The Secret Sauce To Keeping Retainer Clients For Years
Consistent, reoccurring income anyone?
It’s one thing to get a client signed up for any package but keeping them is another thing entirely. I’m heading into my fifth year of running Haskin Creatives, a Pinterest marketing business that serves online businesses wanting a strategic approach to the platform. You might think that getting otherworldly results is what keeps them signed on for months and months - but there’s something bigger at play here.
What I’ve come to realize is that while clients should expect great results for a service they are paying for, there are times where the algorithm changes, where we need to relook at the content they are creating or its the holidays and no one is on Pinterest interested in their niche! There are times where your Pinterest account just simply doesn’t grow or we see a dreaded drop in stats completely.
What Make Clients Stay?
Beyond that I don’t make it a habit of mine of trying to ‘convince’ clients to stay on if they aren’t happy or getting a return on their investment. I don’t particularly try to convince anyone to sign on for my services at all. I’m not trying to squeeze people dry, getting as much money from them as possible, without them seeing some form of result. However big, small or nothing at all results an account gets I’ve found an honest and open approach best.
This mindset, this approach to actually having emailed clients after three months suggesting that they don’t continue to invest, is what I consider the golden ticket to success in my thriving business. One that has continued to grow throughout the pandemic and one where my profits and client base have never been higher than today. This little business continues to expand and surpass all of my expectations - honesty, integrity and seer determination to provide results worth paying for is what keeps it alive.
Still not convinced?
Here are some mind blowing (at least for me) real life examples from the past few years of taking the honest and open approach to business:
I recently got an inquiry for my services and after looking through the website for a product-based small online shop I wasn’t convinced they’d get the best results. While I feel that almost any business can perform on Pinterest, paying my monthly retainer sometimes isn’t sustainable if you’re going to have to wait months to see traction. The client still signed saying ‘I don’t expect any results but I want to try this for 6 months with you’.
Algorithm changes might possibly be the bane of my existence. I have had long-term clients end their monthly services with me after seeing significant drops in stats in traffic and results after performing well on Pinterest for years. They just weren’t seeing the same return on investment as before - but guess what? I’ve recently had five clients rejoin after years trying to DIY it or hiring others at cheaper rates. Some started out and just weren’t patient enough to watch the slow growth, but have returned with a new perspective wanting to wait it out and see what happens. Returning clients are my favorite!
Telling someone they aren’t performing well on the platform that you’re an expert in is never fun. It can be stressful not knowing how the client will receive the news and create limiting beliefs within your own capabilities as the expert. I’ve had past clients so thankful for me being honest with them and are always so appreciative and surprised by my integrity.
Now I don’t recommend emailing all of your clients to tell them how poorly their accounts are performing! This isn’t about sabotaging yourself or jumping to conclusion because there have been times where an account was just slow to grow. They got amazing results a few months in. This is about knowing your niche and some good, solid communication. It goes such a long way and pays off in unexpected ways.
Hello, I'm Megan!
An introvert at heart, Pinterest is the perfect platform for me. Simply posting your content using the right marketing strategies gets you an abundance of website traffic? No engagement or ‘showing up’ needed?
Who wouldn’t want to use this powerhouse of a platform …
