The marketing agency landscape, particularly that of a digital agency, can be a competitive and challenging one to navigate. For the last two years, agencies have had to compete with the additional challenges posed by COVID-19. So, if you are an agency still on its feet, and looking to scale your business in 2022, we commend you.
We thought we would give agencies a helping hand when it comes to growing in the current landscape. We took a look at what some of the most successful agencies are doing to stay ahead of their competition and to grow their client base. Let’s get stuck in.
Table of contents
Have a Defined USP and Selling Pitch
One of the biggest mistakes we see with agencies globally is the fact that they don’t really have something unique about them that sets them aside from their competitors. And if you don’t know who you are, how would your potential clients know?
We have urged agencies to step back and reassess their models and processes. Figure out what makes you unique. Figure out if you are going to be targeting a certain industry. Find out what your key strengths are. Is great content something you excel at? Or do you have the magic touch when it comes to social media?
You then want to advertise this. Show it off. Create captivating proposals that you can send to your leads to convert them to clients. These proposals are absolutely vital for your company, so we highly recommend using a marketing proposal template that is comprehensive enough to cover everything about the services you provide.
Add in elements such as an executive summary, a detailed description of your agency’s USP, all of the services that you offer, and finally pricing to be transparent. With all of this in one document, your client will be able to have all essential information at their fingertips to make the decision to hire you quicker and easier.
Related reading; How to use Better Proposals
Convert Your Employees Into Brand Ambassadors
Marketing agencies differ from other businesses when it comes to employees. Unlike most businesses, almost every single one of the agency’s employees interacts with clients at some point. Even the usually quiet devs or content creators who like their back offices need to get in contact with clients at one stage or another. So, this means that every single employee must be an advocate for your brand and agency.
One of the most powerful ways of achieving that is by integrating employee engagement strategies into your day-to-day running of the business. From personal, one-on-one meetings and catch-ups, to feedback portals and even off-the-clock social events, having your employees on your side is key.
Once you know what drives your employees, you can create a working environment around that. So, we highly recommend that you spend time finding out what increases your employee satisfaction. Open communication and a healthy work-life balance will go very far for your company, so consider changing things up a bit to create a productive and healthy environment.
Focus on Lead Generation
So many agencies fall into the same trap, over and over again. They are so focused on their own clients’ lead generation strategies and marketing exercises that they forget their own. You are not alone if you do this. The truth is that lead generation does not need to be a complicated process and does not need to be completely time-consuming. You may wonder how.
First, look at automated lead generation tools. There are numerous options out there for you. Not only do they pull tons of information together from thousands of sites, but they also send out automated messages and follow-ups to get the process started for you.
The next thing to look at is generating qualified social leads on social media. Now, if this is already your niche, then your leads should be flowing in. But, ask yourself, when was the last time you did a client profiling exercise? Do you know the demographics and interests of your clients? What are the current trends you can target?
Remember, you can have thousands of followers on social media. But, if they are not real, organic users, you are putting content out for nothing.
Related Reading; Are SEO agencies worth the cost in 2022?
Bottom Line
To summarize, do you know where the majority of your traffic is coming from? Do you know how it is behaving on your site? Do you know who is looking at your social posts and clicking through to your site? Without all of this knowledge and data, planning future campaigns and successful marketing strategies can be tough. Without knowing who is interested in your services, how can you get back to them with a proposal?
Once again, we encourage you to use a number of tools to collect and analyze this information at all times. From Google Analytics to the metrics from the social platforms and your email platform, there is tons of information you can keep an eye on and strategize future campaigns and marketing strategies to target your direct audience.
Recommended Tool; SEMrush