Client Retainer Software – Building Client Trust
For many of you today operating in e-commerce or any other online business with a large client base, you may find it hard to retain customer value. Reoccurring customers are an essential element to any business model for producing positive cash flow. However, as your client base grows larger and larger it becomes very challenging to ensure your customers feel valued. For that reason, a client retainer software can be a valuable way of ensuring a consistent income into the future. If your customers feel valued then why would they take their business elsewhere? In fact, a client retainer software may improve your business.
What Is A Client Retainer?
For those of you that might not know what it is. A retainer is when you offer to reserve your services for a client for set “blocks” of time. For example, a client could purchase a retainer on a weekly or monthly basis. Retainers make the most sense when the services you’re providing aren’t tied to a specific project timeline, but instead are more generic in nature.
For example, take a start-up who needs a variety of services handled for their growing company. Each month, new tasks and challenges arise and the start-up is having a tough time keeping up with it all. This is an opportunity to offer your portfolio of services on a monthly retainer basis. At the beginning of each month the start-up pays your business a set retainer fee in exchange for reserving your services for the month ahead.
Why Is A Client Retainer Software Important For An Agency And A Client?
As mentioned above, retainers are a valuable way of to bring in more consistent income to your business. For the client, it ensures them that when work needs to be done, you’re there. As opposed to them searching for someone else to do the job. Not only does it give you peace of mind but it also gives them peace of mind. A retainer creates a completely beneficial mutual relationship. Most importantly it creates a valued relationship. In turn, customers would recommend your business to new clients and so on. Your reputation improves, clients stay happy and your business continues to grow rapidly.
However, client retainers do have some minor downsides. Retainers seem to work best when the nature of the work is less project-based and more generic in nature. This is because project-based work tends to have its own timeline and costs that may or may not fit naturally within a retainer’s block(s) of time and pricing. In this case, retainers might not always suit your clients and that needs to be acknowledge.
As a consideration, when drafting a client retaining agreement it’s important to consider the nature of your client’s business and could a retainer agreement be sustained into the distance future. For instance, if the relationship is only short term their might be no need to create an agreement as it could disgruntle the customer being stuck in an agreement that was unnecessary. In this instance, they may feel like you’re just after their business. This would not be considered a valued relationship.
Pros and Cons of Client Retainer Agreements
Pros
- Consistent and reliable cash flow
- Easier for the client to budget for
- Predictability of time commitments or deliverables each month
- Continued ongoing relationship
- Moves away from trading time for money (value-based retainers)
Cons
- Still trading time for money (if doing hourly retainers)
- Tough to “sell”
- it’s difficult to predict time commitment and sometimes scope
- Can be difficult to communicate value
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