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It can be challenging to get clients for your marketing agency. With so much competition, many business owners and other agency employees are inundated with multiple sales pitches from agencies every day.
So how do you make your marketing agency stand out, and draw in more clients?
In this article we tell you how.
How To Get Clients For Marketing Agency
Here are the best methods to bring in more clients for your marketing agency:
Create A Website
A website is like a brochure that talks (with pictures) about your company.
Websites are inexpensive, easy-to-update, and provide an enormous amount of exposure for very little cost.
Websites also allow you to make a strong first impression on clients… which is important, because clients who are not sold on your agency will simply not give you the time of day.
Here are the best website builders on the market:
These are very inexpensive, and can have your website looking professional, with all the bells and whistles.
Offer A Lead Magnet
A lead magnet is something free that entices people to give you their contact information.
Clients who read a blog post, or go to a website… and then decide they don’t need your help… are going to be uninterested in giving you the time of day.
But clients who are interested in your services… will want to give you their contact information… and allow you to send your sales pitch to them.
Here are some examples of lead magnets:
Free Book Offer: Business owners are always interested in learning new stuff… and free books can be a powerful lead magnet.
Exclusive Reports: If you have any reports or studies about what other companies are doing wrong… or what other companies are doing right… offer those exclusive to your clients. Give your clients an “edge” that other marketing agencies don’t have.
Discounts: Offering clients a discount on what you normally charge is another great way to entice them to hire you. Make sure you state the terms of your discount clearly in your sales pitch, though. Don’t say, “Oh, by the way, because you’re a client I’ll give you a 15% discount.” Instead, say something like, “As a client, I’d like to offer you a 15% discount on all services provided by my agency…
Case Studies: Sharing real life success stories can go a long way with clients. Not only does it show you are an honest and trustworthy agency…
The best way to create lead magnets to get clients contact info is by using a lead generation software, such as:
Each of the above tools have trials. Make sure to test them all.
Email Marketing
Most businesses owners receive hundreds of unsolicited emails every day.
It is absolutely imperative your marketing agency uses email marketing… because that is how they will communicate with their clients.
If possible, use an autoresponder so you can send periodic messages to your clients… with slightly modified versions of your lead magnet.
This way, you won’t overwhelm your clients with too many sales pitches all at once.
The best autoresponders are:
Each offer a free trial. Some even have free plans.
Test them all to see which matches your business needs the best.
Using email in this way will also allow you to test different messages… and see which ones work best.
Another powerful use for email is to provide ongoing case study type information to your clients.
Share real life success stories about other clients they may be able to model their business after.
Plus, you can use it to provide news and updates about your business… and to ask for feedback from your clients.
Video Marketing
Video marketing is one of the fastest growing marketing channels.
It has several advantages over written or verbal marketing: 83% of people prefer to watch a video rather than read text.
89% of people who watch a short video will remember it. 75% of people who watch a 1-minute video will remember it.
These numbers drastically increase if the video has an “energy quotient” of at least 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. (Anything less than 7 is not going to have a positive effect.)
If you want to create powerful, effective video marketing… you’re going to have to invest some money.
Don’t bother with amateur videos. Use videos created by agencies like:
Fusion Media
WeFilm
iContact
WebVideoMarketingSecrets
Each of the above offer free trials.
Social Media Marketing
This is probably the most important channel of all for lead generation.
Almost 100% of business owners are on at least one social media site.
And, 97% of those owners use Facebook.
It has been reported nearly 1/3 of all Internet users in the U.S. visit a social media site at least once every day.
That means 23% of all website traffic in the U.S. is from social media.
Nearly 90% of people trust the recommendations they get from their friends on social media sites.
This is 3 times higher than any other source of recommendations.
Do not underestimate the power of social media. It is an amazing channel for lead generation.
If possible… make sure your agency is active on all major social media sites.
Even if you don’t actively promote your business there, just being present will increase your exposure and lead flow.
Use Webinars
Webinars are very powerful. They can drastically improve the lead flow in your business. Here are 10 reasons why:
Reason #1: People love to learn new things. If you offer useful, unique information people will be eager to share that info with others.
Reason #2: People will pay to have you reveal this type of useful, unique information. You’ll be surprised at how many people will pay to get the special secrets you have to share.
Reason #3: When people are paying to get the info, they’re much more likely to give you their contact details.
Reason #4: The more people who give you their contact details the easier it will be for you to get in touch with them.
Reason #5: This makes your job of getting to know these people and creating a profitable relationship much easier.
Reason #6:When you have their contact details, you can use various marketing techniques to get in touch with them. The better the quality of the contact details you have, the more effective those techniques will be.
Reason #7: If you do a good enough job, many of these people will end up buying from you. This has multiple benefits for you. One is you won’t have to guess what people want to buy. You’ll know because they’ll tell you. Another is you’ll have a ready made inventory of products you can sell to them. Another is you’ll have created a lead which you can convert to a sale at a future date.
Reason #8: You’ll have the satisfaction of having provided useful, unique information which helped someone increase their bottom-line.
Reason #9: People will remember you. They’ll think of you the next time they need something like the free advice you gave them..Meanwhile, you’ll have created a positive impression which will serve you well when you do need their help again.
Reason #10: You’ll get a lot of “warm fuzzies” from helping people. Especially when you do it in a non-commercial way. It feels good to make people’s lives better doesn’t it?
Client Referrals
One of the easiest ways to get new clients is to ask your current ones for referrals.
This is especially true if your clients are happy with your work and feel you’ve earned a little bit of loyalty from them.
Loyalty is one of the most underrated yet powerful weapons in your lead generation arsenal. Use it or lose it.
Have you ever heard the old saying, “It takes about 7-to-14-days to create a reputation”?
That’s true. But, once your reputation is created, it can remain effective for years.
Your clients will tell others about your work and, over time, those references will multiply.
And, as those clients share their success with their friends and colleagues, word will spread like wildfire.
It’s amazing what a snowball effect this can have on your business.
If you haven’t already done so, start thinking about how you can capture and increase the value your clients are getting from you.
Testimonials
Another way to get new clients is to ask your current ones for testimonials.
This is a great way to make sure you’re not asking for something your clients are too embarrassed to tell you.
They won’t lie to you. But, they might downplay or gloss over the positives and overemphasize or understate the negatives.
So, you’ll at least have a clear picture of the situation.
And, you’ll be able to adjust your pitch accordingly.
For example, if your client says your work has been outstanding and has resulted in an enormous increase in sales, you won’t ask for a testimonial; you’ll simply thank him for the compliment and move on to the next thing.
If, on the other hand, he says your work has been less than stellar, you’ll thank him for the compliment and ask what you could do to improve.
You may be surprised at what positive response you’ll get.
Networking Groups
Another source of leads is networking groups.
Many entrepreneurs join these groups with the express purpose of finding other entrepreneurs with whom they can share ideas, techniques and, perhaps, even clients.
Look for local, national and international groups. And, don’t limit yourself to those with a specific focus.
Just because a group is devoted to direct marketing doesn’t mean it can’t be useful to you.
On the contrary, most of these groups are chock full of people who have great ideas and are eager to share them with others.
Most networking groups have an online component. If they don’t, create your own discussion board.
Make it available to all members.
Post a new message every week or two.
In that message, tell everyone about something you did to generate leads or move your business forward.
The more you share, the more you’ll gain.
Partner With Other Agencies
Sometimes, it makes sense for two agencies to work together rather than individually.
For example, if one agency is great at writing copy but lacks other skills, it might make sense for that agency to work with another agency which has those other skills.
Agree upfront on what specific services each of you will provide and on what specific tasks each of you will perform.
Then, simply discuss and decide on the projects as they come up. You both win.
You both get the job done and you both advance your individual careers.
The more people you have working on your behalf, the more leads you’ll generate.
Offer Free Consultations
Offer free consultations. Tell your clients you’re doing it as a public service.
Tell them you’ll be happy to help them however you can even if it’s just giving them advice over the phone.
Don’t get too creative here. The idea is to generate leads. Not make an art project out of finding those leads.
If you do this right, you’ll find yourself with an endless supply of new, qualified leads.
Not everyone who requests a consultation is a potential client. Sometimes a friend or family member is merely curious about your business and wants to hear your side of the story.
That’s okay.
At the least, you’ll meet some new people, gain some new insights and maybe even learn something new about yourself.
Conclusion
There are many other ways to generate leads. These ideas should get you off and running.
Do whatever works best for you. But make sure you at least test a few of these techniques.
Sooner or later, you’re going to have to start generating leads if you want to keep growing your business.
Otherwise, you’ll become stagnant. Your clients will grow weary of working with you.
They won’t be as responsive to your calls for new business.
They’ll stop telling you about new sales opportunities. And, they’ll stop sending you their hard-earned money.
Stagnation is death for any marketing agency.
So, don’t let it happen to you.
Do something. Anything.
Good luck in your business!
