5. Growth and Retention

Welcome to Module 5: Growth and Retention

Below is a repeatable, step-by-step plan and process you can follow to maximize campaign retention, renewal, and revenue growth for your clients. While you own the relationship and communication with the client, ensure you're working alongside your digital team to provide key insights and recommendations.  

First 30 Days: Establishing Momentum

Objectives 
  • Show visibility and proactive engagement. 
  • Prevent early dissatisfaction. 
  • Begin setting the stage for renewal. 

Actions 
  • Provide a Week 2 check-in email: campaign live, pacing on target, optimizations underway. 
  • At Day 30, deliver a Mini-Performance Report: 
  • Highlight early wins 
  • Explain optimizations already made 
  • Identify opportunities for growth 

Useful Tips 
Never wait for the client to ask for updates — beat them to the question. 
Focus the Day 30 conversation on what you're learning, not what hasn’t happened yet. 

Monthly Optimization Rhythm (Ongoing)

Objectives 
  • Keep clients informed. 
  • Show purposeful action. 
  • Reinforce the value of staying the course. 
Standard Monthly Meeting Agenda 
  1. Review KPIs vs. goals 
  2. Key insights (audience, creative, platform signals) 
  3. Optimizations made this month 
  4. Competitive insights (what’s happening in market) 
  5. Recommendations for next month 
Actions 
  • Deliver a clean, seller-narrated monthly report. 
  • Document all recommendations in the CRM. 
  • Always include a “Next Steps” slide with 1–2 actions. 
Useful Tips 
  • Speak in business outcomes, not platform metrics. (“Your cost per visit dropped 18%” > “CTR improved by 0.05%.”) 
  • Use storytelling: problem → insight → action → result. 
  • Introduce potential strategies and recommendations well before you "ask for the sale." You are showing clients that you're thinking ahead, not trying to sell them every time you meet.  

Quarterly Business Review (QBR)

Objectives 
  • Reset the strategic lens every quarter. 
  • Show how your marketing influences revenue or lead flow. 
  • Create natural opportunities for upsell or cross-sell. 
QBR Components 
  • KPI performance: Quarter-over-quarter, YoY where possible 
  • Pipeline & revenue impact 
  • Audience insights  
  • Creative performance 
  • Competitive landscape 
  • Proposed next-quarter strategy 
Actions 
  • Share the QBR deck in advance for review. 
  • Present recommended upgrades: 
  • Increase budget to reach new audiences 
  • Add channels (e.g., streaming audio, OTT, paid social) 
  • Layer in new data targeting 
  • Add CRO, SEO, or retargeting components 
Useful Tips 
  • Anchor every upsell recommendation to a business outcome — not “more impressions,” but “reach more high-intent shoppers.” 
  • Bring benchmarks to show where the client sits compared to similar advertisers. 

Renewal Strategy (60–90 Days Before End Date)

Objectives 
  • Avoid last-minute contracting. 
  • Make renewal the default expectation. 
  • Frame the next flight as an evolution — not repeating the same plan. 
Actions 
  • Start renewal conversations 60–90 days out. 
  • Present a Renewal Prep Email: 
  • Current performance summary 
  • What the data tells us 
  • Recommended strategy for next cycle 
  • Provide 2–3 renewal package options. 
  • Tie budgets to expected volume of leads/visits, not impressions. 
Useful Tips 
  • Use the phrase “as we go into the next phase,” not “if you renew.” 
  • Renewals fail when sellers only recap — always move the conversation toward next steps and accomplishing business outcomes 

Expansion Strategy (Ongoing)

Objectives 
  • Identify growth opportunities naturally. 
  • Become the client’s full-funnel marketing partner. 
  • Introduce cross-channel solutions with purpose. 
Places to Find Expansion Opportunities 
  • Audience Gaps 

 (e.g., strong converting but limited reach — add OTT or Paid Social) 

  • Funnel Gaps 

 (e.g., awareness strong but leads light — add retargeting or CRO) 

  • Competitive Pressure 

 (e.g., new entrant in the market — increase search or video) 

  • Seasonality 

 (e.g., turf, HVAC, education windows) 

Useful Tips 
  • Use the marketing funnel to identify coverage gaps in the client's media mix 
  • Expansion isn’t “more budget” — it’s “more opportunities to acquire customers.” 

Retention Framework: Why Clients Churn

Sellers should understand the triggers of client loss to prevent them proactively. 

Common Churn Risks 
  • Lack of communication or unclear expectations 
  • Reporting without insights or recommendations 
  • No tie to business outcomes 
  • Seller disappears after the sale 
  • Campaign launches late or with errors 
  • Client doesn’t understand the value of multi-channel attribution 
Mitigation Checklist 

Every 30 days, a seller should ask: 

  • Have I shared at least one insight this month? 
  • Does the client know what we optimized and why? 
  • Have I tied performance to business outcomes? 
  • Have I shown a path forward? 

Retention KPIs

These internal KPIs help evaluate retention discipline: 
  • 90%+ renewal rate for active advertisers 
  • 10–25% quarterly upsell growth 
  • 100% of active advertisers receive monthly summaries 
  • QBR participation rate (target 75%+) 

Internal Process Flow (Step-by-Step Checklist)

Before Launch 
  • ☐ Discovery + goal setting 
  • ☐ KPI agreement 
  • ☐ Tracking/pixel confirmation 
  • ☐ Kickoff call 
  • ☐ 30-day expectations email 
First 30 Days 
  • ☐ 2-week check-in 
  • ☐ 30-day performance review 
  • ☐ Early win insights 
Ongoing Monthly 
  • ☐ Monthly narrated report 
  • ☐ Optimization summary 
  • ☐ Next month recommendations 
Quarterly 
  • ☐ QBR deck delivered 
  • ☐ KPI trend discussion 
  • ☐ Expansion recommendations 
Renewal 
  • ☐ Renewal prep email (60–90 days out) 
  • ☐ Options package delivered 
  • ☐ Contract sent 
Click Here for a Downloadable Version of the Checklist!

Summary: What Great Sellers Do

  • Communicate early and often 
  • Tie everything to business outcomes 
  • Proactively identify growth and position opportunities around business outcomes 
  • Make the client feel guided, not “sold to” 
  • Show up with insights, not reports 
I'd tell myself to remember that we are coming in as the expert in the room with valuable insight and experience to offer. With that, hold to our recommendations, and don't let a client dictate strategy without the experience to do so. It's better to walk away from a bad deal/plan than waste the time and energy fighting the uphill battle to make a less-than stellar plan or budget level work. Let the client come back to you when he/she is ready to commit to what is really needed to hit the goals outlined.
Lauren Smith CMG Athens - Radio

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