Over the years, we’ve seen many media businesses pouring their energy into acquiring clients. They pitch innovative formats. Prove their ROI. Close that first big campaign. But after the contract is signed and the ad goes live, something often goes missing: sustained engagement. These businesses focus so heavily on the next lead that they overlook nurturing the relationships they’ve already earned. The result? A loyalty blind spot where clients quietly drift away,
The Loyalty Blindspot Defined
In the media space, sales teams are wired to chase the elusive next campaign. New brands and bigger budgets have always been the ultimate goals. Their focus centres mainly on acquisition because it’s visible and measurable. More importantly, it is directly tied to short-term revenue.
But in that perennial pursuit, a crucial aspect of business growth gets sidelined: customer retention. Once a campaign ends, many clients receive little more than a performance report before being left to drift toward competitors who stay actively engaged.
This is what we call the “loyalty blind spot”. A gap where businesses fail to nurture existing relationships. As a consequence, they miss out on repeat deals and upsell opportunities. In an industry built on impressions and reach, it’s ironic that many media businesses lose sight of their own audience - their clients.
Where Media Businesses Lose Customers After the First Sale?
Even the most innovative DOOH and media brands can lose valuable clients if they overlook critical moments in the customer journey. Here’s where things often go downhill:
Poor Onboarding and Follow-Through
The excitement of closing a deal often fades once the campaign starts. Many media businesses rush through onboarding. They fail to align on campaign goals or creative deliverables. When clients don’t feel guided or supported early on, it sets the tone for a transactional rather than a strategic relationship.
Lack of Personalisation and Communication
Media clients today expect more than ad placements. They expect tailored insights and proactive communication. They want to get a sense that their brand matters. Yet, too often, post-sale engagement is generic and infrequent. Sending the same performance summary to every client doesn’t build trust.
Broken Promises and Under-Delivered Value
When sales pitches overpromise and campaign results underdeliver, credibility takes a hit. Whether it’s missed deadlines or slow reporting, even small inconsistencies can erode confidence. In an industry driven by performance metrics, accountability matters more than perfection.
The Cost of Neglecting Retention
In the race to acquire new clients, media businesses often overlook the heavy cost of losing existing ones. Prioritising acquisition over retention doesn’t just inflate marketing and sales spend; it also weakens long-term profitability and client relationships. Here are some costs of neglecting retention:
- Higher acquisition costs: Retaining existing clients is far more cost-effective than constantly chasing new ones. In the last five years, customer acquisition costs have increased nearly 60%, and today’s businesses, on average, now lose $29 for every new customer acquired.
- Eroded Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Loyal clients who book repeat campaigns, try premium placements, or refer others generate far more revenue than one-time buyers. Repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers.
- Lost growth potential: When clients churn, businesses lose not just immediate sales but also predictable future income and brand advocates. Businesses have a 60% to 70% chance of selling to an existing customer, while for a new prospect, it’s just 5% to 20%
- Wasted operational effort: In DOOH, campaign setup, creative production, and reporting are resource-intensive. One-time clients offer limited ROI. In a survey, 42% of businesses identified time-saving as a key indicator of their success.
Personalisation as the Loyalty Engine
Gone are the days of broad, one-size-fits-all campaigns. Clients now expect media partners to understand their brand voice, audience, and goals. Here are some key personalisation-based strategies to adopt for driving retention:
Data-Driven Audience Insights
Effective personalisation starts with data. By analysing client campaign history, audience demographics, performance metrics, and seasonal trends, you can uncover what truly resonates with each brand. These insights help tailor ad placements and timing. Ultimately, you can ensure that every campaign feels strategically aligned rather than generic.
Customised Campaign Recommendations
Every client has different marketing goals. Some want mass awareness. Some aim for hyperlocal reach. Personalisation means meeting those goals in campaign design. Instead of pushing standard packages, you should offer curated recommendations that match your client’s target demographics and budget.
For instance, you could suggest premium digital billboard placements for high-visibility campaigns. Similarly, you could recommend contextual ads near relevant retail zones. Such initiatives show clients that their unique needs are understood and prioritised.
Dynamic Creative Optimisation
Personalisation doesn’t stop at placement. It extends to creative execution. Dynamic creative optimisation (DCO) allows you to tailor ad content in real time. It could be based on different aspects like audience data or even weather conditions.
For example, a beverage brand’s DOOH ad could change from hot coffee in the morning to cold brew in the afternoon. These adaptive creatives not only improve engagement but also make clients feel their campaigns are alive and responsive.
Tailored Reporting and Insights
Instead of sending standard performance summaries, you can share insights that directly reflect each client’s KPIs. It could be anything from engagement lift to location-specific performance. Personalised reporting demonstrates attention to detail and shows accountability.
The Salesforce Advantage in Customer Loyalty
Whenever we talk about client retention or personalisation in the media industry, it’s difficult to ignore Salesforce for long.
After all, Salesforce equips you with an array of powerful tools to make personalisation actionable. By unifying client data from multiple touchpoints, including bookings, campaign performance, billing, and feedback, Salesforce creates a single source of truth and a connected view of every account. This holistic perspective helps your team anticipate client needs and deliver consistent, context-aware communication at every stage of the client journey.
For instance, Sales Cloud plays a central role by consolidating client interactions and sales activities. This ensures all your team members have instant access to updated account details and preferences. With automated workflows and task reminders, it eliminates communication gaps and ensures no opportunity slips through the cracks.
Similarly, Einstein AI, Salesforce’s intelligent analytics layer, transforms raw data into predictive insights. It identifies which clients are most likely to churn and even highlights new cross-sell opportunities.
Closing the Loyalty Gap: Turning Clients into Long-Term Partners
Winning the first sale is only the beginning. Real success lies in turning clients into loyal, long-term partners. By leveraging Salesforce to anticipate needs with predictive insights, you can close the loyalty blind spot and drive repeat revenue. With Brysa, a leading Salesforce consultancy focused on the media sector, you can implement these strategies seamlessly, transforming retention into a measurable growth engine. So, get in touch with us today to start building stronger client relationships.