The 1 % rule: How small changes transform client experience

If you’ve ever watched a long-standing client suddenly vanish, you’ll know how painful it feels. The work was good, deadlines were met, the relationship seemed fine - until it wasn’t.

Jo Rogers, founder of Client Success Matters, argues that clients rarely leave because of poor delivery. They leave because of something quieter: poor communication, misaligned expectations, and a lack of strategic guidance. Her message is simple but urgent - if agencies want stability and growth, they must invest in the experience they give clients, not just the output.

The case for client experience

Retainers are being replaced by projects and revenue is more volatile than ever. It costs five to seven times more to win a new client than to keep an existing one. Yet many agencies still pour their energy into prospecting instead of nurturing what they already have.

Jo cites the Brilliant & Human Agency Client Benchmark Report, which found that poor communication remains the number-one reason clients walk away. Not pricing, not the work - it’s communication.

Equally, what drives loyalty isn’t simply satisfaction, it’s proactivity. Clients don’t want vendors waiting to be briefed; they want partners who spot opportunities before they ask. And they care more about value than cost. If they can’t see the impact you create, they’ll go elsewhere.

Perhaps the most startling stat: 88 % of agencies admit that their clients don’t know the full range of their services. That’s untapped revenue sitting on the table.

Design the journey

Client success doesn’t happen by accident. Jo encourages agencies to map their entire client journey end-to-end. She defines five stages - initiation, onboarding, delivery, retention and growth, and closure or future state.

At each stage, there are small but powerful changes you can make. These are the “1 % improvements” that, when stacked over time, build a compounding effect. Make something 1 % better each day, and you end up 37 times better by the end of the year.

1. Initiation — first impressions

The client experience starts long before a contract is signed. How fast do you respond to briefs? Does your pitch deck match the way you actually work? Are your sales and delivery teams aligned on what’s realistic?

Vague briefs and over-promised pitches are common traps. Jo recommends a structured briefing framework so every conversation captures the same core questions - why this project matters, what success looks like, and what’s driving the request. This not only qualifies opportunities but sets clear expectations from the outset.

And always present your proposal live. If you just email a deck, the client will skip straight to the price without context. That’s how value gets lost.

2. Onboarding — the first 90 days

Jo calls this the most critical stage. The first 90 days decide whether a client stays for years or treats you as a short-term supplier. She sees many agencies rush through onboarding, focusing on paperwork instead of expectation setting.

A structured onboarding workshop aligns everyone on goals, timelines, and communication cadence. It’s also the time to build trust — don’t go silent for weeks while you “get started.” Regular updates, a 30-day check-in with senior leaders, and even a simple welcome email can reassure a new client that they made the right choice.

Quick wins help too. If your main deliverable won’t arrive for months, find something small but visible to add value early on — a useful insight, an audit, a fix. It shows momentum and reduces buyer’s remorse.

3. Delivery — make value visible

Most agencies focus all their energy here, doing great work. But delivery alone doesn’t guarantee growth. The difference between a vendor and a partner is how you connect your outputs to the client’s broader business goals.

Ask yourself: does your reporting show impact, or just activity? Are you helping your client look good internally? Sometimes it’s as simple as adding one slide that answers the “so what?” question — what difference did this work make?

Equally, avoid letting status meetings become tick-box routines. Use them to bring insight and new ideas. If you never challenge your client’s thinking, you risk becoming replaceable.

4. Growth and retention — stay strategic

Retention is the reward for consistency. Growth is the reward for curiosity. Jo urges agencies to coach their client services teams to spot challenges and needs in real time. Not every account manager is confident enough to “sell,” so pair them with a director who can follow up on opportunities.

Account development plans should be living documents — reviewed quarterly, not written and forgotten. They track three types of metrics:

Financials (are order values rising? are we capturing more spend?),
Engagement (how many stakeholders are involved? are clients inviting us into planning sessions?), and
Sentiment (how do they talk about us? Are renewals smooth or strained?).

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Feedback is equally vital. Skip the bland NPS survey; ask questions that reveal real sentiment: Are we helping you move the needle? What could we do better? A few honest calls can uncover risks and new revenue in equal measure.

And remember — build relationships beyond one stakeholder. If your main contact leaves, you need other advocates who know your value.

5. Closure and future state — the long view

Every client relationship ends sometime, but it doesn’t have to be a goodbye. Jo encourages agencies to standardise offboarding — a clear checklist, a thank-you, and a feedback loop. Exit interviews often reveal insights that no survey could. They can even yield referrals or testimonials if the relationship has been positive.

When a client moves on or changes jobs, stay in touch. A congratulatory note on LinkedIn, a quarterly email sharing useful insights, or a simple check-in can reignite the connection later. The goal is to keep your brand warm in their mind.

Putting the 1 % rule into practice

Jo finishes with a challenge: review your entire client journey and pick three areas to improve. For example:

• In onboarding, add a 30-day welcome check-in.

• In communication, reframe reports so they answer the “so what” question.

• In retention, map stakeholders quarterly to avoid over-reliance on one contact.
  

Then measure the impact. Are renewals easier? Are conversations happening earlier? Is sentiment improving? These small signals show your changes are working.

Reflection: why this matters

The 1 % rule isn’t a gimmick. It’s a mindset shift from reactive to intentional. Client experience isn’t about grand gestures or big budgets, it’s about consistency, empathy, and design.

When you approach each interaction as a chance to be just a bit better than yesterday, you turn ordinary projects into partnerships that last. You become indispensable not because you’re cheap or convenient, but because you make your clients’ lives easier and their businesses stronger.

As Jo reminds us, client success doesn’t just happen. You design it — one percent at a time.

Key takeaways

• Clients leave agencies for communication failures, not bad work.

• Retention is five to seven times cheaper than acquisition.

• Map the client journey across five stages and find 1 % improvements at each.

• Onboarding and expectation setting are make-or-break.

• Show value in every interaction and link outputs to client goals.

• Measure health by financials, engagement and sentiment — not just revenue.

• End relationships gracefully and stay in touch — you never know when they’ll circle back.

You can connect with Jo Rogers on LinkedIn and find out more about her consultancy services Client Success Matters.