Staffing and recruiting is a competitive industry. With corporations relying more and more on recruiting agencies to bring potential candidates into a client’s talent pool, a larger number of firms are popping up to meet the demand. We’ve written several posts on obtaining clients as a recruiter, but now we want to dive into ways to successfully keep your customers happy and healthy. You are more likely to get a current customer to upgrade and spend money on new products, so why not make sure you keep any and all customers?
This may seem too common sense even to cover, but it is really important to really break down and understand the benefits of effective client retention as a recruitment firm. There is no doubt that growing your client base is important and customer acquisition is normally a company’s main focus. Signing new clients has hidden costs that come from marketing, research, and manual hours that will inevitably affect your bottom line. If you don’t invest in customer retention, you are leaving valuable dollars on the table. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%. For new customers, that figure drops to 5-20%
No two clients are the same. Each has its own vision for its brand, which comes with a host of unique needs and pain points. Cultivate a rapport in which they feel welcomed, and not just like numbers on a sheet. Don’t ignore or rush them; make sure you are making time to check in with them throughout your tenure. Be friendly while maintaining a professional vibe. Clients who feel they are getting personalized services are more likely to be loyal and stick around. Getting to know your customers on a deeper level, knowing who they are and what they want, along with their professional pain points will help you have better conversations and retaintion.
Often, a plan to connect with clients starts and stops with prospecting and closing the sale, but what about afterward? Reaching out regularly will indicate to clients that they are more than just a revenue stream. Get to know your clients on a personal level. Stay in touch with them outside of just business via birthday and holiday cards, lunch, or asking how they are. Adding a personal flair on top of delivering quality candidates will ensure that your clients stick around and possibly spread the word in the market about your services.
This one also has to do with effective communication. Setting expectations with your clients clearly and early is essential to client retention. Ask your clients to list their expectations with your agency, and make sure that they include actionable and demonstrable goals that can be executed on. If you can follow through, you will immediately impress your clients and keep them around. Instead of telling a client what they need, listen to what they have to say and then follow through with your end of the bargain.
Client loyalty and good customer service are inseparable, and great customer service comes about when you can anticipate a client’s needs or any potential problems that may arise. Being a mind reader if you will. You and your team should always work towards anticipating any problems that might occur in a client account and stop them before they happen. This can only come about from building a relationship with your client, but doing so will prove invaluable to your firm.
Know your organization’s specific strengths to help your team further their expertise in specialized market sectors. Having well-trained staff in a specialized field will make your firm all the more desirable to clients. If you can establish a track record of successful training and coaching, you will impress your clients. For example, become an expert in business development for your clients. Help them learn how to perform other aspects of their business with perfection.
Bringing in an automated system for candidate tracking, client data, and infrastructure management will free up you and your staff to invest further in developing unique relationships with clients that will ensure retention at your firm. If your clients can spend less time on mundane tasks, they will be happier and more productive.
Loxo is an AI powered sourcing and recruitment platform hat utilizes cutting-edge machine learning technology to streamline almost every aspect of your firm’s pipeline (candidates and clients). Moreso than just being an infrastructure tool, its AI capabilities allow it to be an adaptive platform that can cut away a lot of the busywork involved in running a company and grows smarter with you.
Sign up for a demo today to see how Loxo can help you and your firm or check out our website to get more information here!
Above all else, your clients want to be reassured that they are in good hands. Their staff, margins, and reputation are on the line the same as yours, and they must be treated as equals. Put the needs and wants of your clients first, and you will have no trouble retaining them.