Few industries are as relationship-driven as marketing and advertising. In order to win new business, these agencies must qualify and follow up with new leads in a timely fashion. And in order to build a loyal client base, they need to connect with clients on a personal level and ensure the clients remain satisfied with their work.

Marketing and advertising are also highly project-based industries. Each project involves a lot of moving pieces, from planning and file sharing to production and scheduling. And when you consider that each project also involves a client relationship, the importance of keeping all of this data organized becomes clear.

The best way to stay on top of these relationship and project management tasks is to invest in dedicated software. Creative agencies can make great use of customer relationship management (CRM) software, as well as project management software. But how do you know which option is best for your agency? It depends on the struggles your team is currently facing and the key functions of these different software solutions.

CRM vs. project management software: what’s the difference?

CRM solutions and project management solutions are both valuable business tools, though they differ in their focus.  Both types of software can be used successfully by marketing and advertising agencies.

A customer relationship management system is designed to track information about your prospective, current, and past clients. Through centralized client data, scheduling and note-taking features, and email integrations, a CRM makes it easier for employees to connect with clients and provide effective customer service.

A project management system tracks information on a project-by-project and client-by-client basis. These software solutions keep employees on task and ensure that work is completed on time. Through task coordination, productivity tracking, and communication tools, project management solutions help teams with productivity, efficiency, and accountability.

In a nutshell: CRM software streamlines your interactions with clients, while project management software streamlines your delivery of final products. Understanding the differences between these software types is important when selecting and implementing one or both of them. Keep in mind that some vendors may incorporate CRM and project management functionality into one software program, while other vendors may offer standalone solutions.

Benefits of CRM software

If your agency currently tracks clients in QuickBooks or spreadsheets, you may think a CRM is unnecessary. However, there may be some clear signs that you need a new solution. If you’re having trouble with any of the following activities, it may be time to invest in a CRM.

Tracking leads

If you’re finding it difficult to track and follow up with prospective clients, a CRM solution can help. Many CRMs offer features for automated lead collection and centralized lead management, which cuts down on time spent entering and looking up data. Not only can you easily see which leads are active, but you can score them based on their likelihood of converting and schedule reminders to follow up with them.

Retaining clients

It’s well-known that retaining an existing client is far less expensive than acquiring a new client. Luckily, CRM software helps you provide better service to your clients, thereby improving your client retention. A CRM consolidates a client’s entire history with your agency, from billing to projects to complaints, into one convenient location. As a result, everyone on your team has the appropriate context to provide top-notch service.

Engaging with clients

As a marketing or advertising agency, you know how important ongoing client engagement is. However, staying in touch becomes difficult as your client list grows. A CRM solution can help to streamline this process. For instance, logging all client interactions in one place makes it easier for employees to identify those clients who haven’t connected with you in a while. Many CRMs also have email marketing integrations that allow you to quickly send targeted messages to key groups.

Tracking billing and accounting

Even if you’re great at managing client relationships, your agency will struggle if you aren’t getting paid on time. Using a CRM that integrates with QuickBooks bridges the gap between your creative work and your financial to-do’s. Create invoices in the CRM email them directly to your clients, and accept payments via a self-service client portal. When the invoicing process is simple for you and your clients, there’s a higher likelihood that your clients will pay on time.

In a nutshell: If your agency is having trouble managing data related to clients or leads, it’s likely that a CRM can help. CRM software will empower you to optimize your interactions with individual clients, while also providing insights about your client base as a whole. This data can be used to refine your business operations in the long term.

Benefits of project management software

Marketing and advertising agencies are usually working on many projects at once. Since each individual employee may be assigned to multiple accounts, careful coordination is required to make sure everything is completed on time. If your agency is looking to improve in any of the following areas, you may benefit from project management software.

Consolidating information

In a project management system, team members assigned to multiple projects can have a single consolidated dashboard that outlines all of their pending tasks. This convenient bird’s-eye view reduces the chance that a task (or a deadline) might be missed. In addition, important details about all ongoing projects can be easily accessed within the project management software. This means employees will spend less time sifting through emails and Google Docs to find what they need.

Increasing accountability

Through project management software, supervisors are able to monitor employee performance and ensure that the team is moving towards a common goal. Shared calendars, time tracking features, and dynamic task statuses make it simple to see what everyone is working on. If projects do fall behind schedule, a supervisor can identify and address the underlying issues before they become bigger problems.

Driving productivity

Project management solutions help agencies break down complex projects into simpler tasks. By setting deadlines for these small tasks and visualizing them in one spot, it’s easier for teams to stay on track while working towards long-term goals. Project management software also lets you create templates for common workflows. This allows employees to work in a self-directed fashion — as soon as they complete a task, they can see what comes next.

Improving reporting

Forget about manually crunching numbers in spreadsheets — or worse, having no idea what’s happening with your projects. Built-in reporting tools are a key component of most project management systems. Use these handy stats and dashboards to examine how individual projects are progressing or to take a broader look at your agency’s productivity over time. These reports can be used for everything from internal process audits to client presentations.

In a nutshell: If your agency is struggling to meet deadlines or is having issues with productivity and efficiency, you may need a project management solution. But to avoid amplifying these problems, look for project management software that can be customized to suit your current processes. This will help you incorporate the software into your operations without missing a beat.

Conclusion

Most creative agencies can benefit from the adoption of CRM or project management software. If you’re looking to streamline your existing business processes, it may be time to give one or both software solutions a try. Together, these systems can help you build stronger relationships and work more productively — and this will ultimately create the best possible experience for your clients.

The post Does Your Agency Need a CRM or Project Management Software? appeared first on Method.

To set your agency up for long-term success, it’s essential to fill your sales funnel with a steady stream of new leads. But where are you supposed to find all of these prospects? As you know all too well, it’s not enough to sit and wait for potential buyers to come to you. Instead, you need to develop focused strategies to reel in your target clients and make sure they see the value of the services you offer.

Not sure where to begin? Here are six tips to bring in new leads for your marketing agency.

1. Identify Your Target Buyers

The first step in the lead generation process is to know what kind of leads you’re looking for. This requires you to have a deep understanding of your agency’s niche in the marketing world.

Log into your CRM and consider your current roster of clients. Do you do a lot of work for small to mid-sized businesses, or do you mainly have enterprise clients? Do you specialize in marketing for particular industries?

Next, identify your areas of expertise and think about what types of clients would most benefit from them. If your agency is known for Instagram marketing, consider which industries tend to be quite active on Instagram (for example, the health and wellness industry) and do some research on local companies in those sectors.

Once you’ve gone through this brainstorming process, you’ll be better equipped to find leads that fit your agency’s target demographic.

2. Join the Conversation

Your leads aren’t actually hiding out from you. But when your sales funnel is empty, finding potential clients can feel like rooting for truffles in the woods. To begin filling your funnel, you have to identify where your leads spend time online, then get involved in the conversations. Start by searching Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for industry-specific hashtags. You can also join forums like Quora and Warrior Forum where your target demographic may be seeking help with their marketing efforts.

As a marketing agency, it’s your job to understand what interests your clients and your clients’ clients. Consequently, these online communities are great places to “listen in” on what problems business owners have. When you see opportunities to answer questions or offer guidance, share your wisdom along with your agency’s contact information. Although the askers may not be ready to hire a marketing agency, putting your expertise out there will keep your name in people’s minds.

3. Show Off on YouTube

Not so long ago, people relied on their televisions for the latest news, advice, and entertainment. Now YouTube offers users the ability to view just about any kind of video content — anytime and anywhere. As a result, more and more people are flocking to YouTube for information about growing their businesses.

To capitalize on this thirst for knowledge, start a YouTube channel for your marketing agency. Create videos that evoke emotion and speak to your target clients’ marketing problems. These don’t have to be anything fancy, but have fun with them!

At various points in each video, encourage viewers to visit your agency’s website or sign up for your newsletter. You should also consider adding some gated video content directly to your website. By capturing the email addresses of interested viewers, you’ll acquire some concrete leads that you can follow up with.

4. Let Them Peek Behind the Curtain

If you’ve ever discussed your work at a party, you already know that most people have no idea how digital marketing works or what exactly a marketing agency does. Unfortunately, the same may be true for your target clients. This is problematic because if they don’t understand your services, they won’t realize how those services can benefit them.

One way to generate new leads for your agency is to let them “peek behind the curtain,” so to speak. This means sharing enough detail about your strategies and their results to spark interest (though not so much detail that your competitors can benefit!).

Client case studies provide a great opportunity to do this. In a video or article, explain your step-by-step approach to tackling a real problem for a real company. The benefits of this are twofold. Not only do prospective clients get a better sense of what you do, but if they have similar problems, they can better appreciate how your services could help them. Turning the case study into a piece of gated content provides another opportunity to capture the emails of interested leads.

5. Build Out Your Blog

It’s a classic lead generation strategy for a reason. Maintaining an active blog is one of the most effective ways to generate organic website traffic and new leads for your agency. Be sure to offer your readers valuable content that they can use to grow their own businesses. The more helpful your blog is, the more your readers will see you as a marketing thought leader.

Encourage your blog visitors to engage with you by embedding a web-to-lead form on the site. When a visitor provides their contact information through the form, they’ll automatically be logged as a new lead in your lead management software. This allows you to nurture them by sending them additional content they may be interested in.

6. Reward Referrals and Reviews

Isn’t it great when a client is nice enough to refer a friend or write a review for your agency? The truth is that online reviews and personal recommendations carry a lot of weight for people making purchasing decisions — so don’t leave these acts of goodwill to chance.

Take advantage of the good work you’ve already done by rewarding existing clients for reviews or referrals. Schedule reminders for yourself to follow up with each client after a project is complete. By offering a discount on future services or a small token of gratitude, you’ll increase the likelihood of the client spreading the good word. This will help to build your reputation in the industry and bring in new leads faster.

Conclusion

They always say you should practice what you preach. And in the case of a marketing agency, that means having a strong plan for generating new leads. Whether you focus on just a couple of the tactics listed above or implement them all together, your sales funnel will soon be full of potential clients eager to learn from your experience.

The post How to Generate Leads for Marketing Agencies appeared first on Method.

Using a CRM offers several benefits to those working at creative agencies. These software platforms can help automate processes, synchronize different departments’ work efforts, and enhance client interactions. But there are a lot of CRM options out there, so which ones should you focus on? Not to worry — in this article, we’ll look at 7 key features that any CRM solution for agencies should have.

1. Web-to-Lead Functionality

Web-to-lead functionality offers an easy method to capture lead information from your website, landing pages, and splash pages. First, you set up a form on your desired webpage. When a visitor fills it out, they are automatically logged in your CRM system as a potential lead. The CRM also sends an alert to your sales reps so they can efficiently follow up with your new prospect. This feature cuts down on the amount of lead data entry required of your sales and marketing teams. It can also prevent duplicate entries from being created by different team members who are updating the database at the same time.

2. Customization for Increased Productivity

Ideally, you should look for a CRM that can be customized to your operations. One of the main issues that small creative agencies face is data overload. You collect so much information about clients, projects and marketing trends that it can be difficult to organize all of it. A CRM program that allows for customizations, such as the creation of new fields or apps, allows you to capture and organize the data you need. This helps to simplify your workload and increase productivity throughout your organization.

3. Mobile Access

It’s not uncommon for a project manager or creative designer to meet a client at their place of business. But when your team members are out of the office, you want them to be able to stay connected. Search for a CRM that provides user-friendly mobile apps. With a system that can be used on smartphones and tablets, your team can access data instantly and pick up where they left off, anywhere they go.

4. Customer Service Coordination

A client may call your accounting department to find out about their invoice. But during the call, they may bring up a problem with their project that needs to be resolved by your creative team. Unless this information is relayed between departments, the project manager won’t know that they should make a follow-up call. So what’s the solution? Your cloud-based CRM should allow all departments to easily access and update information on clients. This allows your team members to provide better, more consistent customer service.

5. Enhanced Email Communication

More and more business/client interactions are occurring over email. Clients want to know the statuses of projects, web designers want updates on the latest graphics…it never ends! When searching for a CRM for agencies, look for one that integrates seamlessly with your email provider. Whether you’re using Outlook or Gmail, a CRM add-on in your email can provide immediate access to the client’s contact information and past interactions. This type of feature helps you to work more efficiently by centralizing client details right in your inbox.

6. Client Retention Features

Your business doesn’t just survive by converting new leads into clients. It also needs to retain existing clients and provide additional services to them. Any CRM you choose should offer a 360-degree view of each client’s history, including previous interactions, notes, projects, and transactions. This visibility enables you to develop cross-selling and upselling strategies to maintain client loyalty.

7. Client Portal Options

Sometimes, your clients may want to check the status of their invoices or support requests after business hours. That’s why it’s a great idea to select a CRM that offers self-serve portals. These portals allow clients to access their account information and transaction history anytime, without needing to contact you. And the benefits don’t stop there! You could even customize these portals to offer greater functionality, such as allowing clients to submit updates to their projects.

Choosing the Right CRM for Your Agency

Every creative design, web design, and marketing agency is different. As a result, you’ll require a CRM solution that can be uniquely tailored to your business’s processes. The features described here are a great starting point for streamlining or automating common day-to-day operations. But to identify the right CRM for your agency, you’ll need to take a close look at your current processes and determine what additional features will help you work towards your larger company goals.

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