Common reasons agencies lose clients – and how to prevent it

One of the things we hear regularly when talking to agencies is that winning the client is only half the battle. The real goal is to become the agency they come back to time and time again. And while attracting new business is obviously important for growth, we believe there’s a lot to be said for looking at what makes a client stay.

Because in our experience, it’s rarely about doing more. It’s about doing the right things really well and paying attention to the small details that turn you from a supplier into a trusted partner. The question isn’t “did we deliver”, but “how did we deliver?”.

So, based on what we’re seeing and hearing from agencies through EDGE, here are a few of the areas we think can make a real difference to client retention.

Don’t confuse lowest price with the best option

Of course, budget matters. It always will.

With rising costs, tighter margins and clients under pressure to demonstrate value, price is inevitably part of the conversation. But the cheapest option doesn’t automatically create the most value. Sometimes, a venue that is slightly more expensive but better suited to the brief, easier for delegates to access, or able to offer something genuinely different can be a much better recommendation and that is where your expertise comes in.

Your client has come to you because they expect you to know the market. They don’t necessarily want you to give them exactly what they asked for they want you to understand the why they are asking for it and perhaps show them something they hadn’t considered. That might be an experiential element, a different destination, a more appropriate room layout or simply a venue that you know will work particularly well for their audience.

Those recommendations demonstrate something that price alone can’t. It tells them you understand their event.

More choice doesn’t mean more value

This is something we all can recognise!

You receive a brief, find 15 venues that could potentially work and think “great I’ll give them plenty of choice”, but you may have simply given your client another task. Choice is great until there is too much of it, and when there are lots of suitable options, we believe the real value an agency can add is in filtering those choices down.

Three or four genuinely strong recommendations, accompanied by a clear “Why this one?”, becomes more powerful than a long list of venues and it shows that you’ve done the thinking for them.

That’s exactly where technology can help.

With EDGE, agencies can search across thousands of venues, compare options and build shortlists – but the technology isn’t there to make the decision for you, it gives you the information and tools to make a better-informed decision, faster, whilst the expertise is still yours.

Protect your expertise from admin

This is an area we see as being the biggest opportunity for agencies.

Technology, automation and AI are changing the way we work, and the question isn’t whether agencies should use technology, it’s how they can use it to give themselves more time to do the things technology can’t.

If a huge proportion of your day is spent filtering searches, sending RFPs, chasing responses, updating spreadsheets, managing proposals, checking information and compiling reports, that’s time you’re not spending with your clients, and that’s a problem! Your biggest differentiator isn’t how quickly you can complete a manual task, it’s your knowledge, relationships, judgement and experience.

That’s where we see EDGE playing an important role for agencies.

The platform can take away a significant amount of the repetitive venue sourcing and administration, from searching and shortlisting through to RFPs, enquiries and managing information, allowing the agency to spend more time doing what the client values.

Your technology should give you more time to be an expert, not make you spend more time managing technology.

Clients buy confidence

Clients want to know that someone has understood their brief, thought about the detail and has everything under control, they want to feel confident saying in saying “Yes, let’s go with that.”.

That confidence comes from the relationship you build with them and the expertise you bring to the table. It’s why two agencies can receive exactly the same brief and deliver completely different experiences. One might simply return a list of options. whilst the other might say “based on what you have told me, these are the three venues I would recommend and here is why…”.

That second approach feels different, it feels considered, personal and ultimately, that’s what turns a client relationship into a long-term partnership.

So, what keeps clients coming back?

· Delivering value not just a price

· Make decisions easier – for your buyers with a smaller pool of strong options

· Use technology to win back your time.

At EDGE, that is exactly what we’re trying to help agencies achieve, combining the technology, venue knowledge and industry connections to make sourcing more efficient, while keeping the expertise and relationship firmly with the agency – because people still buy from people.

When a client knows you understand them, trust your recommendations and make their life easier, that’s a relationship they’re much more likely to come back to.

If you want support into how EDGE might be able to help, get in touch:

[email protected]