US-BASED client retention consultancy Tenacity is one of the leading exponents in the client retention field - and its advice is sought by large corporations, including Manpower and Sodexo.

The company was founded by John Gamble, who for 20 years has been counseling companies globally on improving their client retention methodology and creating profitable growth.

Gamble, author of two best-selling books on client relations (see right), says: “Tenacity has developed a proprietary process called Clients for Life, which is a formal process designed to manage large, complex, and valued business relationships. Clients for Life can readily be tailored to just about any company regardless of industry focus, structure or location.”

Among Tenacity’s key pieces of client retention advice are:

Take a formal approach to client retention

Client retention must become part of the company’s routine. Just like strategic planning and budgeting, you must set time aside to accomplish it. It must have a framework and its own set of rules, and all of the participants should be aware of the objectives and expectations of senior management before the process begins.

Make client retention a cross-department process

A multi-department team must spearhead the process. It is the only way to develop the critical mass necessary to protect and grow the entire business.

Tenacity encourages its clients to view the client retention process as beginning with the right clients under the right terms and never ending.

Only a multi-department team can deal with the complex issues and trade-offs necessary to protect the interests of the entire organization in such a scenario.

Articulate your client retention plan

Once developed, the plan must be widely articulated and clearly understood throughout the firm. While a kick-off meeting is often appropriate, it must be clear to the organization that client retention is not a program but a way of life. Senior managers must communicate their expectations clearly. They should share the potential rewards associated with following the firm’s client retention efforts as well as the penalties for non-compliance.

Be patient – client retention takes time

Tenacity’s experience suggests that in a $100,000,000 services company it takes approximately two years to see significant improvement in the retention capabilities of the firm.

Measure client retention effectiveness

Customer expectation surveys, operation reviews and lost account analyses are needed to gauge the effectiveness of the effort. Keeping track of the new business you get from old clients as they change jobs and companies is an excellent example of the type of measurement necessary to judge the effectiveness of your program.

Client retention strategy must evolve

You must accept the fact that client retention efforts are never complete. Your approach to retention must be responsive to changing environments. The documents associated with the effort have to be alive and useful to the managers responsible for implementing their guidelines. Just as you constantly review your overall business strategy, you must also assess your client retention efforts. The right clients under the right terms are constantly changing.

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