6 points any agency marketing plan should cover

If you’re starting from scratch, it’s not always clear what should be in your agency’s marketing plan. If you consider these 6 linchpins, you’ll be setting your agency up for the best possible chance of quality inbound new business. 

1. News releases

   Agency hands are familiar with the concept that ‘on average, it takes approximately five to seven touch-points to close a sale’ (source: Nimble) from client briefs. And one of the easiest wins is letting your prospects know what you have been up to, so they have evidence that you’ve completed similar projects for other businesses.

   All too often we’re exhausted at the end of a project, which often has been months if not years in the studio. You might never want to hear the brand’s name again by the time it launches, but you must take advantage of this milestone to announce the news.

   You might not be overly proud of the project by the end, and it might not be representative of the work you’d like to output, manipulated by various forces into something that doesn’t even resemble the concept stage by the time it hits the shelf. But it’s still evidence that your studio is in demand, and that you can work with clients through to completion. 

   You don’t even have to release the news to media if you don’t feel it warrants it, but get it on the website and in the newsletter.

2. Keeping in touch

   If you’ve read anything else from Kaffeen, you’ll know I’m passionate about growing existing business when possible. You’ve heard it said 100 times, but it really is true: it’s the lowest hanging fruit you’re likely to come across. And keeping in touch with those clients with relevant, interesting information and opinions is one small step to keeping in mind.

   Ensuring that you’re covering off GDPR regs (simple guide here source: Litmus) gather all your contacts in one place (Mailchimp is a cheap option) and send them a consistent email update. It doesn’t need to weekly or even monthly, but pick a frequency and stick to it. 

   Some points to include might be: 

   • a recent launch

   • a thought piece you’ve penned that you’re proud of

   • a question/ survey that they can respond to

   • an event you’re hosting

   • speaking at

   • or that you think they will enjoy

   • HR/ people news that impacts their business

   • agency news that they might be interested in, i.e. location move

   • anything that adds value and is likely to affect the way they think of you positively. 

3. Thought leadership

   What a phrase. It strikes the fear of committing to an opinion and induces procrastination in MS Word that would do a final year dissertation student proud.

   But it’s so much easier if you make a note of the interesting questions your clients are asking you, as and when you hear them. The more often you hear a problem, the more likely your response will appeal to a wider audience.

   That way, when you’re asked to contribute an opinion piece to a publication, or you need something for your newsletter, or as an intelligent opening gambit to grab a new client’s attention, you’re already forewarned/forearmed with topics that will make them read on.

   Why is it important? Well I’m not convinced that marketing directors do want to hear the opinions of their agency CEOs, but there is no denying that it:

   • Can differentiate your agency from the crowd

   • Get you valuable media inches in print or online.

   • Open up your agency name to a much wider audience.

   • Enable speaking opportunities

   • And more expert opinion requests, which in turn leads to more column inches.

4. Events

   These come in three primary forms that I think are valuable. For ‘events’ I mean podcasts, webinars in addition to in-person speaking opportunities:

   Being asked to speak at industry events, in front of an audience likely to include prospective clients, raise your agency’s profile. You don’t foot the bill or the effort to draw the crowd, which is a big bonus.

   Hosting events for an audience of existing and prospective clients. This is harder to attract an audience to, and you have to foot a larger bill. But you’re also in control of a broader scope of factors, which appeals to agencies with a desire to keep tight reins on their appearance.

   Facilitating an event internally at a client/ prospect’s offices. This is a great and oft underused hybrid. Clients often have an allocation of time and resources to devote to team development. It might mean catering to specific topics that they have to cover, but by building a connection in person, your agency is likely to achieve a stronger bond on their own turf.

5. Awards

   Agency opinions on the value of awards are mixed. But it’s impossible to deny the allure of the award credentials when a client is choosing between two otherwise-similar agencies in a pitch situation. 

   Beyond new business, your award wins also help current clients feel more secure in their choice of agency. 

   Of the numerous award schemes out there, I would always advise focusing on ones that emphasise and reward effectiveness with limited resources. Proving the ROI of your work is still a valuable exercise, goes a long way to improving your case studies, team’s awareness of the impact of their work after it leaves the studio, and makes it so much easier to enter any other award, as after completing an effectiveness award entry you’ll have every ounce of pertinent information to hand to enter almost any other award effortlessly. 

   In design, the DBA’s Design Effectiveness Awards should be your go-to, in Advertising, the IPA’s Effectiveness Awards are the ticket.

6. Web visibility

   The easiest wins are always those you’re in control of, right?

   Unless you’re the person charged with leading the agency website rebuild, in which case it might feel like finding the lost ark would be easier.

   Regardless of what you put on the other pages, for the love of Google, please include a blog. 

   Why? Because SEO friendly content is the single most underused tool available to the agency. I’ve emboldened and underlined that because I think you’ll scan over that sentence. And that would be a crying shame.

   That’s a half-day workshop in its own right (Call me here to find out more) so beyond that, also consider these other easy wins:

   • Adding your business to Google My Business

   • Ensure you’re on any industry indices (DBA Directory, Creative Brief, The Drum Recommends

   • Claim your social media pages, even if you don’t actively use them

      

   Feel like too much to take on internally?

   Want to implement a marketing plan that draws inbound new business to your agency? 

   Book a phone consultation with me.

   It’s free, and I’ll use my 10+ years of agency marketing expertise to narrow down the areas of the focus your business needs to concentrate on, to win the attention of your new business prospects. You can choose a time that suits your diary here.