How To Scale A Digital Marketing Agency In the USA

Running a digital agency is tough – hands down! And a touchy topic for marketers too!

From the hiring, selling, accounting, marketing, and building process – a digital agency comes with a whole host of moving parts. And, of course, you also need to shower attention and bring results for your clients, or it won’t take much for them to move on. 

Well, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

If you’re trying to scale or grow your digital agency, you are adding even more to your loaded plate. Not to mention the pain that comes with it. 

By no means are we saying that small-scale digital businesses cannot grow into brands? But to grow and climb the ladder of success, a digital agency will face several challenges that can make your efforts fall to pieces.

But as long as you take the right steps and are prepared to know how to scale a digital marketing agency in the USA, even the smallest businesses can prosper into reputable brands. 

Lucky for you, we’ve put together 5 tactics and strategies to help scale and grow your digital agency in the USA with less hassle. 

But first, we will understand why most digital agencies fail to scale their business effectively. 

Why It’s Hard To Scale A Digital Marketing Agency?

Obviously, some businesses are hard to scale. Once they hit the ceiling, they become bloated rather than growing into a bigger brand. 

For instance, it is always tricky to maintain the right balance between staff and clients. Certainly, notice periods and minimum contracts can be your safety net – but they are in no way foolproof. Agencies always have a floating risk of multiple clients saying goodbye at the same time – leaving you overstaffed and underfunded.

 Well, there is a reverse side too!

It’s really hard to say “no” to new businesses, especially when you are trying to scale. But the results? Soon you’ll find that you’ve got too much on your plate without the required manpower, and you’ll struggle to keep up the flow. Also, if the profit margin is below average (generally between 11% and 20%), makes it you more vulnerable.   

But if you want more from your agency than just paying the bills, we will show you how to scale a digital marketing agency efficiently.

Optimize Your Process & Workflow 

This is the part where most marketing agencies fall short.

Before you even take a step to learn how to scale a digital marketing agency, stop and know about your business processes.  

The most important step is optimizing your existing process.

Anytime you feel that you are struggling and bustling to meet deadlines, take your time to optimize your current processes and workflows for efficiency. From acquisition and onboarding to campaign tracking – outline every step of your process. 

Roll here, and you will witness the benefits:

• Consider what processes are already in place
• Go through individual departments and check 
• Check whether the processes are good or do they need upgrading.
• Is there any scope for improvements?
• Are there any areas of your business where there is no process?

Note a list of things you need to work on, then handle it based on priority, and accordingly, make a plan.

Scale Your Service Offering

The next crucial step in growing your digital marketing agency from a small business to a brand is scaling your service. For some businesses, it would mean turning into a full-time professional firm rather than an agency that offers niche services.

Well, this doesn’t imply that you have to offer something that is completely out of your niche.

Rather, provide services that complement each other so that your clients don’t have to hover over different agencies for the same campaign. This will save them a lot of time, money, and effort – and, obviously, improve your reputation.

Increase Your Prices 

One of the quickest ways to grow your digital agency and make more money is by charging more. Simple! This is highly essential, especially if you’re going to invest in tools that will help you scale.

Often newer agencies are not comfortable and are reluctant to increase their charges for fear of losing their client, and in a way, they are right. 

This tactic to scale your marketing agency may indeed result in lost clients – but it’s temporary. Long-term higher prices mean better quality clients and higher profit margins.

Once you’ve ironed out your process and have taken a good look at the value you offer to your customer, you shouldn’t be feeling bad about increasing your prices. Additionally, it will take off the pressure a little as you won’t struggle to manage too many clients.

Needless to say, this will help your digital marketing agency grow better.

Improve Your Tool Stack

Will your current set of tools and software be able to handle added customers? Before you onboard any customer, you must analyze your tech and tool stack. 

Go through each piece of tool and use it to check whether you really need it. This will not only help you understand what to streamline but also help you save a lot of money by canceling software that is of no use to your business. 

Also, rather than using multiple tools, it’s far easier and more efficient to use work on one platform than to try to make different platforms work together.

For instance, with Vaizle’s social media tool, you can manage, check and keep yourself and your team updated about the hot talks of your interest, keep an eye on your competitors, and review their marketing and content strategy. 

The results?

You save a lot of time and frustration. Additionally, your business runs smoothly, and you get the insights to grow your digital agency effectively.

Plan and Push For Growth

This one goes without saying, isn’t it?

But planning for growth goes deeper than just thinking about marketing, customer acquisition and retention. 

Planning for growth entails figuring out precisely what you’ll need and when you will need it. And once you have the building blocks in place, the next step is to start pushing for growth – and this is how you do it: 

• Look for the most successful marketing channel and invest in it.
• Push for referrals.
• Partner with other agencies that provide the service that you don’t.

Mentioned above are just a few of the ways to undertake digital marketing agency growth. But every business is unique, and so are its problems. Take your time to study your digital marketing agency and then take steps to scale it effectively. 

Final Thoughts 

That’s our guide on how to grow a digital marketing agency and scale it effortlessly. Again, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but you must try and see what works for your agency. A lot of preparation and organization are required. But above all, consistency is key. Focus on what matters rather than wasting your time on reporting. Also, automation is essential!

Hope you find this write-up helpful! Thanks for reading!