Digital Marketing Agency Business Blog

How to be a good boss when you hate being a manager: 10 rules for agency owners

August 5, 2013 By Karl Sakas 3 Comments

Don't be Bill Lumbergh at your digital marketing agency One of my clients said he hates managing people. Another client said being a manager “feels gross”… yet she has several employees reporting to her.

If you ever feel like that, too, this advice will make your life easier—whether you have one freelancer or an entire team of employees and contractors.

Many of my agency-owner clients are “reluctant managers”—they never wanted to manage people. They started a digital marketing agency because they really liked doing marketing, design, or development—and suddenly they find themselves managing a team.

Like it or not, if you have people reporting to you, you’re a manager—you might as well make the most of it! Don’t be Bill Lumbergh from Office Space. Here’s how. [Read more…]

Opinion: What the Publicis Omnicom merger means for your digital marketing agency

July 28, 2013 By Karl Sakas 6 Comments

Karl Sakas, Founder & President, Sakas & Company

As the owner of a digital marketing agency, you’re probably wondering what the enormous Omnicom/Publicis merger means for you. The two companies announced today that they will merge to create a company worth $35 billion. If approved, this will put Publicis Omnicom Group ahead of WPP as the biggest advertising holding company in the world.

My typical client has between one and 25 employees and less than $10 million in revenue. This is a large business deal for the stock market, but what does this mean for you as the owner of an agency that doesn’t have 130,000 employees and $23 billion in revenue? It’s mostly neutral or good news for you.

What you should know as an agency owner

One of my first jobs was as a buy-side investment analyst, analyzing 400+ companies for a niche-market mutual fund company in New York. Let’s dig into my key takeaways here. [Read more…]

Secrets from the publisher and editor-in-chief: How to win regional business awards for your digital marketing agency

July 23, 2013 By Karl Sakas Leave a Comment

Win more business awards for your digital marketing agency — **Think like a journalist to win business awards:** have a hook, use the “inverted pyramid,” and make your application specific and short.

Tired of seeing a competitor win yet another business award from your local business newspaper? Wish you knew the secrets to getting business awards for your digital marketing agency, to help you get the attention of prospective clients?

Here’s how to do it at your agency, based on advice I got from the publisher, the editor-in-chief, and the research director at the Triangle Business Journal, a subsidiary of the biggest publisher of business journals in the U.S.

Winning starts with writing an above-average award application. In short, think like a journalist. Have a hook, and then keep it specific and short. [Read more…]

Answering your marketing agency questions: Is it time to fire a client?

July 9, 2013 By Karl Sakas Leave a Comment

Should you fire one of your marketing agency’s clients? That’s the question I’ll be answering today. I’m Karl Sakas, creative agency business consultant at AgencyFirebox.com.

Is the client annoying, unprofitable, or just a bad fit?

So the question is—you’ve got a client who’s annoying or unprofitable (or both). Maybe things aren’t working, or maybe you’re not a good match for them any more. And now you’re wondering—should you fire them? [Read more…]

How to say “no” to a client without burning bridges (aka, saying “yes” on your own terms)

July 3, 2013 By Karl Sakas Leave a Comment

Say NO to clients and you'll be a lot happier — Agency client service tip: You’ll be a lot happier once you learn to strategically say NO to clients.

What’s your #1 job as the owner of a marketing, web, or creative agency? Don’t go out of business. Your job as president, CEO, or partner isn’t about keeping clients happy—agency client service is about keeping clients profitable (happy, if possible, but profitable first).

Agency Client Service Problem: Saying “yes” to every client request

One of the fastest ways to make your agency go out of business is to say “yes” to every client request—or to let client-mandated timelines drive everything you do—at the cost of agency profitability.

Think about the last time you saw unpaid scope creep at the end of a project. When you calculated hours vs. collections and saw how low your effective hourly rate really was—that hurt, right?

So how do you actually do it? No one likes hearing “no,” so we dread doing it, and put it off, or never do it at all. How do you say “no” (or say “yes” on your own terms) without burning bridges?

The Solution: Say “yes” on your own terms, including saying “no” without burning bridges

My solution? Have phrases in your toolbox to deal with the most common issues. And make sure your agency client service team has the tools, too, so they don’t give away the store. [Read more…]

Find more free time while running your creative agency: 3 tips from my seminar for the TIMA marketing trade association

June 24, 2013 By Karl Sakas Leave a Comment

karl-sakas_speaking_facing-left_partial-length_hands-counting — Karl Sakas speaking on time management for marketing agency owners

Are you running in a million directions, getting interrupted all day with employees who need answers, and wondering how to find more free time while running your marketing agency?

It doesn’t have to be that way. I recently shared the solution as I led a lunch seminar for agency owners and executives at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, NC, for the Triangle Interactive Marketing Association (TIMA), a marketing trade association in the Raleigh area.

Three easy ways to find more free time while running your creative agency

From my experience as a business consultant to creative agency owners, I’ve identified three “low hanging fruit” ways to create more free time for the founder, CEO, or COO:

Delegate effectively
Set (and uphold) priorities
Say “yes” on your own terms, including saying “no” without burning bridges

You’ve got a team. Put them to work. Here’s how. [Read more…]

Fix your creative agency permanently, instead of using duct tape and WD-40

June 5, 2013 By Karl Sakas Leave a Comment

For cars and for marketing agencies, temporary fixes don’t work forever. If you want a temporary fix, there’s always some quick way to tape things together. That’s true for both car repairs and running the business side of a creative agency.

When you need to make the issue go away permanently—like the business problems you keep struggling with while running your marketing agency—it’s time to get help so you can get on with your life.

Because, be honest—your car and your business can’t survive on duct tape alone.

Question: What quick-and-dirty fixes do you see happening at marketing and other creative agencies? Share your comment by clicking here.

Image: I took this in the Cameron Village Harris Teeter supermarket parking lot.

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