"I don't have time to market my agency" said The Marketing Agency Owner that Doesn't Value Marketing

Have you ever seen a dentist with rotten teeth?

Or a tailor in an poorly fitted suit?

It doesn't happen.

Yet, it's common place for marketing agencies to completely neglect their own marketing.

Before we dive into why... We need to align on the real problem here.

Yes, if you don't market your agency, you'll probably never grow - but more on that later.

The issue here is bigger than success or failure.

The Credibility Gap

It's a credibility issue.

When I first ran a version this article, over a year ago, Clair Heaviside - Founder of Manchester agency, Serotonin - commented:

"Marketing agencies who don’t have time for their own marketing don’t value marketing. And a marketing agency that doesn’t value marketing is probably not very good at marketing."

And, quite frankly, I couldn't have put it better myself.

As agencies, we have a duty to show that we believe in marketing, we trust in the process, we're interested in it and we experiment weekly... We need to show we're practitioners, not just theorists.

And we need to show it to ourselves, not just our clients.

Please understand though, I'm not here to shame agency owners... I'm a huge supporter of agency owners, and trust me...

I get it...

You're working seriously hard!

Keeping the team happy.

Trying to get them up to speed so they can take on serious client work.

Then keeping clients happy.

Then covering people who are ill or on hols.

Then looking after your kids who might just be starting school.

And probably having to walk the dog you bought for your family who promised you they'd walk them twice every day...

Whatever is on your plate... I know it's full.

And then I come along and have a go at you for not making time for marketing your agency...

It's literally the last thing you need right now.

Except here's the thing - this is exactly what you need to hear right now.

Saying you don't have time to market your agency isn't just a credibility issue, it's a business issue.

Why?

Because it won't get you new clients...

It won't help you grow.

It may even mean that your agency doesn't survive long term.

The Confidence Gap

Having heard this excuse:

'I just don't have time to market my own agency'

Probably over 250 times, I have figured out the real issue... And it has nothing to do with time.

Here's the thing about time...

We make time for things we deem important.

If your boiler breaks in Mid-January, and it will take 10 hours from your week to get it up and running again, I guarantee you'll find 10 hours (if you live in the UK anyway!).

So why don't we make time for our own marketing? And why don't we 'deem it to be important?'

Because we don't know what to do, and we don't think it will actually work...

We have no confidence in a system that we know will work... And whenever we have tried something, it hasn't worked instantly, which means we cut our efforts short before they've had a time to work.

Today, I'm not going to go into marketing systems that work (although I'll put some great resources below to help you with that).

Today is about 2 things:

1. Helping you know if you need to market more
2. Giving you the inspiration to start

So let's dive in...

The Danger Zone

Here's how you know if you have a marketing problem.

If over 50% of your leads or new business come from referrals.

Why is this a problem though? Aren't referrals just the best?

Yep, referrals are awesome... However, here's the thing:

• You can't guarantee the Quantity of referrals you receive
• You can't guarantee the Quality of referrals you receive

And to add a little spice to the situation... And I hate to bring up the recession again... What happens to referrals in an economic downturn?

They dry up.

So right now, think about your last 20 leads... Have over 10 of them come from referrals?

If so, you need to set-up more effective marketing systems this week.

It's really that simple...

To make up for the slightly shouty tone so far, I've got some good news for you.

Entering the top 1%

If you manage to effectively set-up marketing systems that bring you leads every single week and build your personal brand and your agency's brand, you are automatically ahead of 99% of all other agencies.

And I want to help you do this, so below here are a list of resources and links to help you get your marketing systems up and running and entering the top 1% of agencies...

These are the agencies that are still growing despite the economic situation - and I would love you to be one of them!

Build Your Agency's Marketing System Resources

Here are some of our best free resources to get your marketing from 0 to 100mph in the next 30 days... Enjoy :)

#1 - The Full Funnel Authority Building Blueprint

#2 - The Agency Q4 Playbook

#3 - The Agency Authority Content System

#4 - A Personalised 2024 Agency Growth Audit