How-To Guide: Client Retention

A guide to improving client retention and showcasing your publication’s value to long-term partners.

Building long-term partnerships with your current and past advertisers is one of the most effective strategies for driving revenue to your student media organization. While prospecting for new clients is important, retaining existing accounts creates a more sustainable path for growing your client base.‍

Why client retention matters

Strong client relationships benefit both your publication and your advertisers. Rather than treating every campaign as a one-time sale, client retention encourages a long-term partnership and repeat business.

Ongoing client relationships allow you to:

• Create a more reliable source of advertising revenue for your publication
• Spend less time replacing past clients with newer prospective clients
• Build trust with your clients
• Gain referrals to other local buyers
• Encourage clients to invest in your organization in the future

Partnering with retentive clients helps you better understand their goals and create more effective advertising solutions.‍

Ways to improve retention

Consistently following a few simple practices can build trust and demonstrate the value your publication brings to your clients.‍

1. Following up after every campaign

After your client’s campaign has ended, reach out and thank them for their partnership and inquire how their experience was. This follow up shows that you value the relationship beyond a transaction and care about their businesses’ success. 

This also gives you the opportunity to gather feedback for better and improved campaigns in the future by asking if you met their expectations. Gathering these insights helps your clients feel heard and cared for.  ‍

4. Share results and successes

Clients want to know whether the investment in your organization actually achieved their goals. Provide a summary of campaign performance using metrics that are relevant to the products they purchased. 

This could be: 

• Website impressions and clicks
• Social media performance metrics
• Print distribution and pick-up rate
• QR code scans
• Photos of their advertisements around campus

Give them the numbers along with descriptions of what they mean and how they performed. Highlight any campaign successes and connect the results back to the client’s original objectives. For extra guidance, read flytedesk’s How-To Guide on Post Campaign Reporting. ‍

3. Recommend future ad opportunities

A successful campaign should naturally lead into the next one. Instead of waiting or hoping for the client to reach out first, recommend future advertising opportunities based on their business goals and the campus calendar to make their decisions easier by planning ahead. 

By proactively suggesting relevant opportunities, you position your student media organization as a strategic partner who understands both the client’s objectives and how to align them with opportunities on campus. 

4. Keep communication consistent

To improve the chances of client retention, stay connected throughout the year by sharing upcoming campus events, special publication editions, any new advertising products, or ideas you have that may benefit their business. 

A quick check-in every few months keeps your organization top of mind and reminds the client you are invested in their long-term success. It also makes pitching and outreach much more natural in the future because you have maintained consistent communication rather than only reaching out when you are trying to make a sale.‍

What’s next?

Review your current and past clients to identify any business opportunities for client retention and potential long-term partnerships. 

Create a follow-up process that includes:

• Thank you messages
• Campaign results
• Recommendations for their next opportunity to work with your publication
• Occasional check-ins

By making client retention a priority within your sales process and strategies, your organization can build stronger relationships and create a sustainable revenue stream for your student media. 

Reach out to your flytedesk account manager for support or with success stories as you level up your student media organization’s client process.