10 ways agencies can return to growth in a difficult market

I was starting to think that the algorithmic echo chamber was getting the better of me, but it seems that it's not just an outpouring of venting on LinkedIn. This market kind of sucks. It is a rare tale to hear of an agency of any specialty that has not undergone some level of workforce reduction in the last 24 months, with some of them radically transforming or going under completely. I’ve been on SOS calls from colleagues and acquaintances who agree that we are collectively getting a little bit roughed up. Most businesses go through expansion and contraction. It is the natural state of the universe. While stories of positive growth in key metrics over time certainly do exist, I don’t know how much we can learn from them. Unicorns are boring, and if you already solved the game, you probably aren’t reading Ad Age. See Ad Age’s 2024 Breakout Brand Leaders and Work here If you are one of the many of us working through a rebound game, here are 10 tips to help draft your playbook—along with words of encouragement to be the architect of your turnaround. Acknowledge that times have changed Maybe it was your fault. Maybe it was unavoidable. It doesn’t really matter. If you’re looking at the data and seeing a downward trend without a legitimate trigger for a near-term rebound, you are in a transformation state. Cut cost. Cut cost. Cut cost. Work to define the minimum viable working model to service your existing clients and strip everything else away. Even before you have your rebound plan, time is the most precious asset you can procure, and time is most certainly money. Consider forging alliances or taking on partners Not everybody is struggling, and there may be unique attributes to your businesses that are attractive to a strategic investor or business partner. This is another way to solve the time/money conundrum. Sometimes, often many times, there is strength in numbers. Design short-view propositions Are there trends in your buyer profiles or scenarios? Are there services you offer that seem to align with unique, near-term customer needs? Be a data hound and see what you can learn about what people are buying today. Hit the phones. Test propositions with actual and prospective customers Market insights are your friend, and enough people will be generous with their time that you can bring back some signals that your short-term plan is heading in the right direction. Before you do that, make sure your deck, website and case study content look great. You don’t want poor storytelling muddling the strength of your strategy. Resist the urge to create a grand repositioning or redesign Those are longer-term, high-risk, high-reward moves, and they also take a lot of time to execute well. Your current task is to stabilize and get back to positive cash flow. Your survival likely relies on existing clients Your best source of revenue (not to mention referrals) will always be existing clients. Over-deliver, over-communicate and focus on building relationships. Tell clients how much you value their business. A-List & Creativity Awards Enter for a chance to be recognized as the best in advertising Submit your entry here Put your head down and execute Rise and grind time. Stay focused and dedicated to your lead generation or networking plan. Be creative about balancing existing work with marketing and sales. Work smarter and harder. … but don’t burn out Set priorities and be mindful about what role you want your business to play in your life. What you are trying to do is hard, and high performers in any field find balance. Exercise. Eat healthy. Take care of your relationships and the things outside of work that bring you joy. Assuming you can pull off the above and are starting to see meaningful signals of the rebound you designed: Consider a deeper transformation or evolution Now is the time to find a momentary pause to read the signals on where the market is going. Develop a grasp on the ownable white space, assess your current positioning or plan a new one and think about a value proposition and offers that might lead you to evolve your story. You should be mindful that today’s market may be an anomaly, and you may not necessarily have it wrong. But you also should be mindful that the culture and technology are indeed evolving, and strategic change may be your best avenue for longer-term growth. There will be inspiring and awesome comeback stories that come out of the coming months and years, and more likely than not, they’ll all look a little different. Keep up a positive mental attitude and, given some of the recent darkness on the geopolitical landscape, try to rise above the pressure. Remind yourself what a privilege it is to work within this beautiful and challenging business. Now, back to work. NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today

10 ways agencies can return to growth in a difficult market

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