As a performance director of a digital marketing agency, ‘growth’ generally translates to managing a larger amount of marketing spend; it’s pretty safe to assume that the way to achieve this is through generating revenue increases for our client base. It’s a simple process, and our aim is to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship via consistent budget/revenue increases.
Businesses don’t hire agencies to manage or secure the revenue they are already generating, we need to prove our worth by finding opportunities for profitable revenue growth. In order to do this, it is essential that we understand key factors that we are able to influence in the purchase cycle.
Foundation #1 – Product or Service Knowledge
If an agency doesn’t understand a client’s product or service, they can’t possibly advise accurate budget allocation, marketing funnel strategy, target audiences, platform allocation, or CPA feasibility.
It’s not that we need to know just as much as the client does, it would be naive for us to assume that years of experience in an industry can be absorbed in a few onboarding meetings, but we do need to understand the product / service at a competent sales level in order to market your business effectively.
Foundation #2 – Build Client Trust
6 key ways to achieve this:
- Go above and beyond – Under promise and over deliver, always.
- Teach your clients – Take time to explain what you are doing and why, they will appreciate it
- Confidence – Stick with your recommendation, regardless of pushback from the client
- Ownership – Own up to any mistakes, and provide real solutions that prevent the same thing from happening again
- Personal Connections – Find something in common and build rapport, it will help secure a lasting relationship
- Face to Face Meetings – Always take the time to meet in person on a regular basis. Covid has made this more difficult for everyone, but it is still as important as ever
Foundation #3 – Omni-Channel Strategy
We need to know how to utilise each platform (search, social, video, programmatic, email) to achieve the desired marketing goals.
We also need to be able to adapt when priorities shift and our current platforms aren’t achieving these goals. We don’t prefer one platform over another, and we always allow the data to steer our decisions on where to allocate marketing spend. Shifts in budget need to happen quickly and decisively, without a lengthy client approval process – It is important in client relationships to be able to inform of decisions rather than request permission.
Foundation #4 – Communicate
6 key ways to achieve great communication:
- 1. Deliver insights, not confusing numbers
- 2. Share wins, and identify opportunities for growth
- 3. Don’t shy away from discussing poor performance, and what was learned from it
- 4. Identify outside factors influencing performance that we aren’t responsible for – seasonality, holidays, weather, economy, law changes etc.
If an agency is able to master these four pillars with consistency and authority, they are well set up for delivering sustainable, consistent results.
Author: Josh Sexton – Digital Performance Director at Sprocket Digital
