Building long-term loyalty: Retaining signage clients over time

Feb 27, 2025 | Industry Advice

Marketing Advice pic 2 Building long-term loyalty: Retaining signage clients over timeIt pays to be loyal, both as a customer looking to get the best service from a reliable source and as a business looking to build a reliable and stable future. The Online Print Coach, Colin Sinclair McDermott gives his advice on how to retain a stable clientele.

The key to long-term success in running a signage business lies in client retention. Often, we put so much focus on finding new business that we neglect the clients we’ve already carried out work for. The best type of clients we can have are the ones who return time and time again and therefore building those relationships will ensure you cultivate long-term loyalty and predictability for your business. In this article, I’ll share with you some important factors to consider.

As we all know, you’re only ever as good as the last job you delivered and so the foundation for a successful signage company is to consistently deliver work to the highest possible standard. This might seem like an obvious one but it’s important that we apply this to every job whether it be a one-off £100 roller banner order or a £5000 wayfinding project. Consistency, regardless of the size of the job builds trust and when a client knows they can rely on you to deliver excellent results each and every time, they are more likely to return for future projects.

Always be proactive and communicate regularly, both between each order and also throughout the progress of a job. This will help reduce any misunderstands and showcase that you value their business. Anything you can do to alleviate any concerns they might have around timescales or quality will go a long way to building their confidence and reliability in your being able to deliver what they desire.

Another thing you can do to show your appreciation for their business is offer incentives. I’m not a huge advocate of offering things like discounts on future work for example but I do promote the idea of doing things to make them feel special like priority production slots. This is a tactic I have seen applied recently by a trade supplier where their top, regular clients receive order priority over regular clients. Consider rewarding loyalty by making them feel special and give them back something many of us are lacking nowadays; time.

We all say that we deliver exceptional service but think about things you can do to go that extra mile from a customer service perspective. Things often go wrong in our line of work, it’s the nature of the beast, but how we handle and overcome these issues can leave a stronger impression on our clients. Being honest and communicating delays as and when they happen will give clients a chance to make alternative arrangements is far better than notifying them too late in the day it leaves them in a challenging situation. Catching and fixing artwork issues they missed builds integrity. Advising them of better substrates or printing processes to better suit the weather conditions surrounding the placement of their sign can make all the difference. Don’t always assume that the clients have the same knowledge you do. You are the expert and it’s your job to educate if there are better options available.

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback regularly. You can do this by surveying your customers or just attaining one-on-one feedback after a job has been delivered or installed. Clients appreciate the opportunity to give you input and by actively listening to their suggestions, you are showing that you care about improving the service they receive.

Staying top of mind is crucial for maintaining relationships over time and we are blessed with the ability to do this over multiple platforms like social media, email marketing, and direct mail. Share updates on new products, any promotions you might be running, or case studies of similar projects you’ve been working on that are relatable to them. Try and get in the mindset of building a more relational partnership with them rather than only communicating with them when there’s a sale in mind. When you make that shift to build trust, add value, and put effort into fostering strong relationships, you can build a loyal and long-term strategy for your business. Remember, the best clients you can have are the ones who continue to return time and time again.

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