8 Ways to Scale Your Digital Marketing Agency in The New Normal

Intro

It’s no secret that the world has undergone significant changes in the last few years. The COVID-19 pandemic affected most industries in one form or another. In particular, it has changed the way we work and how companies operate.

Scaling your digital marketing agency was challenging even before 2020. But what does it require in the new normal? Let’s look at the obstacles agencies face in achieving growth in the current climate.

Difficulties in scaling a marketing agency

There are certainly challenges to growing your agency at this time. But understanding what these roadblocks are can help you to overcome them.

Finding and keeping talent

Many people reevaluated their work and living situations during the pandemic. Some people moved out of the city to live in new pastures. Meanwhile, others changed careers altogether to find work in a different industry. But most significantly, our expectations about our working environment saw a significant overhaul.

Now, many people prioritize working in a job that offers a hybrid or fully remote model. Lack of flexibility in this area has driven people to look for alternative employment that suits their needs.

On top of that, training staff in a remote environment can be a challenge. If you were running a contact center, you might use platforms like Dialpad call recording to help improve staff performance. But as a remote digital agency, you may also need to create documented work processes to get staff up to speed. Many companies have had to find new ways of doing things.

(Free to use image sourced from Unsplash)

Gaining new clients

The financial strain on numerous industries was enormous during the pandemic. Many brand creatives had to cut costs to survive, and digital marketing agencies were impacted as a result. As clients tightened their purse strings, they likely dropped these services.

Most industries are still recovering economically. This means it may take a while for companies to feel confident before they commit to investing in the services of marketing agencies again.

Managing new clients

Bringing in new clients is, of course, the ultimate goal. But you also need to be able to manage growth when it comes. Employing too many staff in expectation of growth can be risky financially.

However, waiting until you have gained enough new clients to recruit causes its own problems. You’ll have overworked and stressed staff who may not be able to keep clients satisfied.

8 ways to scale your digital marketing agency

(Free to use image sourced from Unsplash)

Once you’ve identified your agency’s key challenges, it’s time to set out a plan to help you scale up. Here are eight ways to do just that.

1. Establish your brand

When you’re considering agency positioning, establishing your brand is a good place to start. Focus on a specific industry or a certain type of company.

The saying “a jack of all trades is a master of none” is appropriate here. While it may be tempting to target and bring in any client who’ll give you business, you’ll actually be making your life a lot harder.

You want to establish your niche and strengthen your brand. Look at the clients you already have and use that experience to refine your image. Remember, the last few years may have changed your clients’ business, which in turn affects you.

Have they scaled back or even expanded their offerings? This is important to understand what your clients need from you. But more than that, it will help you to appreciate what prospective clients will need from you too.

2. Nurture your current clients

This might be obvious, but before anything else, keep your current clients happy. After all, happy clients are loyal clients.

Some companies might find that measuring customer satisfaction is a good place to start.

For a digital marketing agency looking to scale up, it is essential to ensure your current clients feel valued. Don’t fall into the trap of focusing too much on getting new clients—you don’t want to neglect what you already have.

Nurturing your client relationships may lead to more work from them. In addition, their positive opinion of your brand can bring in more clients through word of mouth. There will always be reasons for them to look elsewhere, so make sure you give them a good reason to stay.

(Free to use image sourced from Pexels)

3. Shout about your success

Making your brand come across as trustworthy and experienced starts with a great website. Avoid the common web design mistakes and instead aim for a slick, visually appealing website that works in your favor.

In addition to this, you want to display your success stories for everyone to see. Speak to your existing clients and gather reviews, testimonials, and statistics. Display these in well-designed graphics.

Show clients exactly how your services can help them to grow. You’re offering them a sound investment, so make sure they can see proof of it.

4. Use lead magnets

A lead magnet is something you can offer prospective clients, which they can provide contact details to get. This might be a free ebook, white paper, or other helpful content.

Invest in making your lead magnet interesting and genuinely informative. It’s a great way to demonstrate that you really know your stuff. Plus, offering something for free in exchange for an email address is a great deal for you.

You could also include a few quick questions for them to answer when signing up for your lead magnet. You’ll then have even more information to work with, which will help you pitch your services more effectively.

5. Offer a flexible working environment

There are many reasons people want a more flexible working environment. Top of the list is a better work/life balance and avoiding the added mental cost of meetings. The reality is many people now want to work from home at least part of the time.

Being flexible in this approach will help you to recruit and retain the right employees. Happy employees are more likely to stay and be productive.

(Free to use image sourced from Unsplash)

On that note, there’s no evidence that remote working impacts productivity. In fact, many businesses have seen the opposite. What’s more, being open to remote work will allow you to recruit from a much wider talent pool.

Not being restricted by geography will make recruitment easier. Plus, reducing the amount of staff who come into the office or going fully remote has further benefits—you could save on rent and utility bills. Remote working isn’t going anywhere, so embrace it as the new normal.

6. Tier your services

Offering different packages allows new clients flexibility and gives you more opportunities to grow. You may be taking on clients of different sizes with different needs. So a one-size-fits-all approach is unappropriate.

Tiered options also give you the opportunity to upsell to current clients later on. Though they may start with only a basic level of service, your work could help them achieve their goals.

As a result, they may be willing to upgrade to a more extensive package at a later date. Bringing smaller clients in at a lower price can be hugely beneficial in the long-run.

7. Structure your processes

Starting afresh with every new client is time consuming. While it’s important to treat them all individually and provide a personalized service, you can make it more manageable.

You likely already know how to create a digital brand strategy for optimal growth, but refine that into a framework your team can follow every time. This can be the starting point for each client, which can then be tailored to your needs.

Working from a blueprint like this will help you in a time of growth. When your team is handling multiple tasks, clients and projects, this will streamline the process and significantly lessen their workload.

(Free to use image sourced from Unsplash)

8. Prioritize communication

There are many ways to make communication easier, including using a phone system with a call routing option or messaging apps. Working in hybrid or remote situations means effective communication requires a lot of thought.

You may not be working together in person or even at the same time. However, establishing specific channels for communications is essential. Have regular team meetings and even remote social events to maintain team rapport.

If you’re not already, look into using a workflow platform such as Jira and HubSpot. Whichever system you use, integrating messaging will also be helpful. This will allow you to streamline your work and communication processes. Plus, it will make it easier to keep clients updated with ongoing campaigns.

The time to scale is now

The landscape for businesses is certainly different from what it once was. But if you’re offering a valuable service that helps brands to succeed, there’s no reason your digital marketing agency can’t scale up.

Remember, everyone has to start somewhere. Even the CEO of a large agency probably had to Google “SOX controls examples” in the early days of their financial reporting. But it’s all a learning curve. Use the above tips to make a detailed plan, be patient, and growth will come.