Peter Levitan & Co.

The New Business of Advertising

Marketing

How Do Clients Find Your Advertising Agency?

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How Do Clients Find Your Advertising Agency?

Let’s start with some defining and extremely important questions that you should be asking at least twice a year. OK, every month. In this case, I am aiming these questions at your advertising agency website.

  • How do potential clients find you? What was the path?
  • When they found your website, what did they look at?
  • What percentage of your visitors contacted you?
  • What percentage made some other actions like signing up for a newsletter or downloading a white paper?
  • Are you happy? Are the right clients making contact? Need to make adjustments? What’s your success metric?

Let’s break these down a bit.

How do potential clients find you?

First, let’s get referrals out of the way. Advertising agency business development research has indicated that referrals can account for over 80% of agency new client inquiries. While I love referrals and have written about the importance of having a documented active referral strategy, there is no question that referrals have become the default new business attractor because most agencies are not doing a stellar in or outbound sales job. Referrals then must drive the majority of leads. Not that there is anything wrong with referrals. They work. But, they can be a bit random.

The easiest way to determine how prospects found you is to ask them. Of course, many people will have forgotten their first intro to your world. They simply forgot or they used multiple ways in including a search, your LinkedIn page, that conference you spoke at, your tennis buddy, etc. But always ask this question – quickly before you get lost in sales speak.

Second, in respect to your website, use your Google or WordPress analytics to see where they came from. On Wednesday, 30 April, my individual visitors came to me via Google 116; direct 47 (where a user probably entered the URL); LinkedIn 5 and Bing 1 and other 9.

These numbers suggest that my content-oriented inbound sales strategy is working. Most people find me on Google because I have dedicated the past five years to writing over six hundred blog posts on the specific subject of advertising agency new business.

What did they look at? Did you help them get to the good stuff? Do you have a funneling plan?

Using Google and WordPress analytics, I know exactly what people are looking at on this website. Obviously, since my blog is so focused on one subject, my visitors are looking at my posts about ad agency business development. I mix this up occasionally by promoting edgier posts, like Gary Vaynerchuck Is Full Of Shit. But, the bottom line is that I am slavish to one subject. Frankly, most agencies have some trouble with being this focused and keyword conscious. It would also help if they had a focused positioning. Here are some thoughts on that rather important goal.

The typical advertising and communications agency website has a defining Home Page; an About page; Our Work; News or a Blog and a contact page. Is there a flow you want the visitor to take? A place you want them to end up? Are you funneling them towards an action? If they get lost or bail, are you tracking your exit pages?

If you are a B2B marketer, and that folks, is what an ad agency business development program is, you need to funnel the visitor to your contact page. Or, at least, have them ask for something like that brilliant white paper on a subject that supports your agency positioning and sales proposition. I build my mailing list via an offer of this paper: “22 Ways To Run A Highly Profitable Agency”. I admit that it comes to you via an ugly home page pop up. But, again, hey, it works.

What percentage contacted you and what’s your success metric?

Do the basic math. How well do you convert your visitors into sales prospects? Frankly, when I look at the number of visitors I get every day, I could get worried that I am not converting as many as I should. However, here is what I know:

First, I give a lot of information and insights away for free. Many agencies tell me that they often get all they can eat just by reading my stuff. This drives good vibes.

Second, I know that my sales cycle takes a long time. Many of my clients tell me that they have been reading my stuff for over a year. It takes most advertising agencies a long time to admit that they need business development advice.

Third, I am meeting my personal sales goals. Sure, I could dial up my website. But, it works. I am a lone ranger consultant. Given your agency’s overhead, you should be way focused on delivering a website experience that drives a high volume of the right leads.

What is your success metric? Without a metric, you will never know that your website is working.

So, give me a shout. Maybe its time for you to get some outside expert advice.

 

Wowzer Content Marketing & How To Own TripAdvisor

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Content Marketing Delivers London’s #1 Restaurant

This week, please watch this crazy video from Vice. Content marketing at its finest or, maybe, worst. Funny and scary.

Nonetheless, wowzer!

BIG QUESTION… If this guy can market (ok, with a bit of cheek) his way to number one, why can’t you market your agency to be perceived as number one?

(By the way… did you watch last week’s L2 video?)

A Marketing Email Program With Personality

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Yup, Your Marketing Email Program Can Have Personality

Me-Too is bad. Different is good. Boring is bad. Personality is good. Here are some ideas about building a marketing email program that works harder by delivering some cool personality. For your readers and for your advertising agency.

 

How many marketing or information emails do you get? I get a lot. To be clear, I am talking about both direct marketing emails (the unsolicited kind) and email newsletters that I have subscribed to. In both cases, I am a hell of a lot more interested if the email has some personality. Most don’t. This brings me to The Hustle.

Hustle On Brothers and Sisters

Below is the copy of a “Thank You For Subscribing” email that I got from the HUSTLE. As the Hustlers say:

Your smart, good looking friend that sends you an email each morning with all the tech and business news you need to know for the day.

I urge you to go through the entire sign-up process to see how these guys use personality to stand out and make love to you (don’t worry, it is easy.)

The full email.

 

 

email marketing

Want More Of Not Boring? AKA A Marketing Email Program With Personality…

The HUSTLE doesn’t stop at just sending you your daily email. They want you to refer friends.  Below, again, is what their website page looks like after you’ve subscribed. The copy is below the image.

A question, do you add a refer your friends’ message to your agency emails? You should. Note how the Hustle even promotes/incites/entices you to tell your friends… That’s what we call asking for referrals.

OK, before I leave you, my point is that even a simple email system can have personality.

Be not bland my friends. Be active. 

The above website referral page copy:

I used to read the news, but let’s be honest: that crap is dry and you only read it because you feel kinda like you should if you want to be a “good” adult. If you want a quick, blah-blah-blah sounding scoop on big world news today, your robot pal Alexa or the New York Times app can do that for you in a jiffy. But for a daily news email that’s funnier, punnier, less political, more relevant, and 200% guaranteed to make you sound more interesting at dinner parties and/or during Tinder dates, you HAVE to get on board with The Hustle. Like, now. Sign up today and tell me I’m right tomorrow.

Hey, want to hear more about advertising agency email marketing? From someone who started an email program in 1996 – yes, 1996. And, used it to get clients like Nike, Nabisco, and Radiohead.

Don’t be shy…

The Biggest Content Marketing Secret

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And Ladies and Gentlemen…. The Biggest Content Marketing Secret

images secretReady, set, go. Shh… Here is the big content marketing secret to delivering brilliant insights, mucho content and a simple way of making you look real smart.

Creating relevant content every week is a bitch for small and medium sized advertising, digital, PR and whateva agencies. The hard part isn’t ‘relevant’, the hard part is doing it consistently.

The Secret

Interview the right, smart, eloquent people that can riff on tight subjets for 15 to 60 minutes. OK, 60 is too much cause you’ll have to edit it.

Do the interview on the telephone, via text-based questions or on Skype (or other Internet conversation platforms). Record the calls. Then, head over to Rev and have them transcribe the audio – overnight.

Easy, right? Yup!

I’ve done dozens of interviews for this blog, for my book (see above) and in guest posts.

Google loves SEO optimized content. Interviews rock.

Then… Amplify It

Every insight / AHA! blog or whatever post must be amplified via one or more of the following (I amplify everything.) I use the Rule of Five – amplify everything at least five ways. Here are some ideas.:

  • On your site in a very simple resources page or blog
  • To your current and past clients
  • To your lists as part of your email newsletter
  • In white papers
  • On LinkedIn to your ‘growing’ Followers
  • To your Facebook Followers
  • On Twitter (yes, it still works and can be used for targeting your competitor’s followers)
  • SlideShare (an underused platform)
  • Commenting (presence on LinkedIn Groups and big blogs)
  • Guest posting (seriously borrowed reach)
  • Your zine
  • And, on…

Need content (and who doesn’t?) Go forth and interview people.

Oh, I get interviewed too.

Here from Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels Of Separation (a master interview website /podcast):

SPOS #569 – The Relevance Of Marketing Agencies With Peter Levitan

3 Ad Agency Websites That Work

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Inspiration: 3 Ad Agency Websites That Work

Screen Shot 2017-03-14 at 4.35.20 PMYes, another post on ad agency websites. This time I am writing about three very different approaches. All work. How do I know this? These agency sites deliver via unique approaches at a time when many agency websites act more like a ‘me-too’ non-sales oriented brochure. To start, here are some of my key website success points.

You will only get 8 seconds of a prospect’s attention. So, state your reason for being — fast.

That means, KISS — Keep It Simple Stupid.

Walk your talk.

Help me to want to meet you.

Try to look and sound different. The sameness of agency website messaging, look and attitude is distressing.

Your website is a sales tool. Worth repeating. It is a sales tool.

Use video to tell your story.

If you dig social, then deliver some highly targeted thought leadership. Provide more substance than a ‘me-too’ agency blog.

Entice a prospect to contact you. Friendly sales works.

The 3 Agency Websites.

1. HawkSEM

 

Screen Shot 2017-03-14 at 2.50.46 PMHawkSEM is a digital / PPC marketing specialist based in L.A.

Here is why I dig the HawkSEM website.

  • Slavish devotion to the agency’s Results / ROI positioning. That means their messaging supports their stance. As in: “No BS, just Results. Average Clients see a 4.5x ROI”
  • The positioning is client focussed.
  • Massive use of videos. Mucho people to watch on this site.
  • Sexy client list plus relevent cases plus video testimonials.
  • Very serious Google endorsement.
  • They ask for the order via simple offer… “Request a free consultation.” Not just the usual, all too usual, “Contact Us.”

This approach makes them successful.

2. Wise Branding Group

Screen Shot 2017-03-14 at 3.43.06 PMI’d never heard of Betsey Wise until I read her right-on quote in Ad Age’s “Agency Nostalgia Hits SXSW.” See what I mean (as in, this must be the dream of every employee working at WPP or Publicis):

“And this is what’s wrong with the agency model,” said Betsy Wise, CCO of her own branding group. “Too many people in a meeting, and not enough getting done.”

Ms. Wise was just joking about the room too full for her to even enter, but she was also kind of serious. She was there to talk about what agency workers can do to overcome the waning influence of their industry. She used to be in it, until she started her own company, and now sets her own hours.

“I’m working 30 hours a week, and I’ve easily doubled my salary, maybe tripled,” Ms. Wise said.”

Here is why I dig the Wise Branding Group website:

  • Super clean design.
  • The site’s navigation elements are the graphics / the graphics are the navigation.
  • Who We Are. / What We Do. / What We Believe? / Who We Serve / What We Are Up To.  Is kinda all you really need to know.
  • I like the copy and its tone.

More? Could Wise add more stuff? Sure and it might help. Or, um, distract.

3. Joan.

Screen Shot 2017-03-14 at 4.13.11 PMMore women. I am only saying this because Joan. celebrates women. Especially women named Joan. Need rationale?

“Throughout history, various Joans have shown up on the scene and completely changed the landscape — from rock and roll, to comedy, to helping put a new face on the protest movement of the 60s, and of course, to our favorite Joan, who triumphed on the French battlefields. These Joans knew that the combination of talent, ambition, curiosity, imagination, an eternal work ethic and a completely irregular perspective from the norm would allow them to question, challenge and change.

We take inspiration from these incredible women. And we hope to do some good in their name.”

Here is why I dig the Joan. website:

  • The name is intriguing.
  • The founders are named Lisa and Jaime.
  • Interesting, non-standard-resumes: “What happens when one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and Refinery29’s former COO start an agency?” And leadership positions at Widen + Kennedy and Pereira & O’Dell and Ogilvy and Mather, Saatchi and Saatchi, BBH NY and Fallon.
  • Sweet, diverse client list that includes: General Mills, Unilever, Jack Daniels, Coca-Cola, and Intel.
  • Joan. walks the talk. They are establishing: “The Joan Foundation for Diversity in Advertising.”

Ok, I admit it. Much of what I dig is Joans.’s straight forward approach to all of the reasons I’d give them a call. The site is tight.