5 ways to successfully grow your agency

Okay, you are there, you need to grow your agency. According to Outsell’s 9th annual Marketing & Advertising study, U.S. Advertising and Marketing budgets rose to $432 billion in 2014. Those are quite the numbers, right? 

Then, when you consider that a 60-second spot at the 2017 Super Bowl XLIX fetched NBC a record $9 million, you can begin to understand why the stakes are particularly high in the marketing industry.

So, where can a small agency start with growth, and standing out, in this cut-throat industry where giant agencies control the steering wheel? Following are 5 ways you can use to successfully grow your agency. 

1. Work on your own agency marketing

First off, promote yourself and get noticed. The more people that know you, the more people will likely want to read up on what you do, your work and your agency. Like the psychologist Muzafer Sheraf described in his scientific research, social proof is a theory stating that people are impacted and influenced by what others say and do. Hence, if no one knows you or talks about you, why would anyone else buy from you?

Also, publish original content. To be seen as a professional, make sure you come up with something original to publish. Of course, the internet is big, you can’t invent the wheel every time, but make sure you do it sometimes. The content you provide your clients and followers with should also have some sense of frequency, but always keep in mind: Quality before quantity.

You should, beneficially, pick a niche to operate in. To stand out you need to do something different, or in other words, do something really well. Instead of doing a lot of things at a mediocre level, do something that will get you noticed and sought after.

Of course, make sure your website is on point. In order to be perceived as you want to, you have to look the part as well. In these digitised times, you can bet that someone who is considering your services will take a look at your website at some point in the decision-making process. Your website is something you can easily control, so make sure it’s a place people won’t fall off the wagon.

Further, you should have a hold on your visitors and leads. Make processes to turn new visitors into leads and nurture the leads further into the buyer’s journey. There is no point in acquiring new leads and prospects if you don’t have a plan on how to handle them.

Lastly, use past clients for case studies to show potential clients your worth. Your previous work is the greatest advocate for how your future work will be. And remember, be your own best client.

Read more: Are you focusing on the right things to get your agency to the next level?

2. Reduce client churn

One way of doing this is to set up systems for nurturing and delighting clients: don’t assume they will stay forever once you have them. Customer service, training, follow-up meetings, additional services, for example, are just a few ways to nurture clients.

Train your staff on handling and meeting clients. They are after all the front office of your agency and the ones who has the most customer contact. Not everyone will as be comfortable with this, so a great tip is to have some internal training on how to do this.

Focus on both your own and your client’s goals. It can be easy to forget your own agency in the process of helping customers. But how can you help your customers if your own agency is failing? In the long run, helping yourself means helping your customers.

A good way to collect intel is to survey your customers regularly. As the owner of the agency, call your clients to ask for feedback - meet with them regularly too. Remember, the cost of acquiring a new client is twice as much as keeping one.

3. Scaling systems & processes

Deliver more transparent processes, seamless integration and easy project management. You can easily automate your marketing reports, and reporting should be a part of your daily and weekly tasks. With an automated process for this, it will save you heaps of time!  

Your client on-boarding process should be clear and documented. Make sure your clients know all the steps involved, and what they will get when going into business with you. This will definitely create a sense of security at this early stage.

For your contracts and proposals, using a tool like Panda Doc can speed up the time it takes to sign up a new client by having templates and systems in place.

Regarding recruitment, you can read more in the next section. But to get started, you should have an “always hiring”-page on your website and ask candidates to send their resume and a video about why they think they would be a good fit for your agency. This way you’ll have the ability to discover potential employees you didn’t even know you needed.

Read more about how to have an agency that you love.

4. Shrewdly growing your team

Outsource as long as you can. This way you won’t have to hurry in the recruitment process, but take your time to grow your team. Don’t hire some mediocre, unfit employee if you can afford to outsource to an expert. Building a proper team takes time, so make sure you do it right.

Interns and trainees will let you mould your employees how you’d like and will cost a fraction of a “regular” employee in the beginning. Also, the theoretical matters you learn at school are often hard to implement in a practical setting. Giving your employees the ability to learn how things are done will provide a lot of confidence and practice for the future.

A excellent way for guidance is to create an agency playbook and clear staff onboarding processes. It allows new hires to self-learn and gets the whole agency involved in their induction. This way they will get to know all the team and what each department does.

Find out why having a great team will let you have a great agency.

5. Enhance your service offerings

… and expand your menu to fit what your clients want and need. Do your research had interviews with both existing and non-existing clients to map out what they are looking for and in need of. There’s no point in offering something that no one wants.

In order to become a full-service agency partner, you can also look at the opportunity to collaborate with other agencies that do what you can’t, and the other way around. This will be a great asset for both parties and also for your clients as you’ll be able to offer things you previously couldn't.

You should offer in-house training as well. Educate employees on new trends if people find it hard to keep up with the changes and new things in the market. Your employees are your most valuable asset, so make sure they can grow and be the best employees they can be. This is, after all, in the best interest of your own agency.

There. These are only a few things you can and should consider to work on. So what are you waiting for? Get on working!