How to Deal When Clients Push Pause on Your Services

Nobody wants to face this type of situation. However, it is often the reality for businesses that offer services. Clients, at some point, are going to press the pause button on utilising your agency.

Why? There are several different reasons why this might be the case. Budgets can quickly shift, and your services are no longer viable. Campaigns can evolve to the point that a company requires additional resources – the type you cannot provide. A business can also cease trading and, naturally, won’t require any services at all.

This has only been exemplified since COVID-19 tore a hole through the economy.

As a marketing agency, we, too, have felt the effects first-hand. Businesses from all corners of the world have had to either seriously reduce their output, or stop doing any kind of work altogether. Due to this, they are putting a halt to their promotional efforts. Their justification is warranted during these testing times: why market something that cannot be sold?

Yet, in the same way, these businesses are adapting to the situation, we are doing the same. Now we cannot stop clients from pushing pause on our services. Nevertheless, there are certain steps to take that can help deal with the situation. These clients can return to being paying customers once the pandemic is over – and that needs to be the focus.

Understand the client’s position

Before delving into ways in which you can try and rectify the situation, you first need to understand the position of your clients.

This should be easy enough right now – everyone’s operating in the same unpredictable environment. You will know the type of issues and tough decisions your clients have had to deal with in recent months.

Admittedly, the last thing you want to hear is a client requesting a hold on their services. Yet it’s something you should be able to understand. Once you’ve done that, it’s essential that you display compassion and a willingness to help during this rough patch. If the client makes it to the other side, they won’t forget the humanity you demonstrated.

Take a closer look at the budgets

Even if a client has requested a pause on their account, avoid granting this immediately. First, take a look at their budget and see if you can rework it for the situation. They might not be able to justify their current package, but see if there are any services that can be removed from the equation. By cutting costs, the overall price naturally becomes lower – making it easier for clients to keep using your services.

It’s not just your client’s budgets that you should plan to optimise, either. Analyse where to trim down on your expenditure list. The leaner your budget becomes, the less you’re relying on the financial support of your clients.

Have a flexible approach

In relation to the previous point, being flexible is an important element for any service-based business. You have to examine the current results, adapt, and plot a course for the future. If you fail to change with the times, your business might not be able to survive a rush of clients pressing pause on your services.

If a client wants to take a break from your services, think about where you can help them in other areas. They may not see your current services as being entirely necessary for their short-term goals, but you can supply value in different ways if you’re flexible.

Is their decision to pause your services purely down to their monetary situation? In this case, offer financial flexibility if possible. If you can provide a pause on their payments for, say, a month, this could give them the incentive to stick around. Then when their situation becomes rosier, they can cover the deferred payment.

Communication is the key

If a client says, ‘I want to put a stop to our current arrangement,’ it can be easy to blank them and cease communication.

However, this is something you need to avoid. Regular communication can be the key to maintaining relationships with clients, and them returning to the fold once their situation changes.

Keep clients in the loop with regular updates. Ensure your business is in the forefront of their minds so they don’t forget about your existence. Be ready and willing to answer whatever queries clients throw in your direction.

Provide support whenever possible

If a client has stopped paying you, it would be crazy to continue offering them support, right? Who works for free? Yet if you can offer attention to your non-paying clients, distributing a certain level of support when possible, this can go a long way to preserving that all-important relationship.

When it comes to support, you obviously don’t want to present your full package of services – why would they return to paying if they’re receiving your work on a complimentary basis? What you can offer, however, are certain services that are not going to cost a whole lot of money.

For instance, consulting with clients is a cost-effective way of showing you’re still around and ready to provide a helping hand. Furthermore, if a client is requesting a pause on your services, see if you can keep them on-board by proposing a free upgrade.

Reach out for help

In testing times, it’s not only your clients that require assistance. If your business is struggling, don’t keep this all bottled up. Reach out and see what help is available from others. You might be surprised at the type of support someone is willing to provide.

Plan a long-term goal

Whether in the middle of a pandemic or not, clients are always going to request a hold on using your services. This is simply the nature of business.

It can be difficult to accept this fact. Yet the faster you manage to do this, the faster your business can plot out a long-term goal. By utilising the methods listed above, and supporting clients as much as possible, you are maximising the chances of customers returning down the road.