At 12 years old, I started a paper route. It wasn't in folding and throwing papers that I found my "riches." It was selling subscriptions. The Press-Enterprise, out of Riverside, California, would have someone come and pick up a bunch of 12-14 year olds and we'd go to all the new neighborhoods to sell subscriptions.

I was good.

I was really good.

One of the contests, I made out like a bandit. Along with a bunch of money (particularly for a 12 year-old kid) I won not 3… not 4… but 2 whole bikes. I won a mountain bike and a 10-speed racing bike.

Yeah. I was hot stuff (in my own mind).

I loved the idea that I could work hard to make more money. If I applied myself, I could be better.

Oh, that picture is not me. I didn't look that cool.

I’ve thought about and have implemented change in organizations for nearly 20 years. If you’ve read my posts before, you’ll know I’m a change agent. I also believe that change for the sake of change is never, ever a good idea.

One of the things I talk to clients about all the time is setting meaningful and measurable goals to reach their success. In my context, it’s marketing goals. Marketing goals are driven by business goals. If your marketing goals don’t support your business goals then your marketing goals are pointless.

Process Improvement

As a change agent, I’ve become a process guy. One of the first things I did when I started a digital agency was to set up processes that allowed us to scale. Some of the processes built in 2007 are still in place today. Most of the processes that didn’t work are no longer present. 

Because I’m a change agent and love to create change when it creates a better outcome, I’m a fan of solving problems. One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein:

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

All too often, we create problems because of the way we think about things then try to fix those problems without changing our thought process that generated the problem.

The Bigger Challenge

There is a bigger challenge that we face when trying to solve problems. That challenge is of time.

My twist on the above Einstein quote is:

“We can’t solve problems any faster than it took us to create those problems.”

Every company has struggled at one time or another with retaining clients. Just when you think you get the formula right something changes that blows everything up.  That change could be market conditions (the current pandemic has thrown a big, honkin’ monkey wrench into the mix). That change could be something internal like a lost employee or a bad decision that ruined your revenue model.

I think the most common reason for a problem in client retention actually starts all the way at sales. Sales has the power to set expectations. If those are set properly, clients have a significantly greater likelihood of staying long-term. Of course, those expectations must be met.

Client Delight

Client delight, I believe is the core principle to client retention. If you have a happy client, that client will never want to leave you unless one of you outgrows the other. Even then, the relationship should stay strong long after the contract is over.