Upgrade to Pro — share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …

Managing Client Retainers - Holy Grail or Route to Fail?

Managing Client Retainers - Holy Grail or Route to Fail?

Client retainers are billed as the holy grail for creative agencies. New business can be unpredictable and often introduces a feast or famine cycle to both work volumes and cashflow through the agency. Retainers are a great way to bring stability-they help with a regular stream of income and build strong relationships with your clients. Or at least that's how retainers should work. The reality is that retainers are disruptive, increase your responsibilities to your clients and require you to think more about your offering for them.

Andrew Armitage

October 07, 2016
Tweet

Other Decks in Business

Transcript

  1. I’m from england Married with children and a dog North

    west UK 100 miles north of Manchester Agency called A Digital
  2. Our Agency Team of 4 Design, development and more recently

    marketing Collaborate as well as managing our own clients Provide value and deliver results
  3. What do we mean by a Retainer? Anything that provides

    us with a recurring revenue stream.
  4. Time Based Retainers You sell time, either in hours or

    days + Great option for growing your agency + You have a contract to support each new hire - You’re accountable - You hit a charge out ceiling - It can be difficult to increase your revenue - What if you lose the retainer?
  5. Value Based Retainers You sell your knowledge and expertise +

    Allow you to scale skills instead of your time + Different set of deliverables + Get paid the same amount of money regardless of time - Less suitable for production tasks - Need to be more rigorously project managed
  6. Either way… Retainers can be disruptive to your schedule Don’t

    over promise or over sell Remember the added administration time for each retainer Require investment in the relationship You need to be ‘in sync’ with your client You need to keep delivering on your promise
  7. Be clear about the terms Monthly payments Roll overs and

    under-utilisation Lead times and SLA’s Ending the agreement
  8. What might retainers include? What ever you or clients want

    them to Upgrades Add value Loyalty bonuses
  9. Where it goes wrong Communication, communication, communication Misaligned expectations We

    become lazy and reactive, rather than pro-active No review or reporting – either internally or with the client
  10. Can retainers really be a route to fail? Potentially… You

    still need new business You could end up in a niche Diversify your revenue streams
  11. “ A BUSINESS has 2 commercial functions. Delivering more VALUE

    to your customers, and getting MORE customers through the door.