# 9 Ways to Decrease Client Churn in Your Agency > You can decrease agency churn by being proactive instead of reactive, adding gamification, sending constant updates, improving onboarding, running exit interviews, holding clients accountable, sending surprise gifts, collecting and acting on feedback, and building a space where clients connect. All of it depends on strong service delivery first. Source: https://fluxomate.com/blog/9-ways-to-decrease-churn-with-proof.html Published by Fluxomate (https://fluxomate.com/), 2024-09-01. Section: Full breakdowns. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raSuKVtn6Ys ## Key takeaways - Track client health scores so you can fix problems before the client complains. - Show progress often. Frequent updates make clients feel work is being done. - A good onboarding process removes delays and gives the client an early win. - Exit interviews reveal the real reason clients leave and can lead to an upgrade. - None of these tactics replaces results. Improve service delivery first. ## How does being proactive reduce churn? Imagine a house sitter who bursts a pipe. Would you rather come home to a flood and then discover it, or get a message while you are away saying the pipe burst and a plumber is already on the way? That is the difference between being reactive and proactive with clients. The easy way to be proactive is to analyse the numbers you already track for each client, such as a health score. A Google Sheets health score template lets you pick a client and a date and compare performance against benchmarks. You can see who is doing well, who is doing all right and who is doing badly. If someone is struggling, look closer, find the bottleneck and fix it before it becomes a problem. While you fix it, do not stay silent. Tell the client what is going on and what you are doing. It shows you care and are making a real effort. ## How can gamification keep clients engaged? Gamification taps into human emotions, social dynamics and thinking patterns to make people more engaged in your service. There are four ways to build it into your service delivery. - Client portals: a portal where clients log in, see progress, set goals and earn badges. These do not suit every niche. For clients such as local businesses who may be less comfortable with software, an extra login can confuse them. - Tiered loyalty levels: track the client journey and reward milestones, such as each month, quarter or year with you. Rewards can be resources, bonuses or discounts. - Gamified referrals: give points for each referral, and make the points worth something, such as resources, bonuses, discounts or even cash. A referral is one of the best leads you can get, so do not be afraid to pay for them. - Monthly challenges: run a challenge each month and reward the top person or top three. A content agency could reward the most content produced, and a TikTok ads agency could reward the most creatives launched. Make the reward something clients genuinely care about. ## Why do constant updates matter? People feel happier and more motivated when they see progress towards a goal. Think of someone on a diet who measures their weight daily and sees it fall. Your job is to show clients the progress you are making. Send frequent updates that prove work is happening, not a single update at the end of the week. Imagine getting a message each day saying what was done and what comes next. You would think the team was working hard. We send updates roughly every two days, because daily is hard to sustain, and the more often you do it, the more clients feel you are doing work for them. ## How does onboarding reduce churn? Onboarding is the first impression a client has of you. After buying a high ticket service, most people feel some buyer's remorse. Your job is to remove it. Five improvements help. - Call them straight away. As soon as they pay, your customer success manager or you should call to say thank you and welcome them. Two minutes is enough to reinforce the decision. - Reward them early with free resources or a bonus you did not mention in the sales process. - Remove delays. Contracts, invoices, adding them to systems and onboarding emails should not wait on a person. Automate them, because every wasted hour adds to the remorse. - Establish communication. Tell them what you are doing now and what comes next, for you and for them. - Give them a win as soon as possible. A win could be launching a campaign, a reactivation campaign or their first lead. It means different things in different niches, but it should be tangible. ## How do exit interviews help? When a client wants to leave, hold a call with them first. It takes two steps. Add a clause to your contract saying they can cancel at any time, but must have a half hour chat first. Then, when a client says they want to leave, say no problem and set up a 30 minute video call. The call helps in two ways. First, you learn the real reason, which clients often do not share otherwise. If the same issue appears across leavers, you can fix your service delivery. Second, you may be able to upsell. If the client says communication was lacking and you have a higher package that gives more of it, you can offer it, as the problem may be a miscommunication. ## How do accountability and surprise and delight help? Agencies often need clients to complete tasks. If they do not, delays follow, and eventually the client is unhappy with you. People change their behaviour when they are observed or held accountable, so take responsibility for following up. The kind way to do it is to explain why the task matters and what happens if it is not done. For example: I know you are busy, but if you can find time today to complete this, it will avoid delays to the rest of the process. A rational client will understand. Surprise and delight means building emotional connections through unexpected, meaningful gifts. We did not find a specific study showing its effect on churn, but it rewards loyalty. Add fields to your CRM for birthdays, anniversaries and important achievements. If a client says they want to reach a revenue goal, you can congratulate them when they hit it, then send a gift, such as champagne, a handwritten card, a gift card or flowers, depending on your ideal client. ## How should you collect and implement feedback? Collect feedback, then act on it. Each month, send clients a form or, better, hold a call to ask what is going well and what is not. Sometimes you need to dig deeper to get honest answers, so explain why you are asking. Then create an action plan and implement it straight away. If a client says they do not feel they get enough communication, start sending them updates the next day. Asking for feedback and then doing nothing makes clients feel ignored. ## How can a client group reduce churn? A shared space for your clients creates a sense of belonging and makes leaving harder, in the same way that people with family and friends nearby find it hard to move away. A group works for three purposes: clients connect with each other, share what is working, and hold each other accountable. You can also run events from it. It works better if you have many clients, and the more engagement the better. These methods apply to employee churn too, which matters as you build a strong team. One last point: all nine tactics can still fail if you do not deliver real results and keep the promises made in the sales process. Tighten service delivery first. The video above walks through each method. ## Questions people ask ### What is the simplest way to reduce agency churn? Be proactive. Track a health score for each client, spot who is struggling early, and fix the issue before they complain. Tell the client what you are doing so they know you are working on it. ### How often should you update clients? Frequently. Daily updates are ideal, but hard to sustain, so we send them roughly every two days. The aim is to show clients proof of progress so they feel motivated and confident in you. ### How do you run an exit interview? Add a clause to your contract that lets clients cancel at any time but requires a half hour chat. When a client wants to leave, hold a call to learn the real reason, and offer a better suited package if it fits their problem. ### Do these tactics work without good results? No. You can use all nine and still have high churn if you do not deliver results or fulfil the promises made during the sales process. Make service delivery as strong as possible first. Tools used: Google Sheets, CRM Free templates for this guide: https://fluxomate.com/resources.html?r=9-ways-to-decrease-churn-with-proof