Running a successful digital marketing agency is hard. 

The space is large, dynamic, and ever-changing. Techniques that used to work no longer apply, and new techniques are constantly being invented. Staying on top of marketing trends can mean the difference between success or failure. 

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Thanks to the rise of Internet use and an ever-increasing popularity of digital platforms around the globe, digital advertising has grown to become one of the most popular forms of advertising for businesses. 

According to an estimate, $700 billion is projected to be spent on digital advertising worldwide by 2025. A whopping 30% of this will come from the US. 

“The Internet is becoming the town square of the global village of tomorrow.”

• Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft

Agency life can be rewarding and fulfilling, but it comes with a fair share of challenges. And it seems like new challenges are manifesting as fast as the industry is evolving. 

Top 3 Challenges We’ve Seen Working With Agencies:

• Managing multiple clients

Client management is no simple task. Multiple clients might ask for projects or tasks at the same time. Or a client might change his/her mind at the last minute and go in a different direction. 

This kind of an environment puts a lot of pressure on marketing agencies to deliver quality work quickly. If an agency is not at the top of its game at all times, many things can go wrong – fast. 

• Standing out from the crowd

Any business we can think of needs an online presence and help with SEO, PPC, social media, etc. High demand for digital marketing services gave rise to many new marketing agencies. According to studies, there were more than 6,000 digital marketing agencies operating in the US in 2022.

In a crowded marketplace, it can be difficult to stand out. Differentiating your agency from the competition and attracting, and converting new clients is an inevitable challenge for agencies. 

• Recruiting and retaining creative talent 

Sourcing creative marketers and retaining them can be exceptionally challenging. Creatives are not afraid to switch jobs and move to competitors, if they don’t find your agency engaging and interesting. Some report estimates, 98% of creatives leave their jobs after 5 years.

An agency is only as good as the people it hires. For an agency to be successful, it needs to make hiring the best people a priority. According to Marketing Land, 44% of marketing agencies report competing with brands for talent as one of their biggest challenges.  

How To Solve These Challenges:  

• Set clear boundaries with clients

Knowing how to set boundaries is the key to ensuring a positive relationship with clients. Clear boundaries establish how you and your clients interact and what is expected between the two. 

The best way to set great boundaries is to put your terms in writing before you start working together. The legal agreement makes it easier to resolve any issues that may happen down the road. This method is the best for making boundaries official. 

• Invest in project managers 

Working for a marketing agency is like being on a roller coaster; one moment you’re staring at a blank computer screen, the next you’re all-in solving your clients last-minute problems. Heavy workloads coupled with long hours are a recipe for burn-out. 

Project managers help prevent burnout. They are in charge of one or more projects simultaneously, bring leadership and direction to projects, plan and implement marketing strategies, develop plans for executing strategic goals, promote brand awareness, ensure employees stay on track with their tasks, and so much more. 

Project managers can also help your business stand out from the crowd. According to the latest project management statistic, 42% of businesses do not utilize project management as a way to achieve better results. Implementing project management differentiates your agency from the competition. 

Data Has The Power To Solve All Challenges

Data is so powerful, it can solve most of your agency’s challenges. It can help you identify new opportunities to increase revenue or reduce cost, improve labor efficiency, help you make better decisions, and a plethora of other important things. Above all, it can skyrocket your marketing agency’s success.  

However, getting the most from data is no easy task. Simply collecting data does not unleash its potential value. That’s why agencies need to recruit and cultivate data experts to derive great insights from advanced data analytics.  

The Data Journey – From Raw Data to Rich Insights

The goal for every business embarking on a data journey is to reach the destination where data generates ROI. 

Machine learning, often seen as the silver bullet, is one approach businesses use to generate ROI from data. However, it’s important to note, machine learning is not the answer to all problems. 

Many machine learning algorithms require massive amounts of data before they begin to give useful results. This data has to be inclusive, unbiased, and good quality. So, the model has to be fed with the right data sets at all times. If you feed it poorly, it can cause many problems. 

Data apps are another approach. Apps are decent for consolidating data and help improve operational processes, but are not enough to help businesses generate ROI from data. 

The key to creating ROI from data is through a data team. The right data team collects quality data, analyzes it, and draws invaluable conclusions to drive growth. 

Check out this article, where we dive deeper into building the right data team. 

Ready To Take The Data Journey? 

Data Zen would love to support you on your data journey. We bring years of experience in the field of data science and can be your guiding force. We can serve you as a full stack data team, or as a supplemental piece to your existing data team.