We focus on nerding out on all things marketing while you take care of the important stuff!

Where We Have Been.

I’ve not written this with any intention to be productive, it is more just to share my observations out loud as the owner of a Digital Marketing Agency.

The tone of 2021 currently feels more relaxed than the crazy that unfolded upon us in 2020. I observe many business owners praising their employees for their efforts to push through abnormal times. This theme is so common, I can only assume that workforces across the globe elevated their performance when faced with turbulent circumstances. I personally, am very humbled by my own team. As a result, I have just booked the Bellagio in Vegas this week as a reward next year, for their support.

My other observations on the pandemic is how quickly people reacted to solving problems – I suppose this is why we now have a menagerie of chickens floating around at home. Who knew free eggs as a work perk would be received so well. We have the capabilities of giving them a loving home long-term, but I know many people rushed out to buy puppies to cure their loneliness during lockdown. I fear that some of these poor dogs may be now facing the same isolation that their owner was trying to avoid. The boredom was always going to be a short-term problem (maybe a little longer than we thought) but many people rushed to a 10 year long term solution of a new pet. This is often applicable for marketing in many sectors, people let emotions lead them rather than rationality. This amongst an array of other factors, is why Click Convert Marketing has now incorporated behavioural marketing as a huge focus in strategic planning for our clients.

While you may imagine the boom in online sales has created a rush of clients for Digital Marketing agencies such as ourselves, it has in fact been a little more turbulent that you would think. Retention of our current client base has been great, but many retailers have opted not to invest in new services as nature has dictated an increase in performance for them. Unfortunately, having been around for a while I know this can be sometimes masking underlying issues with strategy in the background. Fierce competition is on the horizon, and not necessarily from competitors you deem to be in your direct line of fire. The hospitality and leisure industry will soon face a boom, as we all look to escape the confines of our homes . A well needed break for this industry, but what will this mean for yours? I worry some business owners are not actually considering the plan for the long term, yet I am happy that the smart money people are considering reinvesting into a stable funnel of potential leads when the Covid bubble finally pops.

Where We Are.

It is a great time for Click Convert Marketing, we have a strong team of 30 brilliant minds and more importantly we are collaborating with clients who are happy with the support we are providing. Our goal was simple through the pandemic; to have and maintain at least 100 clients who LOVE what we do. I believe we smashed this target, and we now are working with over 300 clients. Achieving the love of our clients, taught us a very valuable lesson; just doing a job isn’t enough, we have to really tune in to our clients even beyond the service initially stated in their sign up.

Our method of introductory to new clients has always been cold calling, we sought out what we deem as ‘persuadables’. Our potential clients are not necessarily looking for our services, but are open to engage in a discussion about marketing. Our goal is to find out what business owners are currently doing to attract attention, and to offer tailored advice on how to take this to the next level. Most of our clients do not have the time to invest in marketing, so we put our Digital Marketing Experts to work, while they dedicate their own time into streamlining other areas of their business. Often, we get into these conversations late in the day. Being aware of the problem is quite a difficult part of the process, and often if people don’t understand the intricacies of marketing it can be easier to avoid the situation than address it head on – despite the potential impact on cash flow.

Most people who own a business started it out of a passion they have, it wasn’t because they love marketing. I have always loved marketing and programming since I was a child, and that’s a very rare combination. I know at heart you’re a technician, you love the products you make and/or service you provide, for me this is marketing. Our team is attuned to all the advancements in marketing, and we genuinely enjoy problem solving around data feeds, iOS 14, fbq code, tracking issues, unexpected market changes and more – weird right! Marketing is a baffling area to many, and unavoidably expensive too. For you to work on your passion requires marketing and most importantly sales. This can be an uphill struggle that you may need a level of support with.

At the moment, we have seen a rise in the number of agencies (sometimes one man bands) popping up across the US and the UK. Most try to provide excellent work for their clients, others are simply experimenting as they go (scarily) but most find the whole endeavour of finding new sales, delivering the service and running a business overwhelming. Take The Google Premier programme for example – we have been in the top 1% of Google ads agencies for years, yet there is no way for a client to confirm this. As of right now, there is no list of Google Premier Agencies to fact check – so it is easy to claim, in the process of ‘fake it until you make it’. This often means we are battling with the reputation that our industry has made for itself. As humans are all hard-wired to avoid making bad ‘purchases’ as opposed to seeking out the ‘best purchase’ and we are determined to reassure our clients we genuinely care about their business and have the skillset in place to deliver what we state.

Where We Are Going

I understand that many of our potential clients will not be interested in my personal growth goals but I am here, compelled to be transparent.

In 2020, we met a few record breaking moments for the company; Firstly, we surpassed sales for clients over $1.3 billion – this was by no means an easy task, but we made it work! Another agency first, we were mentioned by Google CEO Sundar Pichai who used Click Convert’s work in congress, to explain how Google Ads can assist in growing a company to Inc 1000 level as part of the Anti Google Hearings. This was a particular pinch me moment.

I have now decided that it’s time to push forward more ambiously than ever. For many years, we have been like builders, doing great work out in the field but ignoring our own home. We have relied on client referrals and cold calling as the bulk of our own personal strategy, with our own marketing being an adhoc affair. It’s high time we put the same mantra that we fulfill for our clients into our own practice.

We want to solely focus on Small to Medium size businesses, where we have the flexibility to allow for what is really in their best interest. Often, agencies who target larger clients are forced to hide behind a heap of b*llsh*t jargon, as they rely much more on their income. Compromising between keeping their clients and being truthful about results. We do not come with the frilly presentations that they do, and due to this we come at significantly less cost. We also don’t have any middle people dealing with the communication, you speak to the person managing your service, accountability is key here. Our focus is on real value. Allowing for you to use this money elsewhere.

We are only going to use automation to speed up the boring stuff, not because it’s in fashion or just because it’s AI and we want to be seen to be new and fancy. I simply want your money spent on the aspects that deliver real change, not repetitive work. A handcrafted approach to technological advancements – let’s not be quick to forget we are advertising to humans not robots.

We are continually investing in our people, we have extensive training and support services in place internally. As we grow, we will require new people to join the Click Convert family, and will need to help them to become attuned to our way of doing things that we have developed for over 10 years. We take this process very seriously, and are constantly looking to drive our team forward for our clients.

I know a huge issue for you, will be uncertainty. My hope is for our team to address the need for certainty in marketing. I feel there is a requirement for a personalised marketing road map showing you the route to your business goals, where you are on this map, the steps needed to get to the destination, and where Click Convert can fit into your journey.

As I write this our new marketing manager has been delving into the behavioural science behind what our clients truly need from our agency, and this is forming the basis of what I’ve explained to you here. I am excited to have a full time marketing manager and I am eagerly awaiting the implementation of our first leaps forward. I’m sure there will be issues when the team finds out I am publishing my thoughts again, but I feel it useful to get an insight into the agency without the BS to go with it.