts and birthday cards, being your cheerleader and confidant. Saving you time, solving your capacity issues and such like.
Other tips and ideas
Care – don’t just go through the motions with clients and your business relationships. Ask questions, add value, do your best.
Support – do what’s best for them and what’s best for their business and budget.
Timely – don’t leave things too late. If you notice an issue or potential issue or risk, deal with it at the time. Be proactive. This could well just save your project and relationship.
Stakeholders – learn who the key ones are. Get to know them and nurture them well.
Reporting and accountability – show your worth and your value and the strides you are making.
Actively listen – understand the pain points of your clients and address these. Equally listen to their personal pains too. for example, asking how their holiday was and remembering the country for example goes a long way.
Other things include:
High energy
Take an interest and be genuine
Be professional
Communicate – the good and bad things
Reward loyalty
Client services – what is it and why do it well
(according to Reddit:) Professionals in client services (such as Account Managers or Client Success Managers) handle several core duties:
- Relationship Building: Acting as the main point of contact, understanding the client’s brand and goals.
- Expectation Management: Aligning project deliverables, timelines, and budgets between the client and internal staff.
- Issue Resolution: Triaging and solving client complaints, billing issues, or service bottlenecks.
- Growth and Strategy: Identifying areas where clients can benefit from additional products or upgraded services
Look after your clients – new and old. Don’t be greedy and sacrifice your retained clients with the new shinier ones. They will see and they will know and they will leave.
Equally don’t bend over backwards all the time or compromise yourself or consistently over deliver and under charge. And finally, don’t get complacent and take your clients and their budgets for granted.
