A guide for agencies on the processes and options for growing new business focusing on Digital Agency services.

1. 1
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.

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Recommended 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

4. 4
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 references
Photos 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/