Client Retention: A Goal Without Purpose? 🤝

Agency owners often fall in love at the beginning of their journey. With whom, you ask? With the clients who bring those first steady revenues 🤑

I’ve even seen experienced professionals, leaving their corporate jobs to start their own agencies, lose their pragmatic approach. Meanwhile, clients are giving praise, the first showcases are being created, and staff are being hired… I’ve been there too, thinking that this “love” would last forever. But the reality is: clients leave.

…And they leave for various reasons. Sometimes it’s due to external market factors, or even bankruptcy.

So, contrary to standard business practices, let me say this: the goal isn’t to retain clients — it’s to attract new ones!

The goal isn’t to retain clients — it’s to attract new ones!

I know some of you might disagree and ask: “Are you saying we shouldn’t strive to improve our service?” YES, YOU SHOULD! But the motivation behind these efforts should be directed toward entirely different objectives:

• A great service creates strong showcases that build trust during sales.
• Satisfied clients bring in new clients through referrals.
• Demonstrating know-how in your industry (via media presence or personal branding) attracts new leads.

In short, shift your mindset 180 degrees and think about expanding your client base 24/7.

Of course, there are exceptions where agencies rely on one or two major clients (such as government contracts or large corporations), but in these cases, contracts and conditions are typically much more stable.

Still, the client is always right. It’s crucial to identify their core problem — whether it’s revenue growth, entering new markets, or increasing brand awareness — and align on a shared vision and goals

In an agency, you sell your brains — the knowledge of which tools to use to achieve those goals. Human resources are the agency’s most valuable intellectual asset. We follow these principles as well and often:

• Fly out for personal meetings with clients to strengthen relationships.
• Ask leading questions during surveys and feedback calls, like, “Are you satisfied with our service?”
• Implement an NPS system with the key question: “Would you recommend our service to other companies in your network?”

Also, after a couple of years, you can calculate your annual churn rate. An agency should work like a sales machine, attracting more new clients than it loses each year!