When you’re running a busy digital marketing agency, it’s easy to get so caught up in striving for client success that you neglect to market your own business.
Why marketing your agency can’t be left on the backburner
Many agencies realise they are letting things slide, but have so much work on they think promoting their own brand doesn’t matter right now. The homefront can wait until things quieten down.
But the day every campaign finishes at the same time will never come. There’s always crossover, not to mention the daily tasks required to keep clients on retainers happy. You can’t wait till your ‘to do’ list empties because (hopefully) it never will.
So, to grow your business and not just the businesses of others, build some of your own brand marketing into your schedule.
Why it matters to potential and existing clients
If you need to be reminded why marketing your own brand is important, read on.
- You’re a DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY
It’s stating the obvious, but you are marketers. Creating awareness is your bread and butter, so don’t falter when it comes to creating awareness about your own agency. Resting on your laurels might keep clients streaming in if you’re already a successful digital marketing agency, but these clients do want to work with a business striving to improve and grow.
- Clients want to see you practise what you preach.
It’s important to show clients that you also use the concepts and tools you promote to them. After all, you’re asking them to make some major adjustments to how they’ve marketed themselves in the past. You need to walk the talk and demonstrate how such concepts and tools work for you.
Of course, you don’t need to use tools arbitrarily, but if a potential client can’t go to your site and get a sense of what you can do for them, they might go elsewhere.
- Clients are observant.
When seeking the best Digital Marketing Agency for their company, clients will look at your output, and judge. If there are broken links on your website, poor grammar in your blog posts, or if your content isn’t up to date, they’ll question your ability to design a professional and impactful website for them. That’s why you need to keep things shipshape on the homefront.
- You can always improve your client list
Your dance card might be full, but are you content with your dance partners? Do you want to gain bigger clients with budgets that will allow you to stretch your wings and produce amazing results?
It’s ok to be busy right now, but don’t forget to keep your eye on the prize—that of being a successful digital marketing agency that’s growing into the future, creating a solid reputation and portfolio of work, and employing more skilled and talented people.
How to ramp things up
Now that we’ve reflected on why digital marketing agencies should maintain a steady focus on their own marketing, let’s look at a few ways you can quickly get back on track if you’ve been a little neglectful.
Use your tools
You know those metrics you use to assess campaign success and report results to your clients? Well, if you don’t already use them on yourselves, start. Aside from the fact that trialling new tools on your own business is a great way to check they work effectively before you use them for clients, you also want to get those gems of information these analytic tools deliver you.
Take a good hard look at your website
Test out the links, read the content. What can you lose? Old photos, bios? Does the design need a freshen up? Has your business changed and now offers more or different services to those offered in the past?
After you’ve looked, create a plan to update it, starting with the quick wins you can fix immediately.
Seek out testimonials
A good testimonial holds serious sway, especially when it’s from a respected business. So don’t be shy to follow up with clients and get a good quote (or five) for your website.
Beyond the website
What other ways are you marketing yourself to potential clients? How are you keeping yourselves in the minds of previous and current clients?
You know the tricks. It might be an email check-in with previous clients alerting them to a new feature that could help their business, or introducing your new whizz staff member in a LinkedIn post.
You can participate in networking events, nominate yourselves for industry awards, or do a guest spot on a marketing podcast.
You don’t have to do everything
You don’t even have to do a lot. But you need to keep the ball in the air so that new customers find you, current clients recommend you, and former clients return to you.
