marketing digital agency services
TRANSCRIPT
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Growing digital services for your agency in 2015
Mark Kelly
Agency Growth Consultant
Mark Kelly Consultancy
Mark highlights the templates in our Agency Toolkit that will help you
improve the quality of your processes for digital marketing services,
and so support growth of the business.
2Recommended hub page:
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/digital-marketing-agency-toolkit/
Recommended on SmartInsights.com
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Agenda
Digital growth is a journey
Common blocks to ambition
Taking a planned approach
Growth from existing clients
Skills
Bills
Growth with New Business
Processes
Links to templates & relevant hub pages will appear here on
relevant slides
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About me
25 years in agencies, including head of
business units and wider agency ops
16 years in online / digital
3 years advising range of agencies -
"how do we grow digital?"
Mark Kelly Consultancy
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The impetus to grow digital
Existing client demand
Market demand
= conscious decision to offer new services
'Evolution':
e.g. PR > Social, DM > eCRM
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Poll 1: Agency type
If an Agency: what are your current primary
services?
Full Service but limited digital
Digital but specialist (e.g SEO, eCRM)
PR
Brand / Design
Other / Not Agency
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The journey
Stations and switchbacks
along the way
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/digital-marketing-agency-toolkit/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Poll 2: Barriers
What barriers do you think inhibit digital
growth?
Taking on wrong type of work
Upskilling teams / finding new talent
Making digital pay
Unsuitable processes effecting quality
All the above
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Blocks to ambition
Wrong type of work
Skilling the team
Finding right talent
Making digital pay
New / incremental biz
strategies
Unsuitable processes
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Quick note on process
more detail later
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Planned approach to growing digital
SWOT analysis to inform digital growth strategy (example):
Existing client matrix:
What do you provide already? Where could you go next?
Feed both these into digital growth plan for each account (see later)
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
http://www.smartinsights.com/marketplace-analysis/swot-analysis/swot-analysis/
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Planned approach
Existing client matrix: example
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Growth with existing clients
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Planned growth: existing clients
Don’t rely on ‘organic growth’.. plan which clients to
approach and with what
Look at the Supporting Business Growth ’ guide on
Smart Insights
Start with identifying most profitable and strongest
relationship accounts in the business
http://www.smartinsights.com/agency-marketing/growing-a-marketing-
agency/mark-urgent-supporting-business-growth/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Planned growth: existing clients
Structured process: account plan
Examine client account in wider context(what are their pressures, threats, opps).
Look at the historical and current situation(financial, feedback, your USP etc).
Document your account ambition
Generate ideas (Create an Action Plan for sales opportunities).
Identify blocks to success
Plan a tangible revenue forecast
Think through the selling in of ideas
http://www.smartinsights.com/agency-marketing/growing-a-marketing-
agency/mark-urgent-supporting-business-growth/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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The Skills
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Digital Marketing Skills
Two routes
Grow skills
Buy skills
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Poll 3: Skills
What issues are / might you facing in growing in-
house digital talent?
General understanding of the digital landscape
Lack of experience in specific channel
The time to attend courses, seminars etc
Willingness to upskill
Lack of confidence with clients re digital
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Audit team skills, make a plan
Mix of formal training and attendance of local digital events and
seminars etc
Spread attendances across ‘tech’, marketing, creative..
meetups, workshops, conferences etc
Share visibility via agency events calendar.
Returning attendees: show and tell for rest of agency
Invite in experts to share with agency
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
Grow Skills
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Range of resources on
Smart Insights, including
the RACE digital strategy
qualification
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/race-digital-planning-qualification/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
Grow Skills
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Buy Skills
Get to know local / regional digital 'scene'
- both freelance / specialist agencies
Buy-in talent based on initial opportunities and
subsequent New Business pipeline
M&A?
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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The Bills
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The Bills
Don't chase digital new business until you know how to
charge for and manage it
Get your estimating discipline right from the start:
Challenge the brief
Triangulate thinking
Caveat estimate
Look backwards
Which rates?
Don't give it away
http://www.smartinsights.com/managing-digital-marketing/planning-budgeting/creating-a-
robust-estimate-for-a-digital-marketing-project/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Making digital pay
Use our spreadsheet templates
or
The estimating tool that will come with a job
management platform
Estimating owned by one e.g nominated Project
Manager / Account Manager
but
Always double checked with experienced team
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/digital-marketing-budgeting-costing-spreadsheets/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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New Business
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/marketing-agency-new-business-
template/
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An NB process is vital
New Business more competitive than ever:
c.18,000 Agencies in UK
Budget pressures
Client / Prospect time stretched thin .. ‘cold’
approaches not effect
Inbound marketing established .. some agencies
already attracting more interest than you
Clients more comfortable with distributed agencies -
proximity isn’t as big a plus point
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/marketing-agency-new-business-
template/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Poll 4: New Business approach
What is your approach to New Business?
Documented framework but haven't reviewed efficacy
in last 6-12 months
Documented framework– recently reviewed & refined
No formal process / approach to New Business
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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New Business framework
Framework covers:
Your Proposition
What type of work do you want
Buyer Personas
‘Housekeeping’ - your channels
Sources of Referral
SEO
Inbound Marketing
Outbound Marketing
PR
Lead tracking
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/marketing-agency-new-business-
template/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Processes
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Processes
Adapt your existing processes for digital
Principles still apply re briefing, estimating,
concepting, production, time management etc
But digital brings new terminologies and new
approaches, so familiarise yourself
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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A project process framework
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Project Management
Tipping point from Account
Management to dedicated
Project / Campaign
Managers
Start contract > move to
Perm
PM + you determine best
framework for agency
(Agile, Waterfall or hybrid)
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Job Management
Expanding services brings additional impetus to manage
the business effectively:
Consider cost / job management platforms:
Purpose built / cloud based .. great for cross-agency collab on
estimate creation and ongoing time / resource management.
Many platforms now all-encompassing:
initial estimate through to time and resource tracking, cost
reconciliation, invoicing and reporting.
http://www.smartinsights.com/managing-digital-marketing/resourcing-digital-
marketing/budget-estimating-and-time-management-platforms-for-marketing-
agencies/
Planned approach | Growth: existing clients | Skills | Bills | Growth NB | Processes
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Summary – questions please!
Potential barriers along
digital growth journey
Clear strategies and
frameworks avoid these
Look at the resources on
our agency toolkit hub
www.markkellynet.com
Smart Insights agency hub
page:http://www.smartinsights.com/g
uides/digital-marketing-agency-
toolkit/
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Photo referencesPhotos used in this deck are all creative commons and via Flickr or Compfight unless otherwise indicated:
Agenda toolkit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/41894148532@N01/2517652/ by Neil T
Roadblock: https://www.flickr.com/photos/99301367@N00/8497106802 by Dave Lanovaz
Road switchback: https://www.flickr.com/photos/73115147@N00/3610386514/ by Dave Clarke
Calculator: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97247234@N00/3867706307/ by Dennis Wong
Conveyor belt: https://www.flickr.com/photos/33392350@N00/6508786801/ by sea turtle
Scooter Skills: https://www.flickr.com/photos/91783980@N05/8691749721/ by red touch media
Skills options: conference image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49503002894@N01/4167210953 by Kris
Krug
Agency Client meeting: https://www.flickr.com/photos/34252364@N00/369496139/ by the image group
New Business - Agency image https://www.flickr.com/photos/beckyjohns/5673361558/in/album-
72157626491264575/by Becky Johns (cropped image)
Process header slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/placeni/5493713259
Example review resource: http://onlineprojectmanagement-
review.toptenreviews.com/