Great advertising software is one of the most important investments your agency can make. If your agency is failing to keep hold of clients it could simply be a case of you not using the right software. This stark fact is one of the biggest reasons for client churn.
Carl Witton, Chief Growth Officer at Tangram shares his thoughts on how to keep clients loyal by implementing the right software.
Tangram’s consultants, with years of experience working with agencies, have identified this serious issue. It became increasingly clear to us that poor communication coupled with low-quality work are the real deal-breakers.
Reduce Poor Communication with Great Advertising Software
Of course, it’s fair to say that in these extremely competitive times, all agencies suffer from client retention. The market has never been more volatile and competition never so keen. It is equally obvious that agencies that fail to get on top of the basics will suffer the most. It is in this area where utilizing the best software really comes into its own.
Our research has shown that agencies that adopt the best software solutions improve client communication. This reduces turnover and improves the quality of their work. These factors in turn ensure that their clients stick with them.
“An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.” – Elbert Hubbard
At the risk of repeating ourselves, it’s all about the software. Tangram is ideally placed to demonstrate to agencies the very best solutions that are currently available. One of the most dangerous traps your agency can fall into is complacency. You’ve signed them up, your job is done. Wrong! This kind of thinking is worse than overpromising. Getting a client on board is merely the first step. You have to nurture them and take care of business. This is where great advertising software comes in.
It’s all about communication. As Chris Moerdyk puts it, “plain bad communication” is one of the reasons agencies lose clients. If as an agency you are unable to understand your clients’ desires and needs the relationship will breakdown, and quickly.
Organizing and Tracking
Tangram can help you choose the very best software solutions. We will enable your agency to track and organize all communications between you and your clients. Having a complete record of past communications ensures that miscommunications are wiped out.
Your clients have multiple contacts with your agency. Your accounts team, creatives, management, and consultants all need to be singing from the same hymn sheet to ensure a consistent message is maintained. Mistakes on deadlines, costs, and requirements are fatal. The frustrations felt by your clients if this happens will have them quickly running to your competitors.
Investing in great advertising software will certainly work out less expensive than losing vital clients.
Staff Turnover
High staff turnover has plagued the advertising industry for years and many agencies struggle to attract high-caliber employees. Since Covid and the huge increase of work from home, this has somewhat changed. However, there are still issues when an agency loses staff. It can lead to client losses as relationships disappear.
Maintaining those all-important client relationships can be difficult throughout any time of change. As new account executives come in there is always a period of change. It can take time for new people to get up to speed with your client accounts. This time can be dramatically reduced with the introduction of great advertising software.
Believe it or not, the right software can and will reduce staff turnover. This bold claim was not easy to back up a few years ago but it is now. Software makes working from home easier and more efficient. With staff members in different locations, the need to keep them all on the same page is increased. The right software does just that, with ease. Saving your client communications accurately and in real-time is a huge plus. With work from home, increasingly being a major factor in people looking for work within the industry, great advertising software is essential.
Low-Quality Work
Being unable to keep the quality of your work at a high level is one of the major factors in losing both staff and clients. Missed targets and deadlines and incorrect billing send up red flags immediately. Tangram has in the past written extensively on the importance of agency collaboration during the Covid lockdown. As restrictions have lifted across the globe, workers are still demanding and enjoying work from home positions.
Staff has never been more separated. However, using the right software they can now be fully connected and up to speed with everything that they need. The right system will keep productivity at a high level, improve communication and diminish staff turnover. A well-managed agency with the right staff in place will, quite simply, produce better work.
Losing a major client
So can you still afford to lose a major client? While not ideal, the loss of a major client should not be terminal. Here at Tangram, we understand that sometimes it seems that agencies are continually throwing money at new software systems. It also seems counter-productive and is like being locked in a spiral of spending and wasting money.
Our expert consultants have decades of experience and know full well which software will be the right fit for your company. Talk with them and it will soon become apparent that getting the right software in place need not cost a fortune, and the benefits will soon start to pay off.
Summary
Most of the negative issues that agencies face today can be alleviated with good communication, accurate billing and tracking, and by getting the basics right. Great advertising software will help you achieve this quicker than you can imagine. Talk to one of our expert consultants to let us guide you through the process. Remember, it is always better to invest in your business than to lose valued clients.
