One Surefire Way to Renew Contracts Every Time

When Forbes asked business owners the most important lessons they’d learned the hard way, failing to focus on doing one thing really well made it to the top of the list. The Elon Musk’s and Steve Wozniak’s of the world didn’t achieve their success by becoming masters of all trades, but by identifying and improving on their greatest strengths.

Laser-like focus has its perks, and client retention is one of them. When relationships with customers are managed based on a single metric that tracks how healthy each account is, problems can be identified at a glance and fewer ailing relationships will slip away unnoticed.

The One Metric that Matters (OMTM) theory helps business owners achieve that degree of focus. Coined by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yosofitz, the concept has become increasingly necessary in a data-driven age. With metrics for everything, managers and staff would be forgiven for losing track of their company’s purpose. Information overload is one of the industry’s most destructive forces.

Big Effects on Small Budgets

The Pareto Principle shines through with the OMTM concept. The principle states that 80% of profits come from a mere 20% of customers. How large that 20% grows, however, depends entirely on the business owner or strategist.

A security firm's OMTM could optimize revenue growth by turning more one-time-buyers into loyal return clients. Every business is unique, so one company's surefire way to retain clients is not the same as another's. Identifying that can mean the difference between utter failure and resounding success.

Dropbox was once the world’s most expensive startup disaster. The founder, Drew Houston, figured out his primary problem: he couldn’t communicate what his startup did, let alone tell people why they should use it. Once he’d solved that, he quickly skyrocketed to success. Business owners who are trying to solve multiple problems are better off scrapping the entire thought process and identifying the problem in greatest need of a solution.

Lean Analytics in a Data Rich World

The purpose of metrics is to create measurable goals and pinpoint where a strategy needs to be bolstered. Lean analytics can help to improve focus on a specific area that can contribute best to growth. 

No business needs to exist without metrics. This is the age of big data, and business intelligence is easy to come by. The majority of software applications come with analytics tools, but which metric a company chooses to represent the heart and soul of its brand is unique. In terms of client retention, some common metrics are:

• Number of customers retained and acquired during a set period
• Client return on investment over a lifetime
• Rate of repeat business
• Spend per client

Some companies' OMTMs need to be even more focused than that. In the security industry, foundational metrics might be:

• Setting and meeting client expectations
• Reduction in vandalism
• Gaining social media influencers who recommend a security company
• Reducing client loss due to confidentiality leaks
• Reducing slip, trip, and fall rates

Feedback forms, surveys, bookkeeping programs, or an advanced software tool to keep track of it all can help measure progress. Identifying a OMTM will help business owners overcome the data brain churn and keep their most important goal where it should be: in the bull’s eye. When each staff member is working towards the same objective, accounts will become more vibrant and growth rates will soar.

Need help tracking and identifying to find that one metric that matters? Silvertrac security software captures, stores and analyzes data so you get the information you need. Request a demo today!