Here’s the truth. Starting a digital marketing agency is easy but running and turning it into a successful business is tough! So, how you can boost digital marketing agency’s growth in the 2020s?
There’s a lot to worry about: hiring, accounting, optimizing accounts, marketing, automation, and most importantly, getting results for clients.
Getting significant results for clients could lead to new businesses. But it’s not a guarantee. Hence, driving your own digital growth is important.
Running a digital marketing agency is no longer what it used to be. Now, we have voice search, mobile usage, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In fact, 76% of people think online marketing has been impacted more in the past two years than it did over the previous fifty, according to Adobe.
How to Promote a Digital Marketing Agency?
If you’re ready to adapt to these changes and drive massive growth for your agency, grow your brand, generate qualified leads, close more deals, and increase revenue, you can use these 16 tips from industry experts to grow and scale:
1. Focus on a Specific Market
Specialization is the key to growing your digital marketing agency in this competitive marketing environment. Don’t try to do everything or solve every need that your client presents.
Your digital marketing agency’s growth would be stunted because you’re spreading your tentacles so wide. If a prospective client lands on your website today, what will they know your agency for?
Are you a full-service or specialized agency?
Both models work. But it’s a lot harder to break even when you’re handling every aspect of digital marketing. Specialization could be the missing piece in your success puzzle. It can be about your services or your digital marketing niche which you are focusing on.
In a Moz’s survey, over 32% of respondents identified themselves as “full-service” agencies or “digital marketing” agencies.
On the flip side, the same survey shows that effective and successful agencies are always focused on one vertical.
They don’t like to service clients with half-baked strategies. If they’re known for one offering one service, you can bet they’re SO good at it.
Take a closer look:
● Content Marketing Up focuses on content creation
● Hanapin Marketing focuses on PPC
● SingleGrain focuses on Startup growth
● ShoeString Videos focuses on video marketing
The ultimate goal of your agency is to laser-focus on a specific market, then launch all out to serve businesses in that market.
2. Increase Your Web Presence with Online Directories
One of the most overlooked strategies is to get onto as many online directories as you can. Without doing nothing more potential clients can find you from the online directories. It can be cost effective than ads.
There are a few routes to take. Of course, you want to be on the general, widespread directories like Google and Yelp to start.
Best to focus on industry-specific online directories like marketing agency directories.
For example, most of the visitors come to the Digital Agency Network, while they are searching the best digital agencies. So if you become one of these agencies, your chances will increase to be found online.
3. Use a lead magnet for your agency
Your agency needs a lead magnet such as an eBook, Cheat Sheet, Templates, White paper, tool, and so on, to initiate a prospect’s journey.
Since the vast majority of your site users will not convert to leads unless you give them a reason to — it’s important to create a lead magnet and use it well.
Use any valuable lead magnet to capture their business contact information and then start the nurturing process until they’re ready to commit to your agency.
WordStream uses a free PPC analysis tool as its lead magnet.
Is your digital marketing agency using a lead magnet the right way? King Kong, an Australian digital marketing agency uses an eBook to capture interest and follow up on potential clients. You can find more lead generation strategies for digital agencies on our blog.
4. Develop Case Studies from Your Successful Clients
Do you do this often?
Your successful clients are a goldmine for your digital marketing agency growth. It’s good to get excited about the results you generated for them, but don’t stop there.
Client case studies are one of the most useful resources on your agency website. As much as possible, create a dedicated page for showcase all these case studies and customer testimonials.
In a survey conducted by eMarketer, 62.6% of responded agreed that case studies are powerful tools for generating leads.
OneIMS, a digital marketing agency projects its client case studies on a dedicated page that’s optimized for new clients and businesses.
5. Become Your Own Client and Market your Marketing Agency
This growth strategy might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s powerful if you do it the right way. Clients know that the best way to measure your expertise is by your results. It’s not by your ‘promises.’
When you become your own client, it means you’re decisive and are ready to get results for ‘you.’ You’ll also be able to promote your business (just as you’d if another business hired you).
The truth be told, you can use the results you got (maybe a ranking boost in the organic search for your agency website) as a proof to win over new clients. Case closed.
Neil Patel, for example, helps businesses with content marketing. Interestingly, he uses content marketing to build his brand online.
6. Simplify Your Project Management Processes
When potential clients first come in contact with your agency, they want to know how simply your processes are.
If it’s complex and daunting, they’ll be disappointed because they’d assume you’ll not drive growth for their business.
Make sure your templates, reports, strategy, tools, and team are relatable. Clients already have a challenge with their business that’s why they come to you. Don’t complicate it.
7. Rank Your Target Keywords
This is important if your digital marketing agency is focusing on SEO. How do you convince businesses that your agency is able to improve their search rankings on Google?
It’s by showing where your agency ranks in the organic search results.
Even if you can’t rank for “digital marketing agency” because it’s competitive, try and rank a less-competitive term like “digital marketing company Chicago.”
8- Attend Virtual Events
With the digital transformation in the last few years, there are many different approaches to work and find new clients. As we’ve already noticed, virtual events are on the rise to help marketers and agencies. Because with the COVID-19 pandemic, the businesses and trends are affected across the world. Before the pandemic, the physical location of the digital agencies was very important to the companies and brands. But now, companies are more open to working with digital agencies from abroad. The only thing they need is to believe the related sector experience the agencies have, so it’s clear that virtual events are now more important than ever.
By attending virtual events, your agency can gain many advantages. For example, you can help to improve your employee’s skills and at the same time significantly reduced agency expenses. Also, virtual events are much more affordable than location-based events. Virtual events can help you to expand your networking and save a lot of time.
We strongly recommend you have a look at Agency Growth Events. These events launched with a mission to help digital agencies meet new clients, find new partners, access innovative technologies and drive growth journeys. Their virtual events are hosted on an award-winning AI-powered platform, matchmaking the right people to have the right conversations. Interested? Age Season ONE kicks off in September with Basecamp, on the 16th of September 2021. Buy your season pass now and explore the benefits of attending the online event!
9. Have a Flexible Pricing Model
As an agency, don’t set your pricing on a stone. Make it flexible. Being able to offer the right value for your services is what counts in the end.
If you don’t have a flexible pricing model, you’ll either charge lower or go over the top with your charges. Either way, you’ll be leaving a lot on the table. You can check our digital marketing agency pricing guide from here.
When you interact with new clients, get to know their needs, expectations, and budget (if any). Then present different pricing packages that will suit them. Let them make the choice.
10. Build a Repeatable, Scalable Process
You need to have a process behind everything you do as an agency. Set specific policies and procedures for scaling. These should serve as your framework for deliverables.
Document your processes and make the system scalable.
Use templates or tools to automate your reporting process. You can get help from the list of best tools for digital agencies.
Streamline appointments and other bookings with tools like Calendly. Don’t waste time writing proposals manually. Remember, time is money.
11. Work With The Right Team for Digital Marketing Agency’s Growth
Successful agencies don’t make the mistake of handling every aspect of their service. In fact, they outsource a lot of work to freelancers, in addition to hiring the right team in-house.
With so many tasks that need to be executed each day, don’t try to carry the burden alone. If you get too busy with fulfillment, you can’t grow your agency.
Outsource and delegate tasks that are not in your area of expertise. From keywords research to link building to social media management, you can find the right people to handle it.
12. Collaborate and Leverage Influencers
An agency doesn’t succeed in isolation. Your digital marketing agency needs to collaborate with other agencies and influencers in your industry. How?
Host Facebook live sessions and invite an influencer or influencers to share their expert tips. They’ll love it. Webinars are also powerful.
If you have an affiliate program, then invite influencers to promote your offers to their audience. Contribute helpful guest posts to industry blogs to reach their audience.
13. Streamline your onboarding process
The thin line that separates an agency that generates consistent leads and another that struggles may be the onboarding process. Is yours seamless?
Process St uses a simple 3-step onboarding process for employees. But you can use a similar approach for new clients.
If your onboarding process is complex, you’ll send a negative notion to potential clients that your solutions will be the same.
A simple and effective onboarding process is your first step in retaining the client. If you mess it up, clients will switch to your competitors.
One effective way to streamline it is by having fewer (not more than two) form fields in the lead capture page.
All you’ll ever need to contact a client is their business name or first name and email address. Any other information will be provided once they’re on your marketing funnel.
14. Master Upselling and Cross-Selling to Maximize Your Profit
Finding a new client is the lifeblood of your digital marketing firm. That’s how to guarantee its consistent growth in the future.
Hence, it’s important to upsell to clients who are already conversant with your brand. You don’t want the clients to leave after a one-off project experience.
You’d open new revenue streams if you upsell to your clients the right way. No, don’t be pushy or desperate, but recommend complementary offers that provide additional value.
Source: TapClicks
For instance, if you’re a Google Ads PPC agency and that’s exactly why the client came, you could upsell a Facebook Ads solution to help your client maximize their reach on both platforms.
The same rule applies when cross-selling to clients. Always offer an additional value at a fraction of the cost, if clients were to buy it individually or from other agencies.
15. Offer Live Video Packages
No matter your area of specialization, make sure your agency is using video to upgrade clients’ experiences. Aside from providing relevant information, videos can captivate your audience and tell your stories better.
In a poll conducted by Livestream and New York Magazine, 80% of the users surveyed prefer to watch a brand’s video instead of reading a blog post while 54% would rather see video content from a brand they support.
This is why you should offer video packages as well in your solutions. If you’re a Facebook ad agency, then incorporate videos as your campaign packages.
16. Optimize Your Agency Website
Your digital marketing agency website is your billboard online. That’s what defines your identity and what your agency stands for. Unfortunately, a lot of digital marketing companies don’t invest in their web design.
That’s an opportunity for you. Start by strengthening your website’s design, as well as On-Page and Off-Page SEO.
In other words, make sure your website structure is properly laid out, create useful content, interlink relevant pages on your site, and get out there to network with other websites.
This will result in high-quality links to your website. Don’t be overly concerned about improving your client’s business and neglect your own website.
If anything, your agency website should be irresistible, ideal, and valuable to your clients even before they sign the contract.
17. Get Benefit from the Best Tools for Digital Marketing Agency’s Growth
A marketing agency can provide many digital tools to their customers. When you want to work with an SEO agency in New York, they should own the most popular SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, Majestic.
Especially a small business can’t afford to get many digital marketing tools to improve their business. You can promote yourself with the tools you use and how the client can get benefit from them.
There you’ve it, the 16 effective tips to help take your digital marketing agency to the next level. You need to be a master in marketing a digital agency for steady growth.
Bear in mind, though, that growth doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time!
So keep it at and always strive to understand your target audience better. Because, at the end of the day, that’s where every marketing tactics begin.
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