Like many freelancers, I’m guilty of focusing on getting new clients and not on keeping my current clients. I’ve got my client list and then I seek to add to my roster. Perhaps you have this issue too?
It seems like it should go together: added profits being tied to the addition of new clients. But that correlation doesn’t always hold true.
Retaining clients might be better than seeking new ones.
Retention marketing involves a dedicated focus on keeping those clients you have now. Why is it valuable for you to pay attention to those already using your services? Here are a few reasons:
You Have a Better Chance of Selling to Your Existing Base
Heed the words of a smart marketing leader. He says the probability of selling to an existing client is 60%-70% while the probability of selling to a brand-new client drops to between 5%-20%. That statistic is from Neil Patel, who Forbes ranked as one of the top 10 marketers around.
That means if your last project, which was running a contest on your client’s behalf, generated a substantial number of leads for their company, this client isn’t going to seek out another copywriter to work on their next project. They’ll be happy to ask you to analyze and improve their website SEO.
You Make More Profit
Paying attention to retaining your clients is good for your bottom line. Harvard Business Review says only a 5% increase in client retention can deliver up to a 95% increase in profits! It makes sense as your base already trusts you to deliver. So, you don’t have to get out there and place Facebook ads for lead generation or launch another campaign to find an interested new company to work with. You don’t have to factor in that added cost, and the time expense.
Let’s say you sell pet-related copywriting services. Your current client hired you to do email campaigns for their doggie vitamin water. If she agrees to pay you for another service like social media marketing, it serves to reason that your profits increase. Because you’re not allocating money towards new marketing endeavors, no need to subtract that from the profits.
It’s like you save money through retention marketing!
Interestingly, you’re actually making more of a profit from your current client than from a new one you just landed, even if it’s to execute the same two services. Small Business Trends has a startling statistic that might get your attention about this: It’s 16 times more expensive to bring a new client up to the same level as the level of your existing client. That’s due to the increasing cost of customer acquisition, the time you’ll have to dedicate for reaching new prospects, and the lack of built-in loyalty.
Your Current Clients Spread the Word about You
As your fans and advocates, your existing clients will gladly spread the word about you. Speaking again of that imaginary client selling doggie vitamin water, if you wrote brochures for her to give out at a recent pet expo or convention that resulted in higher sales, don’t you think she’s going to say you’re the best? And she’ll tell that to her fellow business owner who happens to sell doggie fashions to a mid-sized retailer as well as another colleague peddling doggie grooming products from her website.
4 Ways to Improve B2B Client Retention
Keeping the clients you have now should clearly be a priority. So, let’s focus on retention marketing strategies. These are easy ways you can keep current B2B clients as well as develop long-term, sustaining relationships with them.
- Upsell thoughtfully to current clients. This is a no-brainer. Can you offer an added service that really will be good for them at a discounted price? Let’s say a client’s retainer for social media management is about to expire and they don’t have a big marketing budget. You can say you’ll add the use of stock and original videos to their social media at 25% off and the offer is just for their company.
Or if it’s time for a contract renewal, maybe throw in something for free. EverNote, for example, upsells its premium subscription around the New Year. They offer an extra six months of services if customers buy the yearly subscription.
- Reach out to previous clients you’re no longer working with.
Maybe you can now offer them expanded services you couldn’t before or maybe they’ve got a new product release or new marketing initiative you can offer to help with. Those who liked your work before should very well like your work again!
- Create a community. You can use Slack or a Facebook group for this. Give your current clients valuable resources and support. By being part of a community, people feel they matter and that we’re all in this together.
Customers in a community will also offer valuable feedback about your services and enable you to gather information on their pain points. That helps you figure out new services to offer them and at the same time, they’ll really benefit from these new offerings.
- Use personalization. You can make a personalized video to send to your individual clients that gives them information on industry trends or resources. Be sure to tailor the video to them. Or you can make personal calls to see how your current clients are doing. You’d be surprised at what these short conversations can produce. Try it once a month or even quarterly.
By personalizing your interactions, clients will tell you about parts of the project that might be troublesome before it becomes a problem for you. That enables you to troubleshoot early on. You prevent a situation from escalating and also save the day. Staying in touch in a personal way can also lead to goodwill, more referrals, and ultimately long-term loyalty to your brand.
Retaining your current clients is an easy way to increase your profits, reduce the amount of time and effort you need to put into landing a new client, and decrease the time spent learning about a whole new business. This doesn’t mean you should halt your self-marketing machine altogether, but you can minimize your time spent if you have a solid base of clients already. When you focus on keeping your current clients happy, you’ll have a smaller learning curve and earn more for less effort.
