Stop the Bleed: Ways to Ensure Your Retainers See the Value

“We’re just not seeing the value” is a sentence that tears the heart out of digital marketers every day around the world. While sometimes the client is right and an agency switch is exactly what they need, the client often lacks reliable data to make a logical decision. Maybe their customer didn’t mention the Google Ad they clicked on to get to the site before they picked up the phone, maybe that Facebook remarketing ad reminded them to pop back to your client’s website, or maybe your SEO is driving hordes of new customers for your client. Heck, your marketing might have been the spark of a million-dollar project for your client.

1. Track KPIs that your client cares about
2. Make it easy for your clients to see how your agency delivers customers to them
3. Prove your value often

Not all clients are going to be completely rational in how they buy marketing but most agencies see losses every year because some of their clients didn’t “see the value”. Some client loss is inevitable, but there are a few each year that really knock the wind out of you because you were, in fact, knocking it out of the park for those clients. Stopping those “bad” losses is what causes growth in your agency business and keeps those clients whose business you know so well.

Reporting on the Right KPIs

For those businesses that are rational and care about results, reporting on the results they care about is key. It’s not enough to report on vanity metrics or “conversions”. You need to report on things that impact your client’s business like:

• Phone calls from new customers
• Web leads/form submissions from new customers
• Job applications for hard-to-hire positions

You need to make an undeniable link between those business metrics and your digital agency’s marketing efforts. A modern marketing automation platform like ActiveDEMAND makes that connection possible. You also need to repeatedly report on those results and show how your agency is key to your client’s business.

Related Article: The Importance of Market Attribution for Agencies: Know your best channel

If your customer saw that their million-dollar deal came in because of your humble Google Search Ad, they’d see the value that you bring to the table. You’d earn the respect that you deserve and you wouldn’t have your heart broken by another client “not seeing the results.”