How marketing agencies can survive a client loss without panicking

One of the most important reasons for ALL agencies to maintain an ongoing new business strategy is because there will inevitably be situations where you lose an existing client. Whilst this may sometimes be through under delivery on your own part, we have seen it time and time again where it is simply a result of circumstances beyond the agency’s control.

For example, your biggest client is bought out by another company and the account is centralised into the new parent company’s incumbent agency. Or your client folds (and during our four decades in business we have seen plenty of once big name brands disappear through bankruptcy). In these cases you may lose not only an important revenue stream going forward, but in all likelihood money owed from outstanding invoices from work you have already done.

Ensuring you constantly have a robust new business pipeline can help you mitigate a significant amount of risk in these situations, whether you are running that entirely in-house, using an outsourced agency like Alchemis or a combination of both.

But even then, it’s not a nice situation to find yourself in and we know how disruptive it can be for your business.

Coping with loss

As an agency owner you can’t help taking it as a personal criticism of you, your team, your talent, and your creative work.

And what about all the hard work you put into looking after that client, besides the fact that you’ve lost an important revenue stream.

That said, by far the best thing you can do now is to get straight into recovery gear, and think of this as a hiccup on the way to future success rather than the end of everything.

Begin by assessing the financial situation

Review cash flow, calculate your monthly fixed expenses to see how long you can operate without the lost revenue.

Avoid non-essential spending, freeze software subscriptions, contractor retainers, and office upgrades until cash flow stabilises. And chase up outstanding invoices to boost your current bank balance.

Communicate with your team early

Boost morale by talking honestly with your team about the possible financial and operational impacts of the loss.

At the same time keep everyone focused on the importance of maintaining the quality of current client work.

Understand why the client left

Conduct a post-mortem to discover likely reasons for why the client chose to leave; this should include seeking feedback from the client themselves. 

Schedule a live connection and talk things over amicably to uncover blind spots in your service or communication.

Protect and reallocate capacity

Rearrange staff working hours so team members who worked on the lost account can switch their attention to internal growth projects or growing client accounts.

Assess the financial situation and decide whether the account loss actually merits staff cuts.

Maintain a positive attitude

View the lost client as a chance to free up staff and resources for new client pitches.

Turn the gap into a growth opportunity

Plan and regroup. Fast-track your business development pipeline to cover the revenue gap. This will be easier if you already have an ongoing new business programme in place rather than starting from a standstill.

Reach out to current clients with new strategy ideas or additional services they might need.

Ramp up your networking efforts and content marketing to fill your pipeline with new leads.

Ensure a healthy new business pipeline

At Alchemis we know how essential a solid pipeline of prospects and opportunities is, not only for planning and future growth, but in case of an unexpected client loss.

We have over 100 years’ collective experience in helping agencies win new business, and we can help you build meaningful, valuable new business relationships by providing a constant flow of opportunities for you to meet and engage with qualified prospects.

If you are a marketing outfit who would welcome partnering with Alchemis to support your new business efforts, get in touch today.