Jack's Agency was flying high. Their client roster was growing, projects were rolling out smoothly, and revenue hit all-time highs. But beneath the surface, trouble was brewing.
Without a centralized view of their accounts, Jack had no way of knowing that a key client was considering leaving, multiple projects were behind schedule, and a new VP of Marketing at a major customer was questioning their ROI. The data was buried across emails, individual PM tools, and a sparse CRM system.
Jack's account managers started each day in chaos, putting out fires instead of proactively managing. Their reactive approach missed red flags and opportunities.
By the time senior leadership discovered a major account was ready to walk, it was too late...
Let’s pause for a moment - does this story resonate with you?
Jack's struggles are common at agencies without visibility into account health. No matter how smoothly day-to-day operations run, a lack of centralized client data is a ticking time bomb. So, what's the solution?
Implementing a Client Tracker (or Account Dashboard) to Create a Single Source of Truth
In addition to documented processes and healthy habits across the team, agencies need to have one source of truth for all of their accounts. Seems fairly simple and straightforward.. right?
Let's jump back into Jack's story...
After months of frustration, Jack finally created a client tracker – a single source of truth for all of his client data.
Now, he had a crystal clear view into which accounts were at risk, which services needed improvement, and what resources their teams lacked. Information that once took hours to gather was available in seconds.
Jack's team began resolving issues before clients noticed. Account managers felt empowered with insights needed to have strategic discussions. And they consistently delighted customers, leading to expanded business and referrals.
Jack's client tracker (or account dashboard) was the key to client retention and growth. Running a successful agency takes more than just doing great client work. You need visibility into the health of your client relationships to spot issues before they become fires. And you need visibility into knowing when a client is crushing it and it might be time to ask for a testimonial.
Installing a client tracker provides benefits like:- Improved client retention (in some cases, we've seen teams cut churn in half!)
- Stronger client relationships, leading to a steady stream of referrals (WOM for the win)
- Team efficiency gains + better alignment (truly delivering better work, faster)
But what exactly is a client tracker? What needs to be included? And, how does my team use it efficiently?
Pre-Built Client Tracker
Track the health of your customer relationships, account details, and more with this customizable ClickUp template.
What is a Client Tracker?
A client tracker centralizes key information about your client accounts in one place. This allows you to:
- Keep the promises you’ve made to clients
- Identify potential issues before they blow up
- Support your team members
- Distribute work properly
You may think your CRM system already has this covered. But your delivery team likely spends more time in the PM tool than the CRM. Your client tracker needs to live where the work happens – your PM system (or at least a spreadsheet embedded within your PM system).
Of course, it should integrate with your CRM to enable a two-way flow of client information. But building it natively in your PM platform allows for maximum adoption and value.
What Should You Include in Your Client Tracker?
There’s a ton of information you could include in a client tracker, but keeping the dashboard simple will help with team adoption. You can always add more fields later. The goal is getting the core info in one place.
Here are the essential elements:
- Client name
- Lifecycle stage – onboarding, active project, retainer, off boarding, inactive
- Health score – a simple red/yellow/green status
- Services they’re receiving
- Primary goal or objective
- Account manager/delivery lead
- Comment section for Account Management updates and details
And here are a few recommended, but not required elements:
- Start/end dates
- Revenue
- Billing details
- Meeting dates
- Link to service agreement
- Primary contact details
Want to see it in action? Watch this 9-minute walkthrough below:
How Does Your Team Use Your Tracker?
To maximize the value of your client tracker, it is essential to use it effectively. Here are some recommended best practices.- Require weekly or bi-weekly account check-ins: For active clients, the delivery lead should fill out a weekly update covering:
- Why the client might be happy or unhappy
- Change in strategies or timelines
- What help they need
- Log major account changes when they occur. Major shifts with a client should immediately be noted in the dashboard (POC changes, changes in strategy or budget, shifts in health, etc.)
- Review dashboards regularly: Look at health scores, revenue, lifecycle stage reports, etc. on a consistent basis.
- Track why clients leave: When an account becomes inactive, note the reason. Over time you’ll spot patterns to improve retention.
- Use for coaching: Dashboards provide visibility into who’s excelling or struggling with client management. Address issues through coaching.
- Celebrate successes: Call out delivery leads killing it with their accounts. Public recognition motivates the team.
Cadence is key - institute a standard cadence for check-ins and reviews tied to client payment cycles.
And always hold the team accountable. The more consistent your team is, the better your data will be and the more visibility you’ll have across the agency.
And always hold the team accountable. The more consistent your team is, the better your data will be and the more visibility you’ll have across the agency.
A Single Source of Truth - The Key to Clarity
With an automated reporting process and dedicated time to analyze your dashboard, you’ll gain invaluable visibility into the health of your book of business. Issues get resolved before clients notice. Wins are replicated across the agency.
Agencies like Commence Studio have seen a tremendous impact on client health, NPS ratings and team health after implementing this framework for their agency.
The account dashboard might seem simple but it’s incredibly powerful. Make it a priority to build one tailored to your needs.
Or if you'd rather have ClickUp's first-ever and highest-rated solutions partner help you streamline your entire agency operation in ClickUp, book a call here.
Turn Chaos Into Clarity.
We're your agency operations pilot.
You can build a happier, more productive, more profitable team with ClickUp. We'll show you how.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if we already use a CRM to track client info? Isn't that enough?
While a CRM is great, your delivery team likely spends more time in your project management software. Building the dashboard there ensures adoption. However, you can still integrate it with your CRM for a two-way flow of client data. (HubSpot and ClickUp have an awesome integration that allows you to do so).
What if we have a small agency (less than 5 full time employees)? Do we really need something like this?
The principles remain the same whether you have 5 or 500 clients. Start small with just the essential fields, and build over time. Even just getting basic client info centralized provides huge value.
How much time does it take for account managers to fill out weekly updates?
With templates and/or utilizing a tool like TextExpander, it should take no more than 5-10 minutes per client. The payoff in identifying issues early is well worth this time investment.
How often do clients need to be checked on - weekly, monthly?
For active clients on retainers or larger projects, weekly is best practice. You can adjust for smaller or less frequent clients. The key is establishing a consistent cadence and framework to create a communication and reporting structure that will delight your clients.
