How to take your digital agency to the next level

Are you ready to move to the next level in your web design journey?

If you are freelancing, a self-employed web designer, or run your own digital agency it is safe to assume you have a high level of technical knowledge and skills.

But in order to kick things up a notch, you need more than technical skills. You also need some business savvy under your belt. Combining business savvy with your skills is going to give your digital agency a much better shot at successful growth and development.

So what kind of business savvy do you need? Let’s explore…

Marketing and outreach strategy

A good marketing strategy is essential for connecting with new customers and staying engaged with existing ones. There are different marketing channels to explore including SEO, social media, online advertising, and sometimes even print advertising.

If you don’t have the time or knowledge to develop a marketing strategy, it’s a good idea to engage a marketing professional to do this for you. It is a very important part of your business and is worth the investment.

Another great option is to network within your community. Reach out to people who know your work and might have a need for your services. Attend professional events and get your name and face out there. Build a network of people who can refer your services to others.

Building your brand

Designers make a living out of building and portraying the brands of other businesses – make sure your own brand doesn’t fall by the wayside in the process. Your brand should be individual and memorable, and highly visible on all of your marketing content.

It should tell the story of your business and highlight the benefits of your service to your clients. Be consistent so that your brand is immediately recognisable regardless of where people come across it.

Specialisation

Deciding to provide specialist services to a particular industry might seem like a hindrance to your horizons, but it can actually have the opposite impact on your business.

Setting yourself up as a web design leader for a particular market can set you apart from other generalist services and put you in the top go-to spot. Some good market analysis should be undertaken before committing to this sort of decision.

Great customer service

You won’t get very far without happy customers. The first thing potential clients will do is check out online reviews and testimonials, so it is in your best interest to keep these as positive as possible.

Good customer service is also crucial for getting loyal repeat customers who keep your workflow (and income) steady. The probability of selling more of a service to an existing happy customer is up to 14 times higher than selling to a prospective customer!

Measuring your customer satisfaction regularly and accurately is crucial to success. An easy to understand, effective, and low-cost way to measure customer satisfaction is through NPS surveys. Delighted have a free calculator that make NPS scoring easy.

Keep your finances healthy

It’s true of any successful business that you have to be on top of your finances at all times. Even if you have an accountant taking care of the big stuff for you, you should still have a basic idea of your incomings and outgoings. You should also have your finger on the market pulse – keeping an eye on competition charge-out rates and reviewing yours as required.

It is useful to have a budget and a cash flow forecast. That will help you to know when you are expecting funds in, and when you have to pay funds out. It ensures you have the funds available to pay your bills at the right time and have enough left over to pay yourself!

Automate and outsource where you can

Efficiency is key to growing any business. Time is a precious currency; you only have so many hours in a day. You don’t want to be spending too much time on admin tasks and not enough on the work that is going to drive you forward.

Make sure you are using the best possible software or apps for streamlining your business processes. If you really want to give yourself more free time, consider outsourcing some of your smaller tasks to a virtual assistant.

Upskill

The thing about the technology industry is that it is always changing. In order to keep up and offer your clients the very best in service, you need to upskill yourself. Stay on top of innovations in the field and always take the opportunity to learn where you can.

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