Hello, how are you?
We all dream of starting our own Marketing agency someday.
But, you know it is easier said than done.
What if I tell you, I can help you get started with this dream of yours!
Well, to be honest, I am fortunate to be part of DDIP as a result I have access to some awesome knowledge.
Therefore I want to share that knowledge with you!
What will you learn?
Table of Contents
What services to offer?
There are a ton of services that you can offer to your clients. But you will be an expert in some of them.
In a country like India, where the customers are not mature they expect 360 services!
Right from
- Social Media Marketing.
- Copy Writing
- SEO
- Graphics designing
- Video Marketing
- Face advertising
- Email Marketing
If you are new to Digital Marketing, it is better to Keep It Simple by offering
- Social Media Marketing
- Graphic Designing using Canva
Narrow down on the Niche
Selecting a niche is critical. A niche can be something you’re passionate about or a skill in which you’ve experienced.
Niche selection can be done with the help of your friends, family, or google!
In order to find your niche, you need to know three things –
- Do you have a specific skill?
- Are you passionate about it?
- Does there exists a market for your skill?
If the answer is yes to the 3 questions, then the niche is for you!
Although it is alright if you are not sure about your niche! Your primary focus should be on getting your first client.
I will be discussing how to get your client in the subsequent section.
Research your competition
You should learn from your competitor but never copy! Copy and you Die!
Jack Ma
If you want to set up a successful marketing agency or a business, thereby it is necessary to know what your competitor is doing?
The basic and foremost aspect to consider is to make a list of all the competitors in your area.
Next would be to research the services provided by them. This will give you a good idea of pricing your services as per the market around you.
Finally, you come up with a list of services that are not being provided by your competitor. To summarize the idea is to identify the chink in the armor of your competitor and use them to your advantage.
Above all please understand that there is a fine line between researching and blatantly copying your competitor.
Please don’t commit such a mistake!
Business Model of your Marketing Agency!
The business model refers to a company’s plan for making a profit. It identifies the products or services the business plans to sell, its identified target market, and any anticipated expenses.
Models generally include information like products or services the business plans to sell, target markets, and any anticipated expenses.
Therefore having a business model in place for your agency will be beneficial.
For starters, you can base your model on one of the following models –
- Pay per hour
- Monthly retainer
- Percentage on Ad spend
If you are a beginner, usually the best option will be to opt for a monthly retainer.
Consequently, it will ensure your agency will have a steady cash flow.
Launching your Marketing Agency website
Ask yourself which is the extensive testimony of your business existing in the digital era?
Simple…
A website!!
It is similar to announcing to the world about your existence in the market. Although having your business’s social media pages may also work.
In comparison to pages, a website is a gateway to your business and gets into the minds of your prospects!
If you are a beginner and need help with setting up your website, you can follow my guide here.
Getting First Client for your marketing agency
I can see you have stuck around…
Here comes the reward.
Inner Circle
If you have understood all the above steps, the next would be to create a short video of yourself describing your agency’s services.
To begin with, the main purpose of this video is to attract the inner circle ie your friends and family.
Middle Circle
In addition to the above step, create a list of businesses owned by your friends and family.
Furthermore, ask your friends and family if there is anybody who runs a business and may make use of your services.
Last Circle
Now comes the interesting part: if you could not get any leads from your first circle, there is no need to worry.
Go to any JustDial like platforms, search the top listing for your niche. These top listings are the ones who are facing some kind of challenge in their business, that is why there are using such platforms for acquiring traffic.
Compile the list into an excel sheet and segregate them as per your wish.
Next will be to create a local alliance with some vendor or supplier. As these vendors and suppliers have a pretty big network getting access to them gives you and your agency access to their customers.
You can offer to create a website for these vendors/suppliers for free and some percentage in return for a solid reference. In this way will have a sales guy working for you!
This is how your list looks like –
- Friends and Family – Inner Circle
- Common connections – Middle Circle
- Online leads – Last Circle
Once you have the list of potential customers, it is time to present them with an analysis of their digital presence!
Find the weakness of their business, basically create an audit report.
Following will be useful in creating such an audit report –
Do they have a website?
If No, then explain to them the benefits of having a website.
If Yes, analyze the following pointers:
- Does the website have secured connection? ie https://
- How good is the page loading speed?
- Generate an SEO report card using free online tools.
- Check if they use google analytics?
- Compare their business with their competitors.
- Do a Facebook,Instagram and Google listing audit of their business.
- Check their online reputation, are there any negative reviews? take screenshots of such reviews.
- Check the business popularity in the area
What to check in Facbook audit?
- Check if business username is claimed or not?
- Are the DP and coverpage optimized?
- If they have a physical store, are the opening hours mentioned? or if they have a restaurant, is the menu updated?
- What is the reponse rate?
- Do they reply back to the reviews?
- Do they post branded content?
- How human is their platform?
- Do they follow any kind of content strategy?
What to check in Instagram audit?
- Is the website listed in the bio?
- What kind of hastags are used while posting?
- What kind of content is being posted?
- Is the content branded?
- Are the stories engaging enough?
What to check in Google listing audit?
- Is google map setup correctly for their business?
- Are they listed correctly?
- Are they on top of their reviews?
Now compile all this information into a report and send your target an email explaining the shortcoming you see in their business.
Note – All the above information is a brief encapsulation of a masterclass conducted by Mr. Sam Rathi.
Do you want to join the DDIP program? Get started by clicking here.
Thank you for the time you invested in reading this article in its entirety. It keeps me grounded and focused on delivering value to you as my reader.
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