Growing an agency is hard.

You start with nothing but a laptop and a bus pass, and you commit yourself to developing a customer base and establishing an agency.

But markets turn down, customer bases dry up, technology grows faster than you can, and all of a sudden you find yourself struggling to stay afloat. They find themselves staring down a payroll deadline they’re not going to make, or a balance sheet with way too much red.

Thankfully, this has not been the case for this episode’s guest.

“Why should we go with you?” is perhaps one of the most dreaded questions that a potential client can ask you when considering whether or not to do business with your company.

Eric Sharp, the Founder and CEO of ProtoFuse, said that at one point in time his only answer to this question was, “Because we are better.” Whether that be in design, processes or workflow, his only retort was that they were better than the competition... But, “Being ‘better’ is not a strategy.”

The secret to success nowadays is through focus, developing a deeply-integrated vertical niche, and taking what you’ve learned in that well defined vertical, so your agency can keep moving towards the next level.

So much of the conversation about being innovative centers around what agencies do after they’ve won clients.  

On this episode, I ask Lisa Colantuono, President of AAR Partners, how innovation can win new business for agencies.  

Lisa has been successfully matching agencies and clients for more than seventeen years, and what she has to say might surprise you!

So much of the conversation about being innovative centers around what agencies do after they’ve won clients.  

On this episode, I ask Lisa Colantuono, President of AAR Partners, how innovation can win new business for agencies.  

Lisa has been successfully matching agencies and clients for more than seventeen years, and what she has to say might surprise you!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a small, medium or large company. When it comes to content marketing, the guiding principles are exactly the same. But in order to differentiate yourself and your agency, one principle matters most.  

According to Simon Thompson, the founder of Content Kite, to give yourself a huge leg up on your competition you need to: “create content to attract a certain type of audience”.

It comes down to these three key ideas:

1. Personality and perspective are one of your biggest differentiators
2. Play to your strengths for the most effective forms of content
3. Expectations will determine your content ROI timeline  

If you’ve got the right audience that you understand, and they understand you, then they’re going to stick around for the long-form (content).

It doesn’t matter if you’re a small, medium or large company. When it comes to content marketing, the guiding principles are exactly the same. But in order to differentiate yourself and your agency, one principle matters most.  

According to Simon Thompson, the founder of Content Kite, to give yourself a huge leg up on your competition you need to: “create content to attract a certain type of audience”.

It comes down to these three key ideas:

1. Personality and perspective are one of your biggest differentiators
2. Play to your strengths for the most effective forms of content
3. Expectations will determine your content ROI timeline  

If you’ve got the right audience that you understand, and they understand you, then they’re going to stick around for the long-form (content).

Anyone who follows the world of marketing and advertising understands that video is exploding.

As a centerpiece or key component of most campaigns, video is projected to be a 70 billion dollar industry by 2021.

Sam Brenner is the Executive VP of Marketing at Boxcast, a Cleveland grown agency that is merging technology and marketing smarts to take the world by storm when it comes to video streaming.

Listen to hear some ways you can utilize livestreaming in your agency.

Anyone who follows the world of marketing and advertising understands that video is exploding.

As a centerpiece or key component of most campaigns, video is projected to be a 70 billion dollar industry by 2021.

Sam Brenner is the Executive VP of Marketing at Boxcast, a Cleveland grown agency that is merging technology and marketing smarts to take the world by storm when it comes to video streaming.

Listen to hear some ways you can utilize livestreaming in your agency.

Every entrepreneur has a unique story about how their journey led them to create an agency. 

James Carbary is the Founder of Sweet Fish Media, a company that produces podcasts for B2B companies.  His story is one of discovery and transition. 

Having the flexibility and courage to take a risk and transition into a new niche with an agency resonates with other entrepreneurs who have experienced the same or are considering something similar.

Every entrepreneur has a unique story about how their journey led them to create an agency. 

James Carbary is the Founder of Sweet Fish Media, a company that produces podcasts for B2B companies.  His story is one of discovery and transition. 

Having the flexibility and courage to take a risk and transition into a new niche with an agency resonates with other entrepreneurs who have experienced the same or are considering something similar.