Incredibly, the UK’s world beating creative sector contributes £13M every hour to the economy. Yet, so many creative businesses and agencies still struggle to find consistent sales and growth. How can creatives rapidly grow their business?

A lot of creative agencies are unable to find regular and steady sales. They can achieve some short-term wins but then often get distracted whilst delivering those projects, only to find at the end of the process they haven’t got any new work.

Or, they try to do all of the selling themselves but instead find they get bogged down and distracted by the day-to-day running of their business. Many agencies focus heavily on the creative side and less on the sales side. Creatives, then, have a big problem with growth.

It needn’t be like this. There is a New Way, for New Business.

As we begin a new business year are there things that your agency could be doing to finally grow in a meaningful way?

It’s a challenge for small agencies to access the breadth of specialist skills required. Arguably, the perfect skills model doesn’t exist in-house for agencies with 50 or less staff. These are the reasons The Client Key have developed A New Way, for New Business.

The new way is proven, simple, lean and cost effective. The skill set of a full team, for less than the expense of an old school sales director. So you get experience, knowledge and expert skills across each core sales function. We are specialists within the creative agency sector. The Client Key helps you ‘uber-ise’ new business in your agency. Eg, faster, better, cheaper and with results that deliver sales.

If any of this resonates with you then please do get in touch. We’ll be running Rapid Growth workshops throughout January to help small agencies thrive in 2023. We’d love to hear from you.

The post The real reasons your agency is not growing fast enough. appeared first on The Client Key.

Yes there are some short term challenges in terms of Covid restrictions but they won’t be there forever.

The barriers to entry are lower than ever before and agencies can open in new markets with minimal costs and time investment. In this article we are going to look at some of the ways we can support your agency internationally, helping you establish new clients and setting up offices in international locations.  

Understanding your market: Picking the right market is critical. There is no point trying to be in several locations at the same time, unless you have the size and scale to make this a reality. It is better to understand and focus on one market first. 

Focus on the Mega Projects: There are a huge number of mega projects in the world that drive business for creative agencies. Whether it’s sporting events such as The World Cup or cultural events such as Expo 2020. I visited Expo last week for a client and the sheer scale of creativity is incredible. Many of our clients have won business in the preceding years running up to these events. The next World Cup and Expo are already being planned. What could your agency do to target business in these (and other) mega projects? 

Cultural Differences: Each market has it’s own specific differences and nuances that must be understood. Winning business in New York or North America is a very different process to doing it in Dubai or The Gulf! Spending time getting up to speed on the sensitivities and cultural details will stand you in good stead. Things don’t happen overnight either. A long term and patient approach is required, which takes a committed board or agency owner(s) to see things through. 

Growth plan: When going into any new market you will need a clear plan for growth. What are the steps you need to take to secure business? How can you do it in an effective and lean way? Most SME creative agencies do not have FTSE 100 budgets when it comes to international expansion! I have watched many agencies burn through 2 years worth of business class travel, to China for example, with precisely zero to show for it at the end. Getting bang for your buck and spending carefully is essential. 

Foundation clients: Ideally, having 2-3 foundation clients can help provide a springboard into new markets. Those can usually be won from base camp – before you take the plunge and invest significant sums in travel and a new office. This is a very effective strategy that has worked for lots of our agencies. 

On the ground network: Build your on the ground network as quickly as you can. Get to know the key players and major prospects in a specific city you may be targeting. There are lots of resources via British Embassy teams and the DIT (Department for International Trade). There is a well developed infrastructure on the ground, all over the world, to help you. Tap into those services and get to know people locally. 

Office: This will probably be the final stage in the process, taking the plunge and opening an office. It may take a while to get to this point, if you build up business and your client roster beforehand. Being able to say “we have an office here” or “we’re about to open an office here” is a very powerful signal to prospective clients and it goes down very well. A satellite office with a simple presence can often be enough to start with.   

In summary, there has never been a better time for SME’s and agencies to expand abroad. The technology is there to support you and there are less barriers to overcome. The political and economic link between many countries and the UK are a major focus on government agendas. Markets such as North America, The Middle East and The Far East are all very hot for creative companies.  

The UK creative sector is revered around the globe. Whether in music, arts, fashion, film, events or createtech it’s one of the things we do best. Now is the time to take your creativity out there to the world!  

Rob King – The Client key: A new way, for new business 

The post Agencies Going Global: Now is the time. appeared first on The Client Key.

You might not know it yet (or be willing to face the reality?) but there is only one thing that is going to keep your business moving forward and that is Growth. In simple terms change or die. Or rather, in today’s hyper competitive landscape, grow or die.

So, just how do you grow creative businesses in the most efficient way? How do you really move the needle? And, crucially, how do you do it in the most efficient way and over what time frame?

There are many different ways to answer these questions but in my view there are only 5 main ways to grow creative agencies. So let’s have a look at them and evaluate each in a bit more detail:

1) Organically: Short to medium term

Organic growth. Has there ever been a nicer way of saying we’re lazy and haven’t bothered to do much? “Organic growth” sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Yet, when I hear people talk about organic growth I think lack of a plan, and disinterest in a clear new business strategy. I’m usually right! Yes you may attract new clients and pick up pieces of business but it is not going to deliver you long term sustainable growth.

2) Business Development campaigns: long term thinking

A well planned and strategic new business campaign can transform your business. Agencies who run effective sales and new business strategies, aligned with a clear and unique proposition, are the ones that really thrive. Taking in marketing and product strategies they are able to clearly connect with their client base, have higher pitch wins and as a result grow quickly, outperforming the competition. Now it’s getting interesting!

3) New Products & New Services: innovation

Launching a new product to steal a slice of the market is a brilliant way to grow. If you’ve spotted something that no one else has, congrats! But how fast can you move? How quickly can you get it out there to maintain first mover advantage? (hint, see number 2 for an effective plan!)

4) Major Investment: team & resources

With major investment comes the luxury of resource. The luxury to be able to spend your way to growth, should you so desire. But how best to spend such privileges? Use your riches wisely – do you have a plan and moreover can you implement it? Buyer beware!

5) Acquisitions & Strategic partnerships: fast track growth

Spending your way to growth can be a fast track way to add turnover (and hopefully profit), client base and capacity in a relatively short space of time. If you can find the right company at the right price (and have the required means) then this can be a very effective way to grow your agency. Acquisitions of course come with their own challenges but that’s down to your skill as an entrepreneur to effectively integrate and align the newly joined businesses. Partnerships and alliances can also work well but are rarely the golden ticket they’re often made out to be.

So, in conclusion you can try and shortcut your way to growth. You may have some been told about some new biz “hacks” that promise to deliver the client dollars. Perhaps you believe the ‘win without pitching’ hype which is, largely, something of a fallacy. Or maybe you’re just happy to wait for the phone to ring?

In reality new business has to be at the very core of your agency, the life blood from which it feeds. There needs to be a holistic approach to client engagement that understands how you succeed, add value through your work and grow alongside your clients. If there is not then you have a major problem.

Too many creatives make the mistake of only focussing on their product and creative output. The truly great agencies understand that clients (aka new business) and creative output go hand in hand. These are the ones that really thrive and excel. They focus on prioritising both things equally and don’t just focus on delivering great creative work.

This is the key to long term agency success and sustainable growth of your business.

The post The only five ways to grow your agency. appeared first on The Client Key.