6 Tips for Building a Successful Digital Marketing Agency

Even though the digital marketing trends are evolving and the industry’s revenue is constantly increasing, running a successful digital marketing agency isn’t as simple as it may seem.

Here is no magic formula on how to succeed, but if you want to rank among the best in this niche, here are some tips on how to create a digital marketing agency that all the other businesses would love to hire.

1. Make a difference

Those who succeed have one thing in common – they know why and what they’re in for, and they are not ready to settle for anything less. If you want to win, you need to have a clear idea of what winning means for you, which goals, and for what purpose you need to achieve to make your dream come true. Ask yourself a few questions to build your unique perspective, and make a habit of it:

• Why are you in digital marketing?
• What needs or pain points of your customers is your agency addressing?
• Does your service make a difference in the lives of your clients?
• Do your clients find your services useful?
• Are there any changes you can implement to answer the needs of your clients better?
• Is your business justified?
• Is there anything else you could be doing instead?

It’s essential to be honest with yourself when answering these questions, even if it means giving up on your business idea and doing something completely different instead. You can’t reach the top unless you’ve invested yourself totally and wholeheartedly believe your agency can make a difference.

2. Hire the right people

You can’t have a successful agency without a winning team, so your selection of those who will be joining it can make all the difference between scoring a goal or missing the shot. When starting a digital marketing agency, skills and experience do matter a lot, but so does the personality of the persons you hire, as it will influence the atmosphere at your workplace.

To find an employee who is, apart from their skills and expertise, the best cultural fit for your organization, you are not limited to your nearest surroundings anymore. You can easily find a skilled professional who shares your system of values, and not just a geographical location.

When you’ve made the right hires, do your best to keep them engaged with their work and loyal.

3. Always go full speed ahead

Even if you’re pleased with how your business is performing, never be complacent. The world of digital marketing moves fast, and you and your team always need to look two steps ahead and be ready for changes.

That means you have to count on working longer hours and get accustomed to the pressure to constantly meet deadlines. As your agency develops and you start to gain more profit, you’ll be able to make more hires and delegate more tasks or automate certain processes. Still, the fact that you have many clients who depend on your performance won’t disappear, and you’ll feel pressured nonetheless. This is something you’ll simply have to get used to.

Stats show that 63% of companies that outgrow their competitors rely on automation in their marketing strategies. Consider all the tasks you can automate, starting with your email marketing, lead generation, social media marketing, or A/B testing.

Certain administrative tasks can be automated too. For example, you can automate the entire payroll process, and transfer money directly to personalized employee income cards, granting your employees fast access to their money, and significant cost savings for your business.

4. Show your clients how committed you are

The key to building a winning digital marketing agency is in fostering good and meaningful relationships with your clients. Some of them already had first-hand experience with other agencies in your niche; some are just beginning their journeys.

But, no matter what circumstances they are in, you have just one goal- to show how exceptional your agency is in making their customers’ experience unforgettable. Addressing your clients’ expressed needs and desires, and even going two steps beyond and addressing the anticipated, unexpressed ones, is what sets apart a winning business from all the rest.

Nearly 50% of loyal customers say they’ve left a company to a competitor that is better at meeting their needs, so make sure you provide excellent customer service before, during and after the project to all your clients, and not just the big ones.

5. Leverage the data

When running a digital marketing agency, the amount of data you have at your disposal is colossal. In just a few clicks, you can find out why one social media post is performing better than the other one, or what makes people convert while they’re browsing a website. With the right kind of employee, who can adequately read and analyze data, you can use this resource at your agency’s benefit, and implement these insights into your growth strategy.

6. Brand your business

While supporting others in branding their business and making it recognizable, don’t forget to brand yours too. Start treating yourself as you would treat your client and leverage all your resources to build a strong brand image in your target audience.

Use every opportunity you can to establish yourself as a trustworthy and credible source of information both in your niche and in your community – participate in podcasts, local groups, forums, have your blog where you’ll help your target audience solve some of their acute and chronic pain points.

We hope these tips will inspire you to nurture your agency from a small startup to a winning digital marketing firm. It may take some time and a lot of effort, but the results will make a difference.

Salman Zafar

Salman Zafar is an ecopreneur, consultant, advisor, speaker and journalist with expertise in waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection, conservation and sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Salman is the Founder of EcoMENA, a popular voluntary organization based in Qatar. He is also the Founder and CEO of BioEnergy Consult, a reputed consulting firm active in biomass, waste-to-energy and waste management segments.
Salman is a professional environmental writer with more than 350 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass environmental awareness in different parts of the world.
Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org or salman@bioenergyconsult.com

salmanzafar.me