Retainer questions that show whether the hours fit the need
Ask retainer clients how well the hours match their needs, where they go and what to change before renewal. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What retainer health check questions tell you
Retainer health check questions ask clients how the retainer fits what they need: how many hours get used, whether they can see where the hours went, what they use it for, how much goes to unplanned work and what size fits next year. A retainer drifts slowly, and a client who feels they pay for unused hours rarely says so before they cancel.
Ask once a quarter, and again two months before renewal. Pick five or six questions: the fit rating, the hours used, the value score, the allocation and the two open questions. Send the survey from Usertick to the client's decision makers; there are no recurring sends, so schedule each quarter's send, up to 30 days ahead.
Each written answer gets a theme and a sentiment, and each response an urgency, so a client thinking of cutting back reaches the account lead early. On every plan, a workflow can send answers on to HubSpot.
- Questions
- 13
- Best asked
- Each quarter, and before renewal
- Industry
- Agencies
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 13 retainer health questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
How well the retainer fits
Start with fit and value, then how the hours are used, so you can see whether the retainer is too big, too small or pointed at the wrong work.
- 01Stars
How well does the retainer match what you actually need?
A star rating for how well the retainer matches what the client needs. Ask it every quarter; a falling average is your earliest renewal warning.
- 07Big scale
How good is the value you get from the retainer?
How the client rates the value of the retainer, on a scale of 1 to 10. Read it with the hours used: low value with few hours used points to work the client doesn't need.
- 02Multiple choice
How many of your retainer hours get used?
How many of the retainer hours get used, from all of them to hardly any. When answers reach About half or lower, talk about the fit before renewal.
- 13Multiple choice
How much of your retainer goes to unplanned work?
How much of the retainer goes to unplanned work, from none to almost all of it. When most of it does, talk about a separate budget for urgent requests.
Where the hours go
Ask what the client uses the retainer for and where they want the hours, and check they can see where the hours went.
- 06Multiple choice
What do you use the retainer for most?
Lets the client tick what they use the retainer for most, from campaigns to cover when their team is busy. The bars show what the retainer is really for.
- 04Points allocation
Split 100 points across where your retainer hours should go
Asks the client to split 100 points across strategy, design, build, campaigns and reporting. Compare the average points with where the hours actually went.
- 03Yes / No
Do you know how many hours are left this month?
A yes or no on whether the client knows how many hours are left this month. A No points to a missing hours summary in your monthly email.
- 11Customer effort
How easy is it to see what the retainer was spent on?
A customer effort score for seeing what the retainer was spent on. A low share who found it easy calls for a clearer monthly hours report.
Size and the year ahead
These questions frame the renewal: how big the retainer is, what the client would add and drop and what size fits next year.
- 08Number
How many hours a month does your retainer cover?
How many hours a month the retainer covers, as the client understands it. Compare the answer with the contract; a mismatch is worth clearing up.
- 09Ruler
How many months has this retainer been running?
How many months the retainer has run, on a ruler. Read the value scores next to it to see whether older retainers need a fresh look.
- 10Dropdown
What size retainer fits your plans for next year?
What size retainer fits next year, from smaller to much larger. Ask it two months before renewal, so the proposal matches the answer.
- 05Text
What work would you add to the retainer if you could?
The open question for work the client would add. These answers are the starting point for a larger retainer, in the client's own words.
- 12Text
What would you drop from the retainer to make room?
Asks what the client would drop to make room. Read it with what they would add, and you have the outline of next year's scope.
Tips for asking about retainer health
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Check every quarter
Ask the same questions each quarter, so the cards in Results compare with the last check.
- 02
Ask before renewal
Send a check two months before the retainer renews, and bring the answers to the renewal meeting.
- 03
Show where the hours go
When clients can't see what the hours went to, send a short hours summary each month before changing anything else.
- 04
Ask the decision maker
Send the survey to the person who signs the retainer as well as the day to day contact, since they weigh value differently.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about retainer health
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Once a quarter, and again two months before renewal. Usertick has no recurring sends, so schedule each one, up to 30 days ahead.
Five or six. Start with fit and value, add the hours used and the allocation, and end with what the client would add and drop.
The person who signs the retainer and the day to day contact. Select an answer in Results to compare how each of them sees the value.
On every plan, a workflow can send answers to HubSpot. Workflows can also add rows to Google Sheets, post to Slack or Microsoft Teams, or call a webhook.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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