Client Engagement Strategy Step 1: More Loyalty, Less Hustle

Retention| Strategy| Clients| Client Loyalty| Business Development

April 02, 2025•5 min read

While many businesses scramble to attract new leads, the most sustainable growth often comes from deepening engagement with the clients you already have. The Dream 25 strategy was originally designed to pursue ideal prospects.

But it can be even more powerful when used to build loyalty, grow revenue, and strengthen your most valuable existing client relationships.

Your current clients are more than just revenue sources—they’re the ones who are most likely to stay longer, spend more, and refer others. But that only happens if you nurture those relationships with the same care and strategy you’d use to win new ones.

The Dream 25 Strategy Reimagined for Client Growth

The Dream 25 approach limits your focus to no more than 25 high-value relationships at a time, so you can engage with depth, not just frequency.

When applied to current clients, this becomes a proactive retention and loyalty strategy turning “satisfied” customers into vocal brand ambassadors.

It requires persistence and a deep level of personalization. Therefore, the strategy got its name because it’s difficult to manage more than 25 relationships at a time at such a level. However, for the purpose of nurturing clients, we remove the limit of 25 and instead focus on each segment. The segmentation is what allows us to focus on many.

It enables us to be strategic about how we show up.

And the reason we want to reach a broader number of our clients is based on the data that shows us there is a strong return on doing so.

In fact, our recent research shows that when clients feel appreciated through thoughtful gestures, they’re more likely to stay engaged and recommend your services to others (69% of respondents and 70% respectively).

However, most companies haven’t taken the time to segment their clients and define the level of engagement for each group. You may know who pays the most, but do you know who holds the most potential?

Step-by-Step: How to Build Your Dream 25 Client List

Identify Your Top Segment

Use this simple rule: Which clients ideally represent 5–10% of your revenue, or have the potential to get there?

These are the clients that make sense invest in nurturing at your most strategic level.

Define Your Right-Fit Clients

Next, identify the qualities that make a client ideal for your business. What qualities do they have in common. Think beyond revenue and # of employees: Who aligns with your values? Who gives energy to your team? Add those people to the list as your next level segment.

Analyze Your Client Base

Sort your clients by length of relationship, upsell history, responsiveness, and their likelihood to refer others. If a client checks multiple boxes, perhaps they deserve a spot on the list.

Create Tiers

After identifying your top clients and sorting the rest, consider creating tiers. The lower tiers may not require the same level nurutring, but they do deserve some type of attention to make sure they still feel seen and valued. Afterall, it doesn't help business if you have clients slipping out the backdoor while you're focusing on winning new or the top few.

Search Your CRM and Networks

Don’t overlook clients you haven’t talked to recently. Sometimes the best opportunities are hidden in relationships that have gone quiet. Not because the value is gone, but because the attention is. Place these contacts in the appropriate tiers for engagement.

Consider Multiple Contacts

Do you need to nurture multiple people in the same household or company? Remember, part of the return on relationship building comes from word of mouth and other opportunities to collaborate.

That means you should not limit the number of contacts you include from any one client.

Practical Tips for List Building and Maintenance

Start with 10 in each segment, scale from there. It’s okay to build in batches. A smaller list lets you refine your process as you go.

Track basic info. Company name, contacts, engagement history, value, and potential for referrals.

Review quarterly. Your client engagement list should be dynamic. Remove those who’ve disengaged or aren’t growing with you. Add new clients.

Don’t let perfection stall progress. Start building the list. Patterns will emerge and clarity will come with action.

Go Deeper, Not Wider

The client engagement strategy reminds us that client growth isn’t just about adding new names. It’s about investing more intentionally in the ones who already trust you.

Once you have the list, you're going to move into creating a plan to strategically engage with each of those tiers on a regular basis. For your top tier it might make sense to be in front of them at least quarterly and for your bottom tier maybe it's just annually. No matter the plan, the goal is to make sure they continue to feel seen, supported, and appreciated. These are the reasons they stick around longer and bring others with them. Research proves it. We'll cover additional steps in our next blog in the seriers.

Reflect and Recommit: 5 Questions to Deepen Client Loyalty Now

As you consider how to evolve your Dream 25 strategy into a system for nurturing existing client relationships, take a moment to reflect on these five key questions:

Am I nurturing existing clients with the same energy I use to attract new ones?
Your best clients deserve your best attention. Are you showing up for them in meaningful ways?
Do I know which clients are already most valuable, and who’s ready to grow with us? Loyalty-building starts with clarity. Identify who’s bringing the most value today and who has the potential to deepen that relationship with the right attention..
Do I have a system for regular, personalized touchpoints?
Appreciation isn’t a one-and-done. Sustained loyalty comes from consistent, human interactions.
Are there relationships that have gone quiet simply due to a lack of attention?
Dig into your CRM or client records. Some of your best opportunities might just be waiting to be reawakened.
Does my engagement strategy reflect understanding, validation, and care?
These three elements are the foundation of emotional loyalty. Without them, you’re just another vendor.

If you need help developing a client engagement strategy around your clients, we’re here to support. Join us for one of our monthly Q&A sessions. Or book a one-on-one conversation to get started.