It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the ways you can market your agency.
Maybe you should start a YouTube channel or make TikTok videos? Write a blog a week? Go all-in on a newsletter? Spend a small fortune on ads? Or rebuild your agency site (again)?
Looking at our survey numbers, agencies aren’t actually doing much marketing… and I suspect having too many options is part of the problem.
But in my experience, it’s not some killer strategy that closes deals, it’s the boring stuff. The stuff everyone overlooks.
So here are 5 assets I think are criminally underrated. If you get these right, you’ll be ahead of most agencies you’re competing with.
1. Reviews.
Setting up a process to collect reviews isn’t hard, but a lot of us (myself included) suck at actually following through.
And it’s not just that ‘50 5-star reviews’ looks impressive (it does), it’s that your clients describe your work in a language you could never write yourself, and one that all your prospects speak fluently.
2. Portfolio.
Most prospects have no clue how to properly evaluate an agency. They’re not auditing your code or critiquing your design system. The best most of them can do is scroll through your work and ask “do I see myself here?’.
Whatever is in your portfolio becomes your ceiling. If a yoga studio lands on your site and sees five SaaS dashboards, it doesn’t matter how nice they are, it’s never going to resonate.
Curate your portfolio like a salesperson, not a designer.
3. Case Study.
It would be great to have a whole collection of case studies, but even a single one can pull a lot of weight.
It’s not just a portfolio piece with a bunch of fluff, it’s the story of where the client was before you, and where you helped take them. It’s insight into your strategic thinking, problem solving, and process.
A good case study will stop your prospects from wondering if you can actually do the work.
4. About Page.
An about page is almost universally treated as an afterthought, yet almost universally the second most visited page on an agency’s website.
Anyone serious about hiring you is going to end up there. They want to know who you are, what you care about, and whether or not they can trust you.
It’s one of the easiest ways to help your agency stand apart from the competition because your story is unique.
5. Lead Response Process.
Maybe this isn’t marketing in the traditional sense, but how (and how quickly) you respond to inquiries matters.
I recently started secret shopping agencies and the responses (and response times) are brutal. Days. Weeks. Sometimes no response at all.
If that’s the experience prospects are having, they’re going to hire the first person who replies quickly and sounds like they actually want the work.
None of these are exciting or sexy, but no ‘growth hack’ is going to save you if these five things are weak. Hopefully you already have some of this in place, but it never hurts to look at it with fresh eyes.
— Kyle
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