My advice for digital marketing agencies...

I’m Glyn Hurll, a marketing specialist based on the south coast of England.

Anyone who knows me, will know I’m not always the biggest fan of digital agencies. Some (not all) I class as sharks — charging hugely inflated fees for offering consultancy that usually only back-up thoughts and ideas in-house teams have already shared with their employers. But for the some, who do have the best interests of other businesses in mind, below are my thoughts…

Here goes…

Do you generalise or specialise? One big question to ask yourselves.

You (yes you) want to be the best digital agency you can be. But the fast-moving landscapes of web development, rich content marketing, social and SEM are shunting you in all sorts of directions. Do you choose to specialise in one area… or should you generalise across the entire marketing landscape? The answer is not so simple unfortunately…

Exceeding in today’s digital world is tough. As an agency you have to be prepared to be the best version of you that you can be. Day in and day out most agencies mirror themselves to clients’ needs (what clients’ believe their needs to be, anyway). That’s increasingly demanding. Where’s your identity as an agency? Where’s the consultative practices of showing and telling — not just ‘fulfilling’.

Can you be a competent and professional organisation in every area of digital marketing?

Think about it…

Web development, full-funnel email, content marketing, SEM and Social. They all form part of an integrated digital strategy. And you need considerable skillsets to be and deliver the best. Many clients know it, too, and will make informed, evidence-driven decisions.

So the question is whether it’s possible to be a digital agency that covers every aspect of digital disruption. And the answer will most probably be different for everyone, depending on your staff and, of course, the needs of clients.

Specialise or generalise?

Being the best in a niche — SEM, for example — requires time, knowledge and bags of experience. But the potential pay-offs can be huge. When you have a reputation for being the best, the big clients (with big budgets) start to land on your doorstep.

Yet your new focus means letting go of other digital marketing competencies. Needs that your clients potentially require and are happy to pay for. Expertise that you know you can use to fend off many of your competitors. It’s a challenging and growing problem. Becoming more and more apparent by the day.

Today’s marketing gurus preach a fully integrated approach to transform marketing operations (and I agree). That means creating campaigns that are cohesive across web, social media and email as well as offline channels like print (if you’re into that sort of thing). But the question remains… is it possible to be an pro across all areas of digital marketing?

With the right team, knowledge and expertise — yes. And getting it right can be lucrative. But don’t be afraid to be consultative and challenge the status quo. Do not just deliver what your clients’ want, but what you know they need!

If you can deliver true marketing transformation — you’re ahead of the pack.

All the best,

Glyn Hurll