The Top 3 Reasons Your Content Marketing Agency Loses Clients
Obvious and not so obvious things agencies do and why. And how to avoid them.
The obvious and simple reason is that you are not providing enough value to your clients. Ouch, that hurts. But of course, it is not that simple. This article talks of why this might be, thus allowing you to avoid these scenarios.
The List:
- Failing to deliver enough results
- Poor communication
- Lack of creativity or poor focus
What qualifies me to write on this? Our company’s mission is to help agencies with their content marketing analytics. We provide professional tools and do-it-for-your services where we act as content and SEO agency’s analytics team to offload this expense and time suck. So we help them grow faster by letting them focus on marketing results for their clients, no the technical, data work, and reporting aspects of analytics. I work with agencies weekly, daily even… seeing success and failure.
Why is this important?
It is your livelihood? If you are an agency owner, your profits, income, and cash flow is affected.
When you are not growing you are usually dying. If you have 5 clients and lose one, that could be 20% of your revenue lost, instantly! No good. Right?
So step #1 in growing your agency is making happy clients.
The Best Content Marketing Agencies
The best way content marketing agencies grow by referral. They spend little time on marketing themselves. They even have to say “no” to clients. They get to because a prospect may not be a good fit, or they are not interested. Nice! They have to, because they have no more capacity right now to serve them… a nice problem to have.
The Three Reasons Agencies Lose Clients
#1: Not Enough Value Shown
Notice I say “shown”. You may not be showing your value or you may not be proving them value. At least fast enough for their needs or expectations.
Failing to deliver results. If a content agency promises results but fails to deliver on its promises, it will likely lose their clients. Clients are paying for results, and if they don't see the desired outcome, they will be dissatisfied and may look for a different marketer who can deliver what they need.
Or maybe you are not “showing” your clients the value you are providing sufficiently or successfully. Actions are not results! Yes, you may do all you agreed to do. Great! Good for you. You wrote the articles, case studies, lead magnets, social posting…whatever you promised. But if the client does not see it value… its connection to their revenue ultimately, you will lose them.
This is where SaturnOne focused our efforts, helping agencies prove their value. By connecting efforts to outcomes and ultimately leads and revenue.
#2: Poor Communications
Communication is essential in any business relationship, and content marketing is no exception. If a marketer fails to communicate effectively with their clients, it can lead to misunderstandings, missed deadlines, and ultimately, lost business.
Communication is two-way. The first thing is to understand and document the client's expectations. Both your actions and the results that are expected. This needs to be agreed upon before you start. This should be part of your engagement agreement. First, how to report on these results…actions, and analytics reports of the results. Second, what to do if these results are not meeting expectations. Do not take on a client whose expectations you cannot meet or who is unreasonable.
Communicate often and consistently. Connect your efforts to their needs and expectations.
#3: Lack of Creativity or Focus
Content marketing is all about creating engaging and compelling content that resonates with the target audience. Add lead generation and efforts to drive traffic. All should be part of a comprehensive content marketing strategy.
If a marketer lacks creativity and fails to produce content that stands out from the crowd, clients may look elsewhere for someone who can produce more innovative and effective content.
Creativity is not just about writing, copy, or design. It also included the discovery of what drives leads and ultimately client revenue. It can include novel distribution methods also… after all, if no one reads or see your content… failure as far as your client is concerned.
In my experience, content needs to be focused and have the goal of doing one thing. Constraints and focus can drive some of the best creativity.
Three Tips To Grow Your Agency
On the other hand, things that content marketing agencies should do to retain clients include:
- Delivering on their promises: If a content agency can consistently deliver results for their clients, they are more likely to retain them over the long term. Strong reports and analytics, and showing them how your work connects to their bottom line are the gold standard in my opinion. These get you the mighty referral of new clients.
- Building strong relationships: Building strong relationships with clients is key to retaining them. By regularly communicating with clients, addressing their concerns and needs, and providing excellent customer service, marketers can build trust and loyalty.
- Staying up-to-date with industry trends: The world of content marketing is constantly evolving, and it's essential for marketers to stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and best practices. By staying on top of new developments and incorporating them into their strategies, marketers can help their clients stay ahead of the competition.
