Your Guide to Effective Client Management

By Suraj Jha on Aug 16, 2021

We all love our clients. After all, they are our bread and butter. But while some clients are easy to please, others are, well, a bit more challenging. How can you oversee your clients to both please them and keep your own sanity? The answer is effective client management. Good client management enables you to better understand your audience, retain clients and generate new business. It’s critical to build a marketing agency.

Focusing on good client relationships that build trust pays off. According to Dimension Data’s 2017 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report, 84% of organizations working to improve customer experience reported an increase in revenue.

But with all the work and hubbub of getting the job done, many marketing agencies put client management on the back burner. Good business is not just about delivering services and meeting deadlines. It’s also about creating relationships and positive customer experiences that influence clients to want to continue doing business with your company.

Benefits of Effective Client Management

Consumers know what a good buying experience looks like, and now B2B buyers are expecting the same types of good customer experiences. This means your agency must respond quickly to concerns and inquiries, customize your offerings, actively listen to your clients and put your clients first.

Following are some of the reasons your marketing agency should practice good client management.

Improves Customer Experience & Retention

As previously mentioned, the customer experience has become more important to B2B buyers. By practicing effective client management, you show your customers that they are a priority and you appreciate their business. Why is this important? By building strong, ongoing relationships, you are more likely to retain customers, which can positively impact your business’s bottom line.

As marketers, we all know it costs a heck of a lot more to get business from a new client than an existing one. It depends on the industry and particular circumstances, of course. We often hear it costs seven times more, but other statistics tell us it can cost up to 16 times more to sell to a new client than an existing one. But one thing is true. You can’t afford to ignore your clients’ experiences.

Helps You Understand Your Clients

A survey by Salesforce Research found that 66% of customers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations. The more you understand your existing clientele, the better you can target new customers. Client management allows you to learn their needs, goals and pain points past the initial sales call. This can help you adjust your services and offerings to better fit your clients and improve your lead-generating efforts and future client relationships.

Tips for Practicing Client Management

You know good client management is important, but what does it look like to apply it to your business? Here are a few tips to make sure you are building strong, trustworthy client relationships.

Tip 1: Communicate Frequently

It may seem obvious, but many organizations fail to communicate regularly with their clients. This communication should be more than sending reports or talking numbers. Get to know your clients on a personal level and actively look for ways to help their businesses.

Tip 2: Be Honest and Transparent

Build a marketing agency based on honesty and transparency to establish trust with your clients. For example, if a specific campaign or marketing effort is underperforming, don’t try to hide that information from the client. Instead, be open in your reporting and communications, analyze possible reasons for the underperformance and develop a solution or new approach to optimize your efforts. Remind your clients that marketing is a process, not an event. It requires testing and constant tweaking to deliver the best results.

Tip 3: Set Client Expectations

When bringing on a new client, establish benchmarks and set expectations so your client knows what to expect and when to expect it. This can include confirming deadlines, payment dates and what is included in your services.

Also, set communications expectations. For example, you may normally check in with your clients on a weekly basis, but your new client may be expecting to speak with you daily. Explaining these items early on in the relationship will avoid issues or concerns down the road.

Tip 4: Celebrate Their Wins

Acknowledging your clients’ successes through emails, calls, or small gifts can not only highlight the benefit of your services, but it also shows your client that you are invested in their business and their lives. This includes recognizing business wins such as hitting a monthly revenue goal, but it also includes your client’s personal wins such as getting engaged or having a baby.

Tip 5: Manage Your Business’s Workload

Depending on the size of your business and the scope of your projects, client management can take up a significant part of your day-to-day. White label digital marketing can handle some of your fulfillment work under your brand so that you have more time to focus on your client relationships. White labeling enables smaller agencies to expand their marketing services to clients while saving time, money and resources.  It gives agencies more time to focus on client retention and business growth.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many B2B businesses offer long-term contracts or agreements. Because they feel secure for the 6 to 12 month term of a contract, they may overlook client management.  Instead, nurture your client relationships so clients eagerly renew year after year. When it comes to client management, here are some common mistakes to avoid.

Not Listening to Clients’ Needs

Some businesses focus on upselling their clients with new services without taking the time to actually listen to each client’s goals. By investing time into learning their needs and goals, you can offer them services strategically. This improves their customer experience and increases the likelihood that they will buy more. In fact, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more if it means getting a better customer experience.

Lack of Organization

Depending on the size of your agency, key members of your team should know the status of current projects and recent communications. A lack of organization can lead to miscommunications and missed deadlines. This kind of disorganization makes clients feel like they are not a priority to your business.

Not Initiating Communication

When it comes to communication with your clients, it should never be one-sided. Don’t just wait for your clients to reach out with a concern or issue. Be proactive with communicating to ensure a positive working relationship. Quick emails to check in and provide project updates can help your clients feel important and top of mind.

Improve Your Relationships

By practicing client management and focusing on your clients’ experiences, you can improve your relationships, increase revenue and grow your business. To help you build a marketing agency, Umbrella can deliver you leads, appointments, quality fulfillment services and marketing training.

Talk with us today to discover how we can enhance your digital marketing efforts and help you improve your client relationships.