New Data On What Brands Want From Agencies

Wish you could crawl into the minds of your target brands to learn how you can land their business?

Wondering which marketing strategies will increase profitability for your agency?

Or perhaps you want to know what brands want from your agency?

I have answers to all of these pertinent questions in this post.

I Drank My Own Koolaid

Here at The Campfire Circle, an agency that grows agencies, our most popular service is lead gen. We create industry reports, turn them into lead magnets, and leverage them to generate qualified leads.

I do so many of these industry reports for my agency-owner clients, so I decided to do one for The Campfire Circle.

I surveyed 300 brands who hired an agency in the past year and got a ton of data-driven insights on what brands want from agencies when they realize they need to work with an agency, start the research phase, and what will resonate with them when they first meet with your agency.

I recommend downloading the full report here and in this post, I’m going to hit on the three pieces of data that surprised me the most.

How Do Brands Find Agencies In the First Place?

Your agency needs to be easy to discover so that you can work your magic and land new business. So first, let’s look at how brands find agencies and then explore what will resonate with your audience after they’ve discovered your agency.

When asked how brands discovered the agency they are with now, 36% of the respondents said they found their agency via a referral, and 31% said they found their agency on a Google search.

With referrals being the number one way agencies are landing new business, it’s time to put a referral program in place as your happy clients may need a little “nudge,” so you can’t just assume referrals will come in without your assistance. Make a list of your happy clients and email them about your referral program. Make it enticing by offering a $50 gift card for every referral that books a call with your agency and a $250 gift card for every referral that turns into a client. With Googling just behind referrals, it’s essential to make sure your SEO strategy is thriving. It’s worth the budget to get an initial SEO audit and then maintain SEO health in-house.

What Types of Agencies Do Brands Prefer?

It’s a common dilemma for an agency to decide whether to be boutique and focus on 1-3 industries or services or become a full-service agency serving a wide audience. To find out what brands think of this hot topic, we asked them for their agency preference.

When asked if the brands chose a boutique agency or a large agency with a track record, 54% of brands said they went with a boutique agency. 

Not only that, but 79% of brands said they are willing to pay MORE for an agency with expertise in their industry.

With a slight preference for boutique agencies, it’s clear that brands want a more personalized approach to how they promote their brands. Emphasize that you’re a boutique agency and that you don’t take on too many brands to make the brand feel like they’re part of something exclusive. 

Since brands crave expertise, it’s your agency’s job to convey expertise. Publish your own industry data, be active on social media, and earn social proof. Being an overall thought leader in your niche will get you far. 

What Impresses Brands in the First Meeting With an Agency?

When the 300 brands were asked which factor impressed them the most during their initial call with their agency, the most popular factor was industry knowledge, followed closely by having a general plan to grow the brand right from the get-go.

The initial call with a potential client holds a lot of weight. There is no pressure, but to beat the fierce competition, you really need to demonstrate industry knowledge during your initial call with a brand. Doing research and coming to the table with actionable ideas is super important as well.

For ten more data-driven insights like we just explored in this post, download our free report on what brands want from agencies here.