This is where the power of integration between Customers.ai, a leading lead generation tool, and HighLevel, a full-suite agency marketing, sales, and client management platform, comes into play.

Customers.ai has revolutionized the way businesses capture leads, boasting the remarkable capability to identify 20-25% of anonymous visitors to a company’s website. This isn’t just about putting names to numbers; it’s about unlocking a treasure trove of insights into customer intent and their journey, paving the way for highly targeted marketing funnels.

On the other hand, HighLevel has established itself as an all-in-one solution for managing those leads, automating marketing efforts, and enhancing customer relations with its robust set of tools designed for digital marketing success.

The integration of Customers.ai with HighLevel is a game-changer for internet marketers, SEO companies, and all types of online businesses. It represents a fusion of lead generation prowess with sophisticated marketing automation and CRM functionalities.

Together, we form a dynamic duo that can streamline operations, enhance lead conversion rates, and deliver a level of personalized engagement that today’s consumers expect.

In this blog post, we will delve deep into what sets this integration apart, how businesses can leverage it to amplify their marketing efforts, and ultimately, how it can transform anonymous website traffic into loyal customers. Join us as we explore the seamless synergy between Customers.ai and HighLevel, and discover how your business can benefit from this powerful integration.

• The Combined Power of Customers.ai and HighLevel
• Customers.ai and HighLevel Integration Use Cases
• Setting Up the Customers.ai and HighLevel Integration

The Combined Power of Customers.ai and HighLevel

Enhanced Lead Generation

The integration of Customers.ai with HighLevel revolutionizes the way businesses approach lead generation. Customers.ai’s unique capability to unveil 20-25% of anonymous website visitors as potential leads stands as a game-changer in the digital marketing domain. When this innovative identification process is combined with HighLevel’s robust marketing and sales platform, businesses gain access to a larger pool of prospects.

This synergy not only increases the volume of leads but also enhances the quality, as leads are backed by insightful data regarding their browsing behavior and preferences. The result is a more targeted approach to lead generation, ensuring that marketing efforts are directed towards individuals with a demonstrated interest in your products or services.

Streamlined Marketing Efforts

Integrating Customers.ai with HighLevel simplifies the transition of leads into marketing funnels. This streamlined process enables businesses to engage with leads immediately and effectively. Through HighLevel’s comprehensive suite of tools, including email marketing, SMS marketing, and social media integrations, leads generated by Customers.ai can be nurtured with personalized messages that resonate with their specific interests and behaviors.

This seamless flow from lead generation to marketing execution not only saves valuable time but also significantly improves the efficiency of marketing campaigns, allowing businesses to reach the right people with the right message at the right time.

Insightful Customer Journey Data

One of the most valuable aspects of the Customers.ai and HighLevel integration is the depth of insight it provides into the customer journey. Customers.ai contributes detailed analytics on visitor intent and interactions, offering a granular view of how potential customers engage with your website.

When this data is imported into HighLevel, it empowers businesses to tailor their marketing strategies with an unprecedented level of precision. Armed with this information, companies can craft campaigns that address the specific needs and interests of their audience, fostering a more personalized and effective marketing approach that significantly enhances customer engagement and conversion rates.

Improved ROI

The combination of Customers.ai’s advanced lead identification technology and HighLevel’s comprehensive marketing toolkit directly impacts the return on investment (ROI) for businesses. By maximizing the efficiency of lead generation and marketing processes, the integration ensures that marketing budgets are utilized more effectively.

The ability to target leads with precision and engage them through personalized, data-driven campaigns reduces wastage of resources and increases the likelihood of conversion. Moreover, the insights provided into the customer journey enable continuous optimization of marketing strategies, further enhancing ROI over time. For businesses looking to boost their marketing effectiveness while keeping costs in check, the integration of Customers.ai and HighLevel presents an invaluable solution.

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Customers.ai and HighLevel Integration Use Cases

Here are a few use-cases for how Marketing Agencies can transform their clients’ campaigns with this integration

Automated Lead Nurturing with Personalized Campaigns

Challenge: A mid-sized e-commerce store struggles with converting website visitors into buyers. They have a steady stream of traffic but find that a significant portion of visitors leave without making a purchase or engaging further.

Solution: By integrating Customers.ai with HighLevel, the marketing agency can now automatically capture details of 20-25% of anonymous visitors, turning them into identifiable leads. With insights into these leads’ browsing behaviors and interests, the store uses HighLevel to segment these leads based on their interactions, such as the products they viewed or the time spent on certain pages.

Implementation: The store sets up automated email nurturing campaigns within HighLevel, tailored to each segment. For instance, visitors who spent a lot of time in the footwear section but didn’t make a purchase receive a personalized email showcasing the latest shoe collection, along with an exclusive discount code. Simultaneously, another email campaign is launched for visitors who added items to their cart but abandoned it, reminding them of their unfinished purchase with a limited-time free shipping offer.

Outcome: The e-commerce store sees a significant uptick in conversions. The personalized campaigns resonate with the leads, prompting many to return and complete their purchases. Additionally, the data-driven insights allow for continuous optimization of marketing efforts, further increasing engagement and sales over time.

Targeted Marketing Strategies Based on Deep Customer Insights

Challenge: A fitness center client is looking to increase its membership base but finds its one-size-fits-all marketing strategy to be ineffective in attracting new members.

Solution: Leveraging the integration of Customers.ai and HighLevel, the fitness center begins to identify anonymous website visitors, capturing leads and gaining valuable insights into their fitness interests and goals. This data allows the center to understand better which fitness programs or amenities are attracting the most attention.

Implementation: Using HighLevel, the fitness center creates several targeted marketing campaigns. For example, leads who showed interest in weight loss programs are sent a series of motivational emails featuring success stories from current members and a special offer for personal training sessions. Meanwhile, visitors interested in yoga classes receive invitations to a free trial class, along with information on the health benefits of regular yoga practice.

Outcome: The targeted approach results in a higher engagement rate with the marketing campaigns, as potential members receive content that aligns with their specific fitness goals. The fitness center not only sees an increase in new memberships but also a boost in attendance for their specialized programs, demonstrating the effectiveness of personalized marketing enabled by the Customers.ai and HighLevel integration.

Setting up the Customers.ai Integration with HighLevel

Setting up the integration is super simple. 

1. Once logged in, click “Integrations.” 
2. Select HighLevel from the list and add your HighLevel account

3. Once that is connected, simply pick your HighLevel location. You can also choose whether you want to send all of the contacts for that automation or only certain audiences.  
4. In your HighLevel account, each lead is tagged with Customers.ai so you can keep track of them! 

Interested? Book a demo today!

• See what targeted outbound marketing is all about. Capture and engage your first 500 website visitor leads with Customers.ai X-Ray website visitor identification for free.
• Talk and learn about sales outreach automation with other growth enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
• Advance your marketing performance with Sales Outreach School, a free tutorial and training area for sales pros and marketers.

The post Elevate Your Lead Generation with Customers.ai and HighLevel Integration appeared first on Customers.ai.

If you’re one of the people who made the very smart decision to install the Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel, then we have some tips to help you take your marketing to the next level.

If you have yet to install the pixel, then we suggest you head over the Semrush App Center right now. Seriously, it takes less than 90 seconds to install, it’s free to signup, and you get your first 500 contacts at no cost. There’s really nothing to lose.

Ok, sales pitch over. 

For those of you who are already seeing the benefit of this integration, we have a few tips to help you not only make the most of your inbound traffic but improve your overall marketing efforts. Our goal? To 10x your ROI!

Let’s jump in with these three ways you can take your Semrush and Customers.ai integration to the next level. 

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1. Turn Top-of-the-Funnel Content into a Lead Generation Tool

Semrush is all about helping you drive traffic. 

From keyword recommendations to content ideas to the SEO writing assistant, Semrush helps you create content that performs well in search and speaks to your target audience.

And it works!

The problem is, once you create that content, it starts ranking, and you start seeing traffic, it doesn’t often go anywhere.

All of that hard work and unless someone fills out a form, you have no idea who they are and can’t reach them again. 

This is where Customers.ai comes in. 

Let’s say you are a marketing agency and you have a popular blog post about running a LinkedIn ABM campaign. The post ranks for the term “LinkedIn ABM tips” and you get a ton of traffic. 

You have several other posts about LinkedIn Ads that all drive traffic but at the end of the day, aren’t driving any leads.

With Customers.ai, you can build a segment for all of the LinkedIn pages and start identifying the names, emails, websites, etc. of the people visiting those pages. 

From there, you can take that list of emails and create a remarketing campaign that sends them to a webinar or ebook about…you guessed it, LinkedIn Ads.

You know these people are interested in LinkedIn Ads but you also know they might not be interested in your services…yet. 

With Customers.ai, you can take that top-of-the-funnel content you worked so hard to build and turn it into an actual lead generator. 

2. Identify Content That Resonates with High-Intent Prospects

GA4 has made it really difficult to understand just how your content is performing and how users are moving through your site.

How are we supposed to know what content is resonating with users if we can barely find it in the platform?!

The answer is, you send landing page data to your CRM platform.

With Customers.ai, yes, you capture names, emails, etc., but you also capture landing pages. 

All of that can be integrated into your CRM, giving you the ability to see what content prospects are viewing before they take an action.

Let’s break it down.

Pricing pages are pretty good indicators someone is interested in what you have to offer. Or at least they show more intent than say someone visiting the home page.

Take those visitors, and send their data to your CRM. 

You have now started a customer profile and as they go through the funnel and you continue capturing page-level data, you can get a much clearer picture of of what pages they visited and the topics they are interested in. 

Not only does this help your sales team better understand what the prospect is interested in but it also helps marketers understand the type of content that resonates with high-value prospects. 

A better understanding equals better content, better personalization, and better results.

3. Superpower Your Abandoned Cart Recovery

You worked really hard to get product descriptions optimized, your Google shopping campaigns humming, and overall, your conversion rate feels pretty good.

But what if there was a bigger opportunity? What if you could turn more of those visits into sales?

We know that almost 70% of people abandoned their shopping carts. 

We also know that abandoned cart recovery is big business. It’s why there are over 250 listings for shopping cart software on G2 alone.

Unfortunately, abandoned cart recovery only works if people fill out their information or you already have an existing customer profile. 

The result? Abandoned cart recovery only reaches on average 3% of your site visitors. 

With Customers.ai, you can 10x that!

Website visitor identification allows you to identify people who have reached the shopping cart but didn’t actually fill out their email. And with our ESP integrations, you can add those people directly into your existing automated cart recovery workflows, helping you can reach more people than ever before.

As marketers, we work really hard to get people to the point of purchase. Why not make sure that we can capture as many of them as possible?

Bonus Tip: Expand & Inform Your Retargeting Audiences

We mentioned top-of-the-funnel content earlier and I think it’s a really important point to drive home. 

Working on the agency side for so many years, I can’t tell you how many times I heard “Traffic is great, but we need revenue”. 

It’s really a catch-22 in the world of SEO.

You build content that performs really well. In fact, it performs too well. Traffic skyrockets but its top of the funnel content and the client isn’t quite as happy as you thought they’d be.

For agencies or marketing teams running full-funnel campaigns, this top-of-the-funnel content is great for remarketing audiences.

And it goes beyond top of the funnel.

In the good old days, you could build huge retargeting lists. Facebook and Google were brilliant at putting people into specific segments and delivering them applicable ads. 

Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.

With Click IDs out the door and privacy a bigger issue than ever before, retargeting audiences are shrinking.

That’s where Customers.ai comes in.

You can create really specific segments that will allow you to retarget down to the product page itself. 

So whether you are trying to take that top-of-the-funnel audience and guide them through to purchase or take that high-intent audience and get them to finalize their purchase, 

Either way, you can scale up your custom retargeting audiences and inform your platform-provided AI-generated audience (looking at you Advantage+).

The result? Expanded audiences, warm leads, better ROI, and happy teams!

Semrush + Customers.ai = Real Results

The Semrush integration really does feel like a perfect fit and we want more than anything for people to truly take advantage of what this integration offers.

Marketing is harder than ever. 

With attribution challenges and Google doing whatever it is they are doing with their results on a day-to-day basis, getting results can be challenging.

Our goal is to make your life easier and make your look like the marketing star that you are. 

If you are already an Semrush customer, head over to the App Center and easily add the Customers.ai pixel to your site.

If you aren’t, you can get started right here. 

To install the Website Visitor ID X-Ray Pixel, sign up (for FREE!), go to your dashboard, and navigate to My Automations. 

Select + New Automation and get your pixel. We have easy install options for Google Tag Manager, WordPress, and Shopify, or you can install the pixel manually.

Easy right?

2024 is just starting, giving you a ton of time to make a big impact and drive big results. Let’s do it!

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Important Next Steps

• See what targeted outbound marketing is all about. Capture and engage your first 500 website visitor leads with Customers.ai X-Ray website visitor identification for free.
• Talk and learn about sales outreach automation with other growth enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
• Advance your marketing performance with Sales Outreach School, a free tutorial and training area for sales pros and marketers.

The post Take Your Semrush & Customers.ai Integration to the Next Level appeared first on Customers.ai.

As seasoned pros, we’ve seen trends come and go, but what’s unfolding this year is something different. Things are moving fast and there are some truly impactful trends that will reshape the marketing landscape. 

Let’s cut through the noise and dive straight into it. We’re not just talking about the next big thing – we’re talking real changes that are reshaping our industry. From leveraging cutting-edge AI to the loss of cookies to a focus on true personalization. 

I’ll walk you through the trends that are not just buzzwords, but game changers. So, grab your coffee, and let’s break down the marketing playbook for 2024.

What Are the Top Marketing Agency Trends for 2024?

At the heart of it, we are seeing 10 key trends in 2024:

1. Loss of Cookies
2. Privacy & Data Changes
3. Email Constraints
4. Purpose-Driven Marketing
5. Generative AI & Content Creation
6. Video Content is Still Here
7. AI-Based Personalization
8. Advanced Data Analytics
9. Agile Marketing 
10. Partnership Marketing

Let’s dive a bit deeper into each of these trends.

Marketing Agency Trend #1: Loss of Third-Party Cookies

Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand, you are well aware of the “cookiepocolypse”.  

For years we’ve been talking about the removal of third-party cookies from major tech platforms.

Well, the time has finally come. 

Apple started blocking third-party cookies in 2023 and as of January 1, 2024, Chrome has began their phase out. Oh, and Microsoft is also deprecating cookies in early 2024.

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

Proving your value is about to get a lot harder.

So is campaign optimization.

For marketing agencies, the focus has to be on first-party data and more innovative attribution strategies. 

It really is a pivotal time for agencies to adapt and reinvent their methodologies, focusing on genuine connections and data integrity to stay ahead.

Marketing Agency Trend #2: Data & Privacy Changes

We’ve touched on privacy a lot here at Customers.ai (see Data Privacy Changes: A Must-Read Guide for Marketing Agencies).

The reason being, there have been A LOT of privacy and data changes that are impacting how marketing agencies do business. 

Last year we had the official switch to GA4. 

iOS 17 introduced Link Tracking Protection and the removal of Click IDs.

Then we had Meta announcing Ad Free Facebook subscriptions in the EU. 

On top of it, states passed privacy regulations at record pace. It’s a lot to keep up with! 

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

For a long time, marketing agencies were able to kind of roll with the punches when it came to privacy changes. 

Big changes like GDPR and CCPA made waves but overall they were fairly easy to adjust to. 

What we are seeing now is different. 

These updates are fundamentally impacting the way marketing agencies do business and it means that adjustments need to be made much quicker and innovation is not just necessary, but key. 

Marketing Agency Trend #3: Email Constraints

As of February 1, 2024, Google and Yahoo’s new email regulations will officially have launched.

If you aren’t super up to date on what this means, we did a deep dive sometime ago. 

The gist of it is that emails, especially from bulk senders, are about to be scrutinized at a much higher rate and deliverability is going to be a challenge if the right steps aren’t taken. 

Two main points to be aware of:

• Mandatory Digital Email Signing.  Senders with over 5,000 emails will need to use DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) for digital signing. While this is already a best practice, non-signed emails are now treated more suspiciously. 

• New Complaint Rate Threshold. A complaint rate over 0.3% now poses the risk of being blocked. A complaint occurs when a user marks an email as spam, not when they unsubscribe. 

Along with the rollout of new email regulations, Google also rolled out a new AI email spam filter to better capture spam.

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

Email deliverability will become essential in 2024. With email providers cracking down on spam, there must be a focus on creating truly compelling messages that resonate with audiences.

It also means moving away from cold email tactics and toward warm leads. 

Why target people who have never heard of you when you can reach those who are already interested?

That’s where Customers.ai comes in. Our Website Visitor ID X-Ray Pixel captures the names and email addresses of those visiting your website. 

Think about it – even with a cart abandonment solution, you only capture people if they’ve put in their info. With website visitor identification, you can capture 10-20x the number of people! Perfect for remarketing cart abandonment emails. 

To install the Website Visitor ID X-Ray Pixel, sign up (for FREE!), go to your dashboard, and navigate to My Automations. 

Select + New Automation and get your pixel. We have easy install options for Google Tag Manager, WordPress, and Shopify, or you can install the pixel manually.

Marketing Agency Trend #4: Purpose-Driven Marketing

According to a study by Deloitte, over 25% of consumers walked away from a brand that they interpreted as insensitive. 

Customers want to feel good about who they are doing business with and they want to do business with companies who stand for something. It’s part of the reason people love REI!

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

What makes your client’s unique? How are they helping people? Once you understand that, take that service and shoot it to the moon — get micro, get focused, and amplify your “here to help” messaging for better brand loyalty. 

Marketing Agency Trend #5: Generative AI & Content Creation

Just like cookie deprecation, AI is not a thing of the future…it is here. And it’s already being used by big companies and major ad agencies.

According to Reuters, WPP, the world’s biggest advertising agency, is working with consumer goods companies including Nestle and Oreo-maker Mondelez to use generative AI in advertising campaigns.

Additionally, Authority Hacker’s AI survey showed that 85.1% of AI users use the technology for article writing and content creation.

The point? AI is here and whether you agree with it or not, it’s being used to create marketing and advertising content.

Image Source: Lady Smith News

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

AI opens tons of doors for marketing agencies and can certainly help improve efficiency in the content production process. 

The key is to keep the human element at the core of the messaging and avoid falling into the trap of publishing the bland, generic content that AI tends to put out. Oh, also fact checking.

While AI can put out some great content, it’s not an expert and it requires fact checking.

At the end of the day, marketing agencies need to be experimenting with AI if they want to stay ahead of the game.

Marketing Agency Trend #6: Video Content is Still Here

Has video made every trends list for the past 10+ years? Yup. 

Do we still need to include it? Yup.

Here are a few stats from Hubspot’s Video Marketing Survey:

• In 2023, people watched, on average, 17 hours of online videos per week
• People are 52% more likely to share video content than any other type of content
• 75% of viewers watch short-form video content on their mobile devices

Video isn’t going anywhere, yet marketers still aren’t using video as much as they could be. According to Sprout Social, only 35% of marketers anticipate utilizing YouTube in the next 12 months.

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

Video presents a huge opportunity for marketers and brands. Consumers are spending their time watching online videos making it the perfect place to put your ad. 

That being said, it’s important to put your ad where it will be seen. Consumers have become really good at avoiding ads, which could result in wasted spend. 

Image Source: Marketing Charts

If you are looking to get started in video, start small. Create a video for the blog or for the help section. Create short videos for social and see how your audience responds.

Like we said earlier, video isn’t going anywhere so it’s time to figure out how to make it work for you.

Marketing Agency Trend #7: AI-Based Personalization

As a marketer, the dream is personalization – serving really specific ads to individuals. 

Unfortunately, with the privacy changes we mentioned above and previous ones not mentioned, this is becoming harder and harder, especially in the ads space. 

AI is changing that. 

According to a Twilio report, 92% of businesses surveyed are using AI-driven personalization. 

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

With AI, marketers are able to actually craft hyper-personalized content, especially in email campaigns. 

And this level of personalization goes beyond just using a customer’s name – it’s about creating content based on behaviors, preferences, purchase history, and more. 

The payoff for agencies is clear: enhanced customer engagement, higher conversion rates, and more meaningful brand interactions. 

[Check out the Customers.ai AI Email Writer] 

Marketing Agency Trend #8: Advanced Data Analytics

Thanks to the privacy changes we’ve noted a few times and Google’s shift to GA4 (boo!), 2024’s marketing scene is seeing a surge in advanced data analytics, powered largely by Generative AI. 

Marketers are being forced to get crafty when it comes to attribution – this includes using sophisticated tools to sift through data and glean deeper insights into consumer preferences and behaviors. 

Image Source: Marketing Evolution

It’s important to note, this shift is not just about adapting to new privacy norms; it’s about turning a challenge into an opportunity to understand audiences on a more nuanced level. 

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

Agencies are now able to predict trends, tailor marketing strategies, and create more relevant content thanks to these more advanced data platforms. 

For example, a retailer could use these insights to predict upcoming fashion trends, aligning their marketing campaigns more closely with consumer interests. 

The key is to not dwell on what once was but instead focus on what can be. 

Marketing Agency Trend #9: Agile Marketing

It may be a stretch to call marketing agility a trend, as at first blush it seems more like a necessary survival skill. However, marketers are uniquely positioned to leverage digital tools and technology better than most.

When the world throws you a pandemic or mass social unrest, you’ve got to make quick changes to stay relevant in the marketplace. Your consumers’ needs ebb and flow like the tide and you’ve got to be the lifeboat on these choppy seas of change. 

A great way to keep pace is by having an omnichannel approach to marketing where you can keep tabs on all of the different channels from a single dashboard or platform. 

Image Source: Triple Whale

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

We know how fast things move and that has never felt more relevant than this year. 

Marketers need to ensure they are staying up on trends and adapting to changes as quickly as possible.

It means being proactive vs. reactive and ensuring you have the tools and technology you need to be successful. 

For example, consider adding more cross-channel marketing tools to your tech stack this year to both delight your clients and improve your agency’s internal efficiency.

Marketing Agency Trend #10: Partnership Marketing

Every industry is looking towards fractional solutions in various applications. When it comes to marketing — combining forces with other successful or driven marketing agencies is better all around. 

Here at Customers.ai, we have had some really great partner-driven campaigns. For example, just this past December, we did an event with our partners at Semrush to announce our product integration:

What does this mean for marketing agencies?

Partner marketing opens up opportunities you wouldn’t have otherwise. Not only will your agency become more scalable and able to take on more work but also you can focus on your expertise. 

Find partners that complement you and share similar target markets as your business. 

Remember, there are many different “partner marketing” models, but you’re basically outsourcing anything you haven’t mastered and freeing yourself up to become the master of all things.  

What Is The Biggest Trend In Agency Marketing? 

For 2024, the big trend is going to be across many verticals — being kind, being real, and being helpful. 

It might sound mushy but we’re quickly approaching a time where brands have to take a stance. Then, they have to stick to it and beat that drum until you and your clients are excited about what you believe in. 

While you might still be reeling from all of the changes in the marketing industry in recent years — stop monkeying around and start brainstorming new ways of doing things to maintain your marketing agency’s competitive edge. 

Want an extra advantage? Try Customers.ai for free and 10x your campaign performance!

Convert Website Visitors into Real Contacts!

Identify who is visiting your site with name, email and more. Get 500 contacts for free!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Website / URL *

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Important Next Steps

• See what targeted outbound marketing is all about. Capture and engage your first 500 website visitor leads with Customers.ai X-Ray website visitor identification for free.
• Talk and learn about sales outreach automation with other growth enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
• Advance your marketing performance with Sales Outreach School, a free tutorial and training area for sales pros and marketers.

Marketing Agency Trend FAQs

Q. What are the latest trends in digital marketing for agencies?

Current trends include increased use of artificial intelligence, personalized marketing, and a focus on data-driven strategies.

Q. How are marketing agencies adapting to changes in social media algorithms?

Agencies are focusing on creating more engaging content, utilizing stories and live videos, and leveraging influencer partnerships.

Q. What role does data analytics play in modern marketing agencies?

Data analytics is crucial for understanding consumer behavior, measuring campaign effectiveness, and guiding decision-making processes.

Q. How are marketing agencies integrating AI into their strategies?

AI is used for predictive analysis, customer segmentation, personalization, chatbots, and automating repetitive tasks.

Q. What is the significance of video marketing in current agency strategies?

Video marketing is increasingly important for engagement, with a focus on short-form videos, live streaming, and interactive content.

Q. How important is content marketing for agencies today?

Content marketing remains a key strategy, focusing on creating valuable, relevant content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.

Q. What are the emerging trends in email marketing for agencies?

Trends include automation, personalization, segmentation, and integrating interactive elements in emails.

Q. How are agencies using SEO in current digital marketing strategies?

Agencies focus on voice search optimization, mobile-first indexing, and user experience as key elements of SEO.

Q. What is the role of influencer marketing in today’s agency strategies?

Influencer marketing is used to build brand authenticity and reach target audiences through trusted voices in various industries.

Q. How are marketing agencies tackling privacy and data protection?

Agencies are emphasizing transparency, compliance with regulations like GDPR, and ethical use of consumer data.

Q. What trends are shaping mobile marketing in agencies?

Trends include the increasing importance of mobile optimization, location-based marketing, and mobile apps for personalized experiences.

Q. How is user experience (UX) influencing marketing agency strategies?

UX is crucial for customer satisfaction, with a focus on website design, ease of navigation, and providing a seamless user journey.

Q. What are the trends in programmatic advertising for agencies?

Trends include the use of AI for real-time bidding, increased focus on transparency, and leveraging first-party data.

Q. How is augmented reality (AR) being used by marketing agencies?

AR is used for creating immersive brand experiences, interactive advertising, and enhancing online shopping experiences.

Q. What role does sustainability play in marketing agency trends?

Agencies are increasingly focusing on sustainable practices, eco-friendly campaigns, and promoting corporate social responsibility.

Q. How are chatbots transforming agency-customer interactions?

Chatbots are used for improving customer service, providing instant responses, and automating simple tasks.

Q. What impact is voice search having on marketing agencies’ strategies?

Agencies are optimizing content for voice search, focusing on conversational keywords, and ensuring mobile compatibility.

Q. How are agencies leveraging interactive content?

Interactive content like quizzes, polls, and interactive videos are used to engage users and provide personalized experiences.

Q. What are the trends in omnichannel marketing for agencies?

Omnichannel marketing focuses on creating a seamless customer experience across all channels and touchpoints.

Q. How are agencies addressing the need for marketing automation?

Agencies are implementing automation tools for efficient campaign management, lead nurturing, and analytics.

Q. What trends are impacting local SEO strategies in marketing agencies?

Key trends include optimizing for local search queries, focusing on local listings and reviews, and localized content.

Q. How is the gig economy affecting marketing agencies?

The gig economy is leading to more freelance and contract work, providing agencies with flexible staffing options.

Q. What is the significance of micro-moments in agency marketing strategies?

Micro-moments involve targeting customers at the exact moment they need a service, focusing on intent-driven marketing.

Q. How are agencies using predictive analytics?

Predictive analytics is used for forecasting trends, customer behavior analysis, and optimizing marketing strategies.

Q. What are the challenges faced by marketing agencies in adapting to new trends?

Challenges include keeping up with rapidly evolving technology, skill gaps, and aligning new trends with client objectives.

The post 10 Marketing Agency Trends You Should Know About in 2024 appeared first on Customers.ai.

Giants like Google, Meta, and Apple have made data privacy their mission, and the outcomes are impacting the very core of advertising and marketing strategies. From the recent iOS 17 updates to the imminent deprecation of cookies in Google Chrome in 2024, the landscape is teeming with changes that are reshaping the way that we as marketers operate.

As we explore these changes, one thing becomes abundantly clear: the job of marketers is getting harder. Not simply because have to change what we are doing but because change is not a choice. In some cases, there are actual legal repercussions! 

For marketing agencies, the challenge is even larger – adapt to all the changes, show value to your clients, and prove campaign ROI. No easy feat.

Our goal is to delve into a few of the major data privacy changes impacting marketing agencies and attempt to both dissect and illuminate the path forward. Let’s figure out how we can embrace these changes and evolve our strategies.

5 Major Data Privacy Changes Affecting Marketing Agencies

• Apple iOS 17 Updates
• Google Chrome Cookie Deprecation
• Google and Yahoo Email Spam Filter Update 
• Google’s Decision to Phase Out Old Email Addresses
• Meta Ad-Free Subscriptions in EU

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1. Apple iOS 17 Updates

While the introduction of the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework in iOS 14 reshaped targeted advertising, iOS 17 brought another discreet, yet impactful change — link tracking protection.

Source: Admetrics

From Apple’s press release:

“Some websites add extra information to their URLs in order to track users across other websites. Now this information will be removed from the links users share in Messages and Mail, and the links will still work as expected. This information will also be removed from links in Safari Private Browsing.” 

Essentially – say goodbye to clickID data.

What does iOS 17 mean for agencies?

We wrote a pretty comprehensive post about iOS 17 already but here’s the deal – cross-campaign tracking is now even more difficult and proving the value of your efforts requires new methods. 

For agencies, you have to be able to show value and you have to be able to prove ROI. For Google and Meta ads campaigns, click IDs are what we rely on. The loss of that data will make data collection less accurate and our ability to show results and make decisions more challenging. 

Now, the good news is that only about 30% of global users are on Safari. Make sure to check your data to see the percentage of visitors to your own site to better understand the impact.

2. Google Chrome Cookie Deprecation

Google’s decision to deprecate third-party cookies was certainly unwelcome news but one we’ve been aware of for some time. Unfortunately, the time has come with Chrome beginning the phase-out in Q1 2024.

The deprecation of third-party cookies means that advertisers will no longer have unrestricted access to cross-site tracking data, something marketing agencies rely on to prove campaign value.

What does Google Chrome cookie deprecation mean for agencies?

• Loss of Cross-Site Tracking Precision: Without third-party cookies, the ability to track users seamlessly across different websites diminishes. Advertisers face a challenge in maintaining the granularity of user behavior insights, affecting the precision of targeted advertising.

• Reduced Personalization Accuracy: The deprecation poses a hurdle for marketers who heavily rely on user data for personalized advertising. Targeting tailored content to specific audiences becomes more challenging, potentially leading to less accurate and impactful campaigns.

• Attribution Modeling Complexity: Tracking user journeys and attributing conversions will be more complex without the consistency provided by third-party cookies. Marketing agencies in particular may need to invest in alternative attribution models to understand and prove the effectiveness of advertising efforts to clients.

• Impact on Retargeting Strategies: Retargeting, a staple in many advertising strategies, faces a setback. Without the seamless tracking capabilities of third-party cookies, marketers may find it challenging to effectively retarget users who have interacted with client websites.

• Navigating Compliance and User Trust: The shift away from third-party cookies is not only a technical challenge but also a navigational one in terms of compliance and user trust. Marketers must find ways to deliver personalized experiences while respecting user privacy and building trust.

The key to success lies in adapting new strategies and exploring alternative methods for user-tracking.

3. Google and Yahoo Email Spam Filter Update 

The email spam filter update from Google and Yahoo brought with it two major changes – mandatory digital email signing and a 0.3% complaint rate threshold. 

Here’s a breakdown:

• Mandatory Digital Email Signing. Senders with over 5,000 emails must use DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) for digital signing. This is already a best practice but hasn’t been a requirement until now. 

• 0.3% Complaint Rate. A complaint rate over 0.3% now poses the risk of being blocked. A complain occurs when a user marks an email as spam, not when they unsubscribe. 

These updates are a proactive move by Google and Yahoo to enhance the user experience by reducing unwanted or irrelevant emails in users’ inboxes and creating better privacy specifications. 

What do the Google and Yahoo email filter updates mean for agencies?

The email spam filter updates by Google and Yahoo mean that marketing agencies are now contending with stricter criteria for inbox placement. Messages that may have once sailed smoothly into the inbox are now subject to heightened scrutiny and email marketing agencies are going to have to be aware.

The challenge lies in ensuring that legitimate, valuable content doesn’t get caught in the crossfire of these stringent filters. It also means you have to focus on reducing or preventing spam complaints and that comes from better emails. 

A few other tips to consider to keep your spam complaints low:

• Offer clear unsubscribe options
• Include multiple unsubscribe links in your emails 
• Use shorter, engagement-based outreach cadences
• Diversify outreach communication channels 
• Create tighter, more targeted audiences
• Custom and segment your email outreach 

Adhering to these new policies means you must foster engagement, be transparent, and offer value to your users.

4. Google’s Decision to Phase Out Old Email Addresses

As of December 1, 2023, inactive Google accounts will be deleted. This includes account contents like photos, messages, Calendar appointments, Drive documents, and even YouTube videos.

According to CNet:

“If an account hasn’t been used for a while, Google said it’s more likely to be hacked…to reduce this risk, Google may delete an account and its contents if it hasn’t been used or signed into for at least two years. If you haven’t logged into an account since 2021, Google may get rid of it.

If you’re worried about someone grabbing your deleted account, rest easy: If Google deletes an inactive account, that Gmail address cannot be used again to create a new account, Google said.”

What does Google email deletion mean for agencies?

Not too much in the grand scheme of things. However, it could have an impact on your email marketing campaigns and specifically, on email deliverability. 

For example, if you aren’t regularly scrubbing email lists and end up with a high number of deleted contacts in that list, you now have a much higher bounce rate. High bounce rates mean lower email deliverability and can ding your campaigns. 

Here are a few best practices to consider to keep your lists clean:

• Regular Email List Maintenance: Implement processes to identify and remove outdated email addresses, ensuring that campaigns reach an audience with active and valid contact information.

• Encourage Email List Updates: Implement strategies such as targeted campaigns or newsletters specifically designed to prompt subscribers to provide current contact information.

• Leverage Multi-Channel Engagement: Explore social media, messaging apps, or other direct communication platforms to maintain engagement with users who may be less active on their email accounts.

• Implement Re-Engagement Campaigns: Encourage inactive subcribers to reconfirm their interest in your content, or provide incentives to update their email addresses to ensure they remain part of your active audience.

Google’s initiative to phase out old email addresses underscores the importance of adaptability in the realm of email marketing. By proactively adjusting practices and embracing a multi-faceted approach to audience engagement, marketers can position themselves for success in an environment where email addresses are dynamic and subject to change.

5. Meta Ad-Free Subscriptions in EU

As the EU continues its push toward privacy, Meta is trying to do whatever it takes to adapt to the new rules and keep their business profitable. 

This latest update, a paid ‘no ads’ version of Facebook and Instagram started rolling out November 2023.

What does ‘Ad-Free’ Facebook mean for agencies?

If you are only marketing in the US, nothing. However, if you are marketing in the EU, you could start to see an impact on Facebook ads performance. 

It’s worth noting the price to remove ads is €9.99/mo so we don’t foresee a significant number of people jumping on the bandwagon.

That being said, the removal of ads means there are a few things marketing agencies must consider:

• Shift in Targeting Dynamics: The introduction of ad-free subscriptions alters the dynamics of audience targeting. Marketers relying heavily on Meta’s ad platform may experience a shift in the composition of their target audience, as ad-free subscribers may differ significantly in behavior and preferences.

• Reevaluation of Ad Content and Placement: Marketers need to reassess the content and placement of their ads to cater to the remaining ad-supported user base. Considering App Store Optimization is another route they can take if their product supports the criteria of being optimized for that space. This may involve refining targeting criteria, optimizing ad creative, and strategically placing ads to maximize visibility among users who have opted for the ad-supported model.

• Enhanced Focus on Creativity and Quality: The competition for attention among ad-supported users intensifies with the introduction of ad-free subscriptions. Marketers need to elevate the quality and creativity of their ad content to capture and retain the attention of users who choose to remain in the ad-supported ecosystem.

As Meta pioneers the ad-free subscription model in the EU, marketing agencies must recalibrate their strategies to accommodate this shift. 

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How Marketing Agencies Can Adapt to Privacy Changes

Every time a new policy or regulation is announced, it’s easy to freak out. After all, each one has an impact on our business and when taken together, there is a lot to consider.

The good thing is marketers are sharp and they are adaptable. We know that marketing agencies will adjust their strategies and use the resources they have to ensure clients and campaigns are successful.

As these new regulations and privacy updates roll out, we think there are a few things agencies can do to stay ahead of the game and adapt.

Invest in First-Party Data

First-party data, comprised of information collected directly from users who willingly engage with a brand is essential as privacy regulations continue to roll out. 

What makes first-party data so valuable is that unlike third-party data, which is often obtained from external sources, first-party data is inherently consented to, providing a foundation of trust between marketers and their audience and preventing any penalties.

First-party data not only enables marketers to comply with evolving privacy standards but also empowers them to build authentic, personalized connections with their audience. 

The challenge is, first-party data is prized because it’s hard to get. We have looked at some strategies previously but what we will say is, start capturing the visitors on your clients’ websites.

These people are already familiar with the brand and already showing interest. You can do this with the Customers.ai Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel. Just place a small piece of code on the site and start capturing the names, email addresses, phone numbers and more of people interested in your clients’ products or services.

Then, throw the emails into remarketing campaigns and start capturing that data!

To install the Website Visitor ID X-Ray Pixel, sign up (for FREE!), go to your dashboard, and navigate to My Automations. 

Select + New Automation and get your pixel. We have easy install options for Google Tag Manager, WordPress, and Shopify, or you can install the pixel manually.

Diversify Marketing Channels

Privacy changes aren’t stopping any time soon so it’s imperative for marketing agencies to diversify their approach beyond traditional channels like cookies and emails. The era of relying solely on these methods is over and a strategic shift towards alternative channels is needed.

Embrace alternative channels such as influencer marketing, contextual advertising, social media platforms, and direct communication methods like push notifications and SMS marketing is crucial. These approaches offer privacy-friendly options, allowing agencies to navigate the shifting landscape while maintaining personalized and effective communication with their audience.

Utilize Technology and Tools

One of the tools to fight against the changes is…tools. Marketing agencies can fortify their strategies and protect themselves by leveraging cutting-edge technology and tools. The right tools can play a dual role—facilitating compliance with stringent data protection measures and streamlining processes for enhanced efficiency.

Some tools to consider:

• Privacy Management Platforms: Privacy management platforms centralize data governance and compliance activities. These platforms assist in tracking and managing user consent, ensuring that marketing activities align with privacy regulations.

• Consent Management Tools: Consent management tools streamline the process of obtaining and managing user consent. These tools not only facilitate compliance with regulations like GDPR but also enhance transparency in data usage practices.

• Automated Marketing Platforms: Invest in automated marketing platforms that allow for the seamless execution of campaigns while ensuring compliance with privacy regulations. These platforms often include features like consent tracking and automated opt-outs.

• Machine Learning for Personalization: Harness machine learning algorithms to personalize marketing efforts without relying on individual user data. By analyzing patterns and behaviors at scale, machine learning enables targeted campaigns without compromising privacy.

Technology is an indispensable ally for marketing agencies when it comes to moving forward. By incorporating advanced solutions for compliance and harnessing the power of automation, agencies not only navigate the complexities of data protection but also position themselves for increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Moving Your Marketing Strategies Forward

In the era of data privacy, the tech industry is undergoing a profound transformation. Giants like Google, Meta, and Apple have made data privacy a central mission, ushering in changes that reverberate through everything we do. From Apple’s discrete but impactful iOS 17 updates to Google’s imminent cookie deprecation in 2024, the marketing terrain is undergoing a seismic shift.

As marketers, change is not an option—it’s a necessity. There are actual legal repercussions for some of these privacy updates and as a result, marketers find themselves navigating a complex landscape where evolution is not optional. The job is undeniably getting harder, requiring a delicate balance between innovation and compliance.

Marketing agencies have an extra challenge. They must proactively shape their strategies, embracing first-party data collection, diversifying marketing channels beyond traditional methods, and leveraging technology and tools while at the same time continuing to show value to clients.

The journey ahead is challenging, but for the adaptable marketer, it is an opportunity for growth and resilience in a privacy-focused era.

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Important Next Steps

• See what targeted outbound marketing is all about. Capture and engage your first 500 website visitor leads with Customers.ai X-Ray website visitor identification for free.
• Talk and learn about sales outreach automation with other growth enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
• Advance your marketing performance with Sales Outreach School, a free tutorial and training area for sales pros and marketers.

Data Privacy for Marketing Agencies FAQs

Q: How do data privacy changes influence targeted advertising for marketing agencies?

Agencies must ensure that targeted ads comply with data privacy regulations, avoiding the use of sensitive personal information without explicit consent.

Q: What steps should marketing agencies take to comply with data privacy regulations?

Agencies should conduct privacy assessments, update privacy policies, and implement robust data protection measures to comply with evolving regulations.

Q: How can marketing agencies adapt their email marketing strategies to comply with data privacy laws?

Agencies should obtain clear consent for email marketing, provide opt-out options, and refrain from purchasing email lists without explicit permission.

Q: Are there specific data breach notification requirements for marketing agencies?

Yes, agencies must promptly notify authorities and affected individuals in the event of a data breach, as mandated by various data protection laws.

Q: How do data privacy changes impact the use of customer data for analytics in marketing?

Agencies must ensure anonymization or pseudonymization of customer data used for analytics to comply with privacy regulations and protect individual identities.

Q: Can marketing agencies still use cookies for tracking user behavior under new data privacy laws?

Yes, but agencies may need to obtain user consent for cookies and clearly explain their purpose, ensuring compliance with regulations like GDPR.

Q: How does data privacy impact the collection and use of customer feedback by marketing agencies?

Agencies must handle customer feedback responsibly, obtaining consent for its collection and ensuring that it does not reveal sensitive personal information without permission.

Q: What are the implications of data privacy changes on cross-border data transfers for marketing agencies?

Agencies must adhere to data transfer restrictions and implement safeguards when transferring personal data across borders, as per regulations like GDPR.

Q: How can marketing agencies navigate the challenges of balancing personalized marketing with data privacy concerns?

Agencies can adopt privacy-by-design principles, prioritize user consent, and use anonymized data to strike a balance between personalization and privacy.

Q: Are there specific regulations regarding the use of AI in marketing that agencies should be aware of?

While not specific to AI, data privacy laws require transparency in AI algorithms and demand that agencies avoid discriminatory practices in targeted marketing.

Q: How does the concept of “data minimization” apply to marketing agencies?

Data minimization requires agencies to collect and process only the data necessary for a specific purpose, reducing the risk of privacy breaches and ensuring compliance.

Q: What resources are available for marketing agencies to stay updated on evolving data privacy regulations?

Agencies can stay informed through industry associations, legal updates, and by regularly checking official websites of data protection authorities for the latest guidelines and changes.

The post Data Privacy Changes: A Must-Read Guide for Marketing Agencies appeared first on Customers.ai.

Do you have time to research and find out which tools will upgrade your marketing game? 

No, you don’t. 

We did it for you! You’re welcome. 

We are always on the lookout for the most innovative and best agency software and tools to help with your marketing agency growth.

Are you ready to scale? Or do you need to reevaluate your current marketing tools stack and workflows to improve efficiency and cut costs?

According to the ‘Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic’ list by Scott Brinker, there are over 8,000 marketing tools, all of which can be considered on your quest to find the best marketing tools & agency software.

Let’s narrow down the field on your own with the process of elimination. See the areas where you most need marketing agency software, and then keep digging until you find the one that best suits your needs. 

To Help You Select The Best Tools, Start With These Foundational Questions

• What are Marketing Agency Software and Tools?
• How are the Marketing Agency Software and Tools Divided?
• The 40 Best Marketing Agency Software and Tools!

Let’s dive straight into it!

What Are Marketing Agency Software And Tools?

Whether you are a small to medium scale organization or you run on an enterprise-level, you need the help of some software or tools. 

While there aren’t too many Swiss army knives like Customers.ai’s OmniChat out there, these software or tools will help improve the performance and increase the efficiency of manual and repetitive tasks. 

And we know that you know there are many such tasks in the marketing profession. 

As mentioned above, there are thousands of tools and software, but not all of them would fit your company’s puzzle. Find the missing piece here!

How Are The Marketing Agency Software And Tools Divided?

From a 10,000 ft. view, the 40 best marketing agency software and tools we are going to explore can be divided into the following six groups:

1. Content Marketing Tools
2. Analytics Tools
3. Project Management Tools
4. Design Tools
5. Email Marketing Tools
6. Social Media Platforms

The 40 Best Marketing Agency Software & Tools

What might be working the best for your competitor’s organization or even your friend’s agency might not work well for you. 

Here are a few guidelines to follow that will help you select the marketing agency software and tools that will bring the most benefit to your business. 

How To Select The Right Marketing Agency Software

Ask yourself the following questions to help determine which tools will fit your needs best. 

1. Is the customer service supportive and readily available? There’s nothing worse than a pressing issue and having to wait days for a response. 
2. Is the tool user-friendly? Don’t invest your resources in a tool that everyone on your team can’t quickly figure out. Productivity is the key to profitability. Time is money, right? 
3. Is it agile enough? Everything is always changing, fast. How will the tool change over time? Are the developers regularly releasing updates and adding new features? Don’t waste time on something that will be stale and cumbersome in a year or two because it comes from lazy developers.
4. How much customization do you need? Do you need a client-facing view? 
5. Is it easy to collaborate with your current team setup and workflows? Can it improve workflows or eliminate a bottleneck somewhere in your processes? 
6. Does it integrate into other marketing agency software and tools you depend on? API-friendly?
7. What will your customers or clients gain from you implementing this new software? 
8. What is the primary objective? What’s the point? 
9. Is there going to be a learning curve for you or anyone on your team? 

With these questions in mind, you will make a better-informed decision about which trials to sign up for and which to skip.

Best Marketing Agency Software for Content Marketing

1. Customers.ai Cookieless Facebook Ad Pixel

The best marketing agency software to restore and ramp up ad retargeting campaigns

With Customers.ai, you can capture website visitor data, create audiences, and send it directly to ad platforms, including Meta.

See 2-3x higher conversion rates by leveraging your first-party data in a privacy-compliant manner, far surpassing Facebook Advantage+ or interest-based ad targeting methods.

Boost your retargeting capabilities, get more leads, close more sales, and create a better customer experience! 

2. SEMrush

Optimize your content for search with the best marketing agency software for SEO research

This is a fantastic tool for tracking keywords, analyzing competitors keywords, view backlinks, and more! SEMrush is one of the best SEO tools available for marketers. 

3. Ahrefs

Know all of your SEO metrics

Another epic SEO tool right up there with SEMrush and Moz. 

Don’t pass Ahrefs without trying their backlink checking and site audit. 

Start driving more organic traffic to your site with a little research.

4. Customers.ai Consumer Directory

The best marketing agency software for finding intent-based leads

The Customers.ai intent-based Consumer Directory can help you not only enrich leads data but also build your ad retargeting audiences with customers who fit your ICP.

Consumer Directory helps marketers by offering focused functionalities including:

• Targeted Consumer Profiles: Detailed and segmented consumer profiles to help marketers tailor their strategies and messages effectively.
• Behavior Insights: Insights into consumer behavior and preferences, enabling more personalized and effective marketing campaigns.
• Easy Integration: Seamlessly integrates with various marketing and sales tools, enhancing data-driven decision-making and campaign management.

5. Grammarly 

Dodge spelling and grammar mistakes

Don’t let your content marketing, chat blasting, or ad campaigns suffer a single typo with Grammarly. 

It’s a sweet tool with browser extensions to check your emails as you type and more. 

6. SE Ranking

Rank your keywords efficiently

A comprehensive SEO tool built with SEO agencies in mind. 

SE Ranking offers highly accurate keyword rank tracking to SEO/PPC competitive research, website audits, backlinks, and more. 

It has a slick interface with tons of historical data access and insights. 

7. KWFinder

Find organic and effective keywords fast

KWFinder is a handy SEO tool for researching long-tail keywords to inform your overall SEO strategy. 

8. BuzzStream

The best marketing agency software for influencer outreach

Another great tool for email outreach, email list and link building.

9. Content Snare

Create content while collaborating with your clients

This is a great solution for marketers who feel like they are constantly twisting their client’s arms to send them content. 

Get out of email inbox limbo and collaborate with your clients on Content Snare. 

10. Customers.ai Customer Journey Insights

The best marketing agency software for tracking the customer journey across your website  

Track your website visitors across different pages and workflows and build audiences based on those signals.

Customers.ai’s Website Visitor ID X-Ray Pixel allows you to track the journey of every new contact you generate. Even better, setting it up is super simple. 

1. Add the Pixel to every page on your site. This ensures that you can track the whole journey. If a page doesn’t have our X-Ray Pixel on it, you won’t be able to see whether a customer visited that page or not. 
2. Click on your My Leads tab. 
3. Click on the contact. 
4. See their whole Customer Journey, including which pages they visited, the order of the pages they visited, which emails they’ve received, and what they did after they received the email! 

See Who Is On Your Site Right Now!

Get names, emails, phone numbers & more.

Try it Free, No Credit Card Required

Start Your Free Trial

11. Keywords Everywhere

PPC keyword research browser extension

Simplify your keyword research with the Keywords Everywhere browser extension. 

When you eat and sleep SEO, you truly do see keywords everywhere, and this app helps too. 

12. Moz Pro

Get fast SEO analysis 

Moz is another great tool that has long been compared against SEMrush and Ahrefs as some of the best SEO analysis tools. 

Different strokes for different folks, which is your favorite? Tell us why in the comments below! 

13. Leadfeeder

Don’t let any leads go to waste

There is something incredibly satisfying about knowing who is looking at your website at any given moment. 
Imagine seeing a rep or exec from the gorilla-sized prospect you’ve been pursuing actively checking out your website! Call them! Message them! Go, go, go!

And what about your social media page visitors? Engage with them too! Engage, engage, engage! 

“Simplify, simplify, simplify!” – Henry David Thoreau

Best Marketing Agency Software for Analytics

14. Google Analytics 

Know your analytics like the back of your hand

You can glean enough information from a basic knowledge of Google Analytics to satisfy most client needs. However, are the dedicated data nerd that like to dig deeper? 

Google Analytics is a powerhouse and deserves to be near the top of any marketing agency software and tools list. 

15. Nuvi – Get real-time insights and data visualization

This is a fun tool, aesthetically speaking, and analytically speaking. 

It can analyze your social media as good as any other tool, and it makes pretty graphs, what’s not to love? 

It has a slew of other social media features as well, fighting to be a comprehensive social tool. 

16. IntentData.io – Increase your outbound sales with actionable data

Increase your chances of conversions and inform your outbound and direct response marketing efforts with deep data analytics. 

Best Marketing Agency Software for Project Management

17. Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite) 

Collaboration and communication in one

G Suite has been a strong and competitive option for any size organization looking to digitally transform. 

It recently underwent a rebranding and is now Google Workspace.

Whether you were a brick-and-mortar agency before and need to go remote fast or you’ve been fully digital since day one, it couldn’t be easier to store your data, collaborate, and create than with Google Workspace. 

Two thumbs up! 

18. HubSpot Marketing – Track your funnel’s top 

HubSpot has been killing it at inbound since way back when they coined the term “inbound marketing”. 

It’s no surprise that the HubSpot Marketing platform has a robust set of features that deserve an article dedicated to solely utilizing and glorifying it. 

19. Jira – For increased agility while managing your projects

If you are in software development or your agency is associated with it in any way, you know about Jira. 

Keep those agile projects humming along quickly with this slick platform for project management. 

20. PandaDoc – Create proposals and track them

Keep your sales process simple and organized with PandaDoc. 

This smart software offers proposal and contract templates, e-signing, payments, and more. 

21. Skype – Best video calling for business meetings

This one is a hot debate leftover from the 2020 office exodus due to the pandemic.

Either you love the video calls or you hate them, but they aren’t going away anytime soon. Skype is a great option for high quality video meetings amongst other competing apps. 

A big benefit to Skype is the Microsoft integrations. If you are already on a Microsoft Teams and Office 365 setup, this is a logical alternative choice outside of what Teams already offers. 

22. Samepage – Get the entire team working cohesively on a project

A great option for project management when it comes to collaborating on a shared project. 

23. Teamwork – Handle all multifaceted project management scenarios

Which came first, Monday or Teamwork? It doesn’t matter, even if they are riffing off each other (nothing is sacred in marketing land, mwahaha) they each offer a unique project management platform.

Compare the features and decide which better suits your agency’s needs. 

24. Basecamp – Everything for project collaboration and management

Another project management powerhouse, Basecamp is great for any size organization. 

If you aren’t a fan of the Jira, Trello, and ClickUp board layout then Basecamp may better vibe with your tribe. It relies on notifications (lots of notifications if you don’t adjust your settings, warning!) to collaborate and comment threads. 

It’s a powerful beast of an app and you could get lost easily without some guidance. 

25. Slack – Simplify your team’s communication

This is a must-have for collaboration amongst remote and distributed teams. Slack has tons of cool chatbot features and options built in. 

Did you know that you can integrate Customers.ai with Slack? YES! 

There is a lot of fun to be had with a plethora of options but for now try sending notifications into a specific Slack channel whenever Customers.ai captures a new contact. 

26. HubSpot CRM + Sales Pro – Keep an eye on your sales pipeline

The marketing agency software and tools that HubSpot offers within their free CRM is pretty epic. Every marketer has used it at some point in time, whether they wanted to or not. 

Clients love it, marketers love it, and Larry Kim loves it! 

27. Loom – Create and send screen recordings super fast

It’s not only fun to use, but it makes you look pro! 

Loom automatically uses the picture-in-picture of you (if you want to show yourself) while your recording a screencast. 

We love using Loom for internal training and onboarding resources. 

28. Calendly – The easiest way to book meetings

Generate a custom link that takes your prospects or clients to a calendar that integrates with all of your other calendars to provide accurate availability. 

Create a gap or time cushion between meetings to avoid overlaps or to have a moment of zen between closing unicorn deals. 

29. ClickUp – Strong project management for free

This is a feature rich PM tool, holy cow! 

If you need flexibility and customization galore, ClickUp is the way to go.  ClickUp is a highly scalable tool that will grow with you, keep your team accountable and productive. 

30. Drip – The best marketing agency software & tool for swift marketing automation

Automate your customer’s journey with Drip. 

We like drag and drop workflow builders at Customers.ai. This tool is reminiscent of our very own visual chatbot builder or Zapier (which easily integrates with Customers.ai by the way). 

Best Marketing Agency Software for Design

31. Ceros 

The best marketing agency software to create interactive ebooks, infographics, and landing pages

This is a fun cloud-based tool for marketers and designers looking to create code-free immersive content. We think it’s worth a look! 

32. Fotor – Who doesn’t like a free online photo editing tool?

Fotor is a fantastic online photo editing tool with powerful features.

It also makes it super easy to collaborate with other photographers or editors around the world. 

33. BrowserStack – Offers cross-device and cross-browser testing 

A really cool app to test out your website, app, or software on 2000+ devices and browsers. 

Measure twice, launch/rollout once! 

Best Marketing Agency Software for Email Marketing

34. Seventh Sense

Send your emails at the perfect time

If you are looking to take your email marketing to the next level, Seventh Sense might be a good tool for you.

Know exactly when to send and automatically personalize it with the power of AI. 

35. Beacon

The best marketing agency tool for speedy ebook lead magnet creation

This is another excellent option for growing your email lists, specifically with ebooks, a pretty effective lead magnet. 

There are many ways to utilize ebooks in marketing, but most notably for building an email list. 

36. Right Inbox – Turn your Gmail account into a personal CRM

A handy little tool, probably most suitable for the solopreneur or freelancer. Right Inbox basically adds all of the features to Gmail that a marketer would want but Gmail was missing.

But a startup or small agency could enjoy enormous benefits of utilizing a CRM in your Gmail account.

MacGyver your email into a full blown CRM tool, sweet! 

Best Marketing Agency Software for Social Media Platforms

37. Oktopost

Generate leads via social media

A fairly new contender, Oktopost came out the same year as CoSchedule and some other social media management platforms. 

They continue to make upgrades that makes this social scheduler and all-in-one social management tool worthy of your consideration.

38. AgoraPulse Social Media Management Software

Agorapulse is an all-in-one dashboard for social media management that simplifies the understanding of social media metrics.

AgoraPulse has great monitoring and engagement capabilities, giving you audience insights and a way to take advantage of otherwise missed opportunities.

Additionally, AgoraPulse has lots of options to build a pipeline for your content calendar, allowing you to store unlimited posts tied to particular themes, and queue them up for publishing.

39. Iconosquare Social Media Analytics & Management

Iconosquare is one of the leading analytics and management platforms used by agencies and social media marketers.

Agencies use Iconosquare to help their clients manage their social media accounts. (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are available).

Some of the best features for agencies on Iconosquare are:

• In-depth analytics to understand their clients’ audience for increased account growth and engagement.
• Easy reporting – easily report the performance to your clients thanks to branded PDF reports at the click of a button.
• Multi profile management – report and analyze the social media performance of multiple social media profiles and content for your clients from one dashboard.
• Automatic scheduler – save time by setting and forgetting your content in advance.
• Scheduler collaboration – facilitate collaboration with your clients or your team by sharing your scheduler calendar with external approvers.

40. SocialBee Social Media Management

SocialBee is a comprehensive tool designed for the seamless management of your social media profiles. With this platform, you can schedule and automate posts and receive assistance in creating a tailored social media strategy. 

Monitor key performance metrics such as engagement and follower growth, and efficiently handle messages, comments, and mentions—all from a unified interface.

For agencies overseeing multiple accounts, SocialBee enables the organization of clients’ dashboards into distinct workspaces for a more structured approach. Collaborative efforts are facilitated through features like assigning roles to team members, obtaining content approval from clients, and leaving notes on posts for effective communication.

Out With The Old, In With The New

In marketing, you have to always be on the lookout for better ways of doing things. 

It’s an industry that lends itself to innovation, especially with automation. 

Are you still using your legacy systems and processes? If you want different results you’ve got to try something new. 

With Customers.ai, you can start capturing website visitors, giving you larger ad audiences and helping you turn visitors into leads. It’s free to try and no credit card is required. Give it ago!

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Important Next Steps

The post The 40 Best Marketing Agency Software & Tools appeared first on Customers.ai.

In fact, 79% of top-performing agency leaders reported using marketing automation tools for 3-years or more.

There are many marketing functions that can be automated, such as sending automated emails, lead scoring/qualifying, or publishing content on social media.

But digital marketing agency life isn’t easy. Everything has a hard deadline. Clients demand unreasonable results. Your competition is constantly trying to underbid you. And your team wants catered lunches at least once a week.

Meanwhile, you still need to market your agency to bring in new business and keep your current clients happy.

Luckily, there are ways you can accomplish both revenue and client growth.

The answer: Use marketing automation tools to save your agency time, reduce overhead, and increase marketing ROI for both you and your clients.

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Here are 25 of the best marketing automation tools for agencies according to industry leaders:

1. SharpSpring 
2. Klaviyo 
3. Hubspot 
4. Customers.ai 
5. Emma 
6. Mailchimp 
7. SendGrid 
8. Zapier 
9. Teamwork 
10. Monday 
11. Meet Edgar 
12. AgoraPulse 
13. Instachamp 
14. SocialBee
15. Facebook Retargeting Audience Builder 
16. Wordstream 
17. Semrush 
18. Screaming Frog 
19. Outranking 
20. aHrefs 
21. Platform.ly 
22. Databox 
23. RockerBox
24. Autopilot
25. ChurnZero

Marketing Automation for Agencies

Marketing automation tools help agencies streamline their campaigns, optimize client engagement, and achieve unparalleled efficiency in their digital strategies.

#1. Marketing Automation Tool: SharpSpring

Sharpspring is a marketing automation platform with tools for sales that also comes with a built-in CRM.

The best way to describe SharpSpring is as an “all-in-one” marketing platform because there are tools for all of the following and more:

• Email marketing
• Social media management
• Landing Page Designer
• Campaign Tracking
• Lead forms
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Blog pages

However, to be fair, there is no such thing as an “all-in-one” platform. You’ll always need additional tools, and often-times you’ll want to substitute out for a tool that’s better at a particular function.

But for agency leaders who find value in robust marketing platforms, don’t want to mix and match their MarTech stack, and don’t have the budget for a platform like Marketo, SharpSpring is a great option.

SharpSpring is designed to hold onto clients with the assistance of digital agency-specific features such as:

• Rebrandable interface, domain, login screen, and notifications.
• Single sign-on: Manage all your clients in one spot, and with one login.
• No-hassle client management: No need to call SharpSpring to ask permission. Just add them to your console and get moving. Includes custom access for each user.
• Flexible email templates: Have a favorite email template? Share it with all your clients.

SharpSpring also has a friendly business model for digital agencies. On its site, SharpSpring says something smart from a marketing perspective, which is, “Your customers are yours, not ours.”

And that’s due to many SaaS solutions charging their customers based on the number of contacts or instances one needs room for.

Furthermore, SharpSpring’s pricing model is quite flexible and agency-friendly:

• As little as 1/10th the cost of competing solutions.
• If SharpSpring isn’t for you, you can leave anytime. No long-term contract.
• The agency gets to decide what to charge its customers.
• And the agency keeps 75% of the revenue or more.

#2. Marketing Automation Tool: Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a marketing automation platform that helps eCommerce store owners deliver a more personalized experience for their customers. 

What makes Klaviyo so useful for digital marketing agencies is its intuitive design and data-driven approach. Agencies can harness the power of personalized email sequences, audience segmentation, and performance tracking of every campaign in real-time.

Klaviyo is not just about sending emails; it’s about creating and automating journeys that engage, convert, and keep customers coming back for more.

See how Customers.ai integrates with Klaviyo.

#3. Marketing Automation Tool: Hubspot

HubSpot is a marketing automation tool designed to boost ROI, optimize your inbound marketing strategy, and generate qualified leads.

With HubSpot, agencies can automate repetitive tasks like email campaigns, social media posts, and lead nurturing, freeing up valuable time to focus on creative and strategic planning. 

Hubspot also provides analytics tools to provide data on campaign performance, enabling agencies to make data-driven decisions and demonstrate clear ROI to clients. This combination of efficiency, insight, and integration makes HubSpot an indispensable tool for agencies aiming to stay ahead in a competitive digital landscape.

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Email Marketing Automation Tools for Agencies

Email marketing automation tools are revolutionizing the way agencies engage with audiences, ensuring personalized communication and measurable results at every step.

#4. Email Marketing Automation Tool: Customers.ai

The best email marketing software allows you to proactively engage with customers and prospects in order to grow revenue, generate leads, and offer real-time support across multiple channels.

Studies have shown that our email marketing software:

• Boosts email engagement rates by 5.5X.
• Boosts revenue from email marketing by 5.5X.
• Reduces customer acquisition cost by 93%.

Here’s how it works:

First, add our X-Ray pixel to your client’s website:

Then, set up an email automation through our AI-powered S.O.L.D. tool which maximizes email deliverability:

Plus, if you need some help writing your clients emails, you can take our new AI email writer for a spin!

#5. Email Marketing Automation Tool: Emma

Emma, or MyEmma, is an email marketing automation tool that flies under the radar but is great for digital marketing agencies.

Emma’s agency email marketing software and personalized services set you up to be the experts for your clients, help you manage multiple brands under one roof, and drive results that will have them singing your praises.

The Emma platform is referred to as the Emma HQ platform. It includes an approvals dashboard, campaign management, asset and template sharing controls, and multi-account reporting from the activity dashboard.

In regards to email marketing automation, Emma allows you to create targeted workflows based on any action your audience takes, both inside and outside the inbox.

And what Emma is referring to as “both inside and outside the inbox” is that most activity happens outside of the inbox. For example purchases, web visits, and reviews. 

With Emma, as long as you’re capturing the data, you can automate workflows based on that data. This allows you to further personalize every workflow. 

Emma’s marketing agency-specific features consist of the following four components.

1. Manage multiple accounts: Set up separate accounts for every client – each with its own set of roles & permissions – and easily manage them from one central dashboard.
2. Robust email reporting: Track client activity and quickly see what’s working (and what’s not) so you can offer the best advice and adjust your strategy to get better results.
3. Asset management: Manage and share creative assets – like email marketing templates, logos, and images – with clients so they have everything they need to send a gorgeous email.
4. White-labeled accounts: Choose to remove all Emma branding from your account. Your clients can even log-in directly from your site, so you can provide them with a complete email marketing experience.

When dynamic content and automation combine, you can create hyper-personalized emails. 

Agencies can really impress their clients by automatically populating an email series with content based on a subscriber’s favorite activity.

#6. Email Marketing Automation Tool: Mailchimp

MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing platforms due to its ease of use, sophisticated automation tools, and the ability to create great-looking emails with a drag-and-drop user interface.

In addition to being the most recognized email marketing platform in the world, MailChimp has built out a suite of cross-channel marketing tools.

MailChimp now refers to itself as an “all-in-one marketing platform” for small businesses. The most prevalent tools on the platform consist of the following:

• Email marketing
• Customer relationship management (CRM) dashboards
• Custom domains and website design templates
• Social media management and content scheduling
• Facebook and Instagram ad builders
• Landing page builders, including ecommerce
• Marketing analytics, and more.

Digital marketing agencies can benefit from MailChimp’s many automation tools, such as customer journey mapping, retargeting emails, behavior-based automation, date-based automation, welcome series, abandoned cart emails, product recommendations, and more.

MailChimp has gradually become more like Marketo, but for small businesses. And they’re doing this by building cross-channel marketing tools that complement their bread and butter, which is email.

#7. Email Marketing Automation Tool: SendGrid

The Sendgrid email marketing automation platform is a must-have tool for businesses of all sizes.

Along with it’s reliability and scalability, SendGrid is renowned for its advanced deliverability tools, along with features like delivery management, detailed analytics, and customizable templates. 

SendGrid makes email marketing automation easy. 

See how Customers.ai integrates with SendGrid.

Workflow Automation Tools for Agencies

Workflow automation tools are transforming how agencies manage tasks, streamline processes, and enhance productivity, enabling them to deliver superior services with remarkable efficiency.

#8. Workflow Automation: Zapier

As a marketing agency, you’re going to use a large variety of business and productivity apps. Every client is going to have a different marketing stack, and you’ll need a way to easily integrate many of them. 

Zapier is an awesome tool for marketing agencies because you can create automated workflows across tools in your mar-tech stack. In fact, Zapier is compatible with thousands of tools, and you can easily chain commands together with an “If X happens, do Y” structure. 

For example, the Customers.ai Zapier integration allows you to easily send information that’s stored to customer profiles in Customers.ai to other applications. For example:

• Add all new leads to your CRM, such as Salesforce
• Send SMS messages or Slack notifications to new contacts
• Subscribe new Customers.ai contacts to MailChimp
• Register Customers.ai contacts to Zoom Webinars

One of the main selling points of Zapier for marketing agencies is that this automation allows you to combine multiple actions and apps together in a single Zap.

So, let’s say a client sends you an email with an attachment. Using Zapier, you can store it on your Google Drive, share it with your team, and update your project management board without needing to do anything. 

Zapier will save your agency lots of time by automating repetitive tasks and please your clients when you’re able to work with their tech stack.

#9. Workflow Automation: Teamwork

Teamwork is a flexible workflow automation tool that gives marketing agencies what they need to deliver exceptional projects for their clients.

Teamwork’s “Workload” solution gives you a complete picture of your team’s capacity and helps you manage it more effectively. It also allows you to respond to changes quickly and keep teams on track.

Additionally, Teamwork allows you to build custom workflows and gives agencies one central place to visualize team projects and tasks, deadlines, and workloads.

#10. Workflow Automation: Monday

Monday.com is a versatile workflow automation tool that adds a ton of value to digital marketing agencies, especially when it comes to campaign management. 

Monday’s strength lies in its ability to create tailored workflows, giving digital marketing agencies a central hub to see projects, manage tasks, track deadlines, and balance team workloads. 

Monday.com also enhances client communication by allowing clients to be added as collaborators, streamlining the feedback processes and significantly reducing the need for lengthy email threads.

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Automated Social Media Management Tools for Agencies

Automated social media management tools help agencies enhance each of their client’s online presence, engage target audiences, and track performance across a variety of social media platforms.

#11. Social Media Automation: Meet Edgar

MeetEdgar is a content recycler that can be used to automate the sharing of all your evergreen content across Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

With MeetEdgar, you can load up the automated tool with all of your most important content once, and then have that evergreen content shared over and over again according to a schedule that you can edit. 

MeetEdgar helps promote your best content, saves time on scheduling, and auto-generates and tests variations.

#12. Social Media Automation: AgoraPulse

The ability to prove your agency’s social media ROI to your clients is powerful. And AgoraPulse has all of the digital agency tools you need to do just that.

With AgoraPulse, your agency can show ROI on each post, whether it’s organic or paid. This is accomplished using publishing modals and built-in UTM parameters that allow you to demonstrate your agency’s impact on conversions and revenue.

For marketing agencies, anything you can do to save time is paramount to your success. AgoraPulse makes it easy to export reports with key metrics and analysis on engagement and growth to present to clients.

Furthermore, it never hurts to impress clients. Unlimited Graphic Design Services let you get creative logos. So, add your logo to the PowerPoint decks generated by AgoraPulse and your clients will think you built it from scratch.

AgoraPulse also has tools to allow collaboration between marketing agencies and their clients. For example, with a shared calendar, clients can review, accept, reject, and give feedback on your scheduled social media content. Each shared calendar gives you unlimited calendar users and unlimited profiles.

#13. Social Media Automation: Instachamp

InstaChamp is the first Instagram-and-Facebook approved social media automation tool for business growth via messaging automation.

InstaChamp is unique due to its advanced automation features, including chatbots and personalized messaging, which facilitate instant and personalized interactions with customers. 

By automating responses, customer queries, and order updates on social media platforms, InstaChamp helps ecommerce businesses enhance customer satisfaction, streamline communication, and improve conversions.

#14. Social Media Automation: SocialBee

SocialBee is designed for the seamless management of your social media profiles. With this social media automation platform, your agency can schedule and automate posts.

For agencies overseeing multiple accounts, SocialBee breaks out each client’s dashboard into distinct workspaces for a more structured approach. Collaborative efforts are facilitated through features like assigning roles to team members, obtaining content approval from clients, and leaving notes on posts for effective communication.

#15. Social Media Automation: Facebook Retargeting Audience Builder

With the Customers.ai Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel, you can capture audience data from your website and sync it directly to Facebook, creating larger remarketing audiences and ensuring you are targeting people who are already interested in what you have to offer!

To get started, make sure you add the Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel to your site. It’s easy to do and takes less than 90 seconds. To add it, sign up (it’s FREE!), go to the dashboard, navigate to My Automations, select + New Automation, and get your pixel. Make sure to test it to verify it’s working.

From there, you can start building your Facebook Ads audience.

Marketers can’t afford to lose their retargeting audiences and Customers.ai is the answer.

SEO & PPC Automation Tools for Agencies

SEO and PPC automation tools help agencies optimize their search engine strategies and manage ad campaigns with precision and ease.

#16. PPC Automation: Wordstream

WordStream for agencies helps to replace multiple complex platforms and spreadsheets with a single user interface designed to streamline Google Ads, Facebook, and Bing workflows. 

Additionally, WordStream’s Advisor tool for agencies makes recommendations to optimize performance across platforms and will highlight your best results each month to your clients. 

The most notable WordStream features to consider for your set of marketing agency tools are as follows:

• Automated Keyword Lists
• Prospect Tracking & Management
• Customizable Proposal Generator
• White Labeled Google Account Audit
• International Currencies
• White Labeled Facebook Account Audit
• Google Places Match

WordStream’s Client Center dashboard is designed to give your agency a view of every account you manage and to assess where to spend your time more efficiently. It comes with tools such as a performance tracker, budget tracking, and spend notifications.

#17. SEO & PPC Automation: Semrush

Semrush is an all-in-one digital marketing solution that helps companies run digital marketing campaigns including SEO, paid media, and content marketing.

When it comes to automation, what makes Semrush unique is its ability to provide in-depth keyword research, competitor analysis, and site audit capabilities. And with robust features like backlink analysis and rank tracking, businesses can try to stay ahead in search engine rankings. 

It also has a user-friendly interface and delivers actionable insights that can be implemented quickly. Semrush gives marketers the tools to make good SEO and PPC decisions.

#18. SEO Automation: Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog is a widely used website crawler, designed primarily for automating SEO audits.

Screaming Frog allows users to crawl both small and very large websites efficiently while analyzing the results in real-time. 

Key features include finding broken links (404 errors), auditing redirects, analyzing page titles and metadata, discovering duplicate content, extracting data with XPath, reviewing robots and directives, and generating XML sitemaps. It’s particularly useful for its ability to provide a comprehensive overview of a website from an SEO perspective.

#19. SEO Automation: Outranking

Outranking.io is an AI-powered automated SEO content platform designed to enhance SEO content performance.

Outranking has an automated AI-assisted SEO workflow that will generate titles, create content outlines, develop first drafts and optimize content, taking much of the initial leg work out of the agency marketer’s hands.

The platform will also automate content optimization, helping agencies create content that will rank.

#20. SEO Automation: aHrefs

Ahrefs is an SEO automation tool with features for link building, keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, site audits, and more.

Ahrefs has an extensive database of links and keywords for comprehensive backlink analysis, competitor research, and keyword tracking. 

Ahrefs also will identify areas for improvement and provide actionable insights based on that data. Its user-friendly interface also makes Ahrefs a valuable automation tool for agencies.

Marketing Automation Tools for Attribution & Analytics

Marketing automation tools for attribution and analytics help agencies decode complex customer journeys and measure the impact of their marketing strategies with precision.

#21. Attribution & Analytics Automation: Platform.ly

Platform.ly has a full suite of multi-channel marketing automation tools from lead capture and nurturing to sales and brand advocacy.

For digital marketing agencies, the one thing Platform.ly does better than anything else is marketing attribution and analytics dashboards.

Agencies like Platform.ly for a number of reasons. Mainly it’s their reporting and attribution models, but it’s also the platform’s focus on the integration of other marketing tools.

This facilitates the ability to use the best tool for each marketing function, as opposed to using one marketing automation platform for everything, which means you’ll have fewer features at your disposal per marketing channel.

Platform.ly makes marketing attribution easy by precisely tracking interactions across different campaigns and channels throughout your marketing funnel. It helps you understand in detail which marketing activities drive the most sales, who your most loyal customers are, and what drives growth.

At a high-level, Platformly’s main features consist of the following:

• Business Dashboards
• Link Tracking
• CRM
• Lead Capture
• Email Marketing
• Marketing Automation
• Complete Reports
• Integrations

Use Platform.ly to track marketing efforts with interactive dashboards, measure agency performance, optimize user interactions from first to last touchpoints, convert more customers, and increase revenue.

#22. Attribution & Analytics Automation: Databox

Databox is an automated analytics tool that brings all data into a unified platform so agencies can track performance and discover insights in real-time.

This tool allows agencies to mix and match their data from different sources into one dashboard, and visualize a complete overview of business performance.

Some of the best features for agencies on Databox are:

• Agency + Client Accounts: agencies can create client accounts under 1 umbrella account. Clients then have access to monitor data anytime via URL, mobile application, TV data stream, or office wall.
• Client Performance Screen allows an agency to monitor up to 5 KPIs per client on a single screen. This is great for agency owners, managers & directors that want to quickly review account performance.
• Calculate KPIs From Different Sources – Data Calculations allows users to aggregate metrics from multiple data sources, calculate different ratios, return-on-investment, financial metrics, then track them over time.
• 3rd Party Automations – 70+ native integrations & 250+ Zapier & Integromat automations that you can connect with Databox.

#23. Attribution & Analytics Automation: Rockerbox

Rockerbox is a marketing attribution platform that can help agencies measure and manage marketing spend (paid, organic, digital, and offline campaigns).

Rockerbox uses machine learning to help businesses streamline their attribution and incrementality strategies, as well as media mix modeling operations. It enables the measurement of marketing spend across a broad spectrum of campaigns, including paid, organic, digital, and offline, thereby offering a holistic view of marketing effectiveness

Onboarding & Customer Journey Mapping Automation Tools

Onboarding and customer journey mapping automation tools help agencies seamlessly guide clients through tailored experiences and map out every interaction for maximum engagement and retention.

#24. Onboarding & Customer Journey Mapping Automation: Autopilot

Autopilot is a visual marketing automation tool agencies can use to create customer journey maps for clients. The Autopilot platform includes multi-channel marketing capabilities such as email, in-app, online, and snail-mail communications.

Autopilot is all about building automated lead generation and lead nurturing processes.

Autopilot allows users to: 

• Customize journeys based on audience behavior. 
• Build multi-channel workflows to send automated messages. 
• Generate customer journey reports that allow you to fix leaky marketing funnels.

Autopilot also includes features such as measuring campaign ROI and optimizing the revenue funnel based on real-time performance. 

Lastly, Autopilot integrates with other popular platforms such as Salesforce, InsideView, GoodData, Zapier, Slack, and Twilio.

#25. Onboarding & Customer Journey Mapping Automation: ChurnZero

ChurnZero is a customer onboarding platform that helps automate onboarding activities, including requirements gathering, technical implementation, configuration, and training.

Along with onboarding, ChurnZero offers a range of automated services including customer journey mapping, health scores, survey tools, segmentation, plays, reporting, real-time alerts, walkthroughs, and collaboration centers.

Looking for More than Marketing Automation Tools for Agencies?

If you need more than just marketing automation software, we have quite a few categories for you to choose from. Discover hundreds of the best digital marketing tools in the following lists:

• Free marketing software
• Tools for digital marketing agencies
• Marketing automation tools
• Trending digital marketing tools
• Social media marketing tools
• Ecommerce marketing tools
• Instagram marketing tools
• B2B marketing tools
• Viral marketing tools
• Marketing tools for small business
• Lead generation tools
• Growth hacking tools
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO) Tools
• Content marketing tools
• Affiliate marketing tools
• Email marketing tools
• Cross-channel marketing tools

Important Next Steps

• See what targeted outbound marketing is all about. Capture and engage your first 500 website visitor leads with Customers.ai X-Ray website visitor identification for free.
• Talk and learn about sales outreach automation with other growth enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
• Advance your marketing performance with Sales Outreach School, a free tutorial and training area for sales pros and marketers.

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Marketing Automation for Agencies FAQs

Q: What are marketing automation tools for agencies?

Tools designed to automate marketing tasks, streamline campaign management, and analyze data for marketing agencies.

Q: How do marketing automation tools benefit agencies?

They increase efficiency, improve client engagement, enable targeted campaigns, and provide measurable results.

Q: Can small agencies benefit from marketing automation tools?

Yes, these tools can help small agencies scale efficiently and compete with larger agencies.

Q: What features are essential in marketing automation tools for agencies?

Key features include email automation, social media management, analytics, CRM integration, and lead generation.

Q: Are there marketing automation tools suitable for all types of agencies?

Yes, there are versatile tools available that cater to a wide range of agency types and sizes.

Q: How do marketing automation tools impact client relationships?

They enhance client relationships through personalized communication and timely responses.

Q: Can marketing automation tools help with lead generation?

Yes, they can automate lead capture and nurturing processes, increasing the quantity and quality of leads.

Q: Do marketing automation tools integrate with other business systems?

Most tools offer integrations with CRM systems, email platforms, social media networks, and analytics tools.

Q: What is the average cost of marketing automation tools for agencies?

Costs vary widely, from free to premium tools, depending on features and scale of operations.

Q: Are there industry-specific marketing automation tools for agencies?

Yes, there are tools specialized for industries like real estate, healthcare, and retail.

Q: How do marketing automation tools improve campaign management?

They streamline campaign creation, scheduling, execution, and measurement.

Q: Can marketing automation tools track ROI?

Yes, they provide analytics and reporting features to track and measure ROI effectively.

Q: What is the role of AI in marketing automation tools?

AI enhances personalization, predictive analytics, and automates complex decision-making processes.

Q: How secure are marketing automation tools for agencies?

Reputable tools prioritize data security and comply with regulations like GDPR.

Q: Can marketing automation tools support multichannel marketing?

Yes, they enable agencies to manage and automate campaigns across various digital channels.

Q: How user-friendly are marketing automation tools for agencies?

Most tools are designed with user-friendliness in mind, offering intuitive interfaces and support.

Q: What is the best marketing automation tool for a small agency?

There are a number of marketing automation tools for small agencies available. We recommend identifying your needs and visiting the list we’ve outlined above.

Q: Can marketing automation tools assist with content creation?

Some tools offer content creation and management features, including templates and scheduling.

Q: How do marketing automation tools aid in email marketing?

They automate email campaign creation, segmentation, delivery, and performance tracking.

Q: What analytics do marketing automation tools provide?

They offer insights into campaign performance, customer behavior, and conversion tracking.

Q: How do marketing automation tools help with social media management?

They automate post scheduling, track engagement, and analyze social media campaign performance.

Q: Can marketing automation tools optimize SEO for agencies?

Some tools include SEO features to help optimize content and track keyword performance.

Q: Are marketing automation tools effective for B2B agencies?

Yes, they are effective for B2B agencies in lead generation, nurturing, and sales processes.

Q: How do marketing automation tools handle data privacy?

They typically comply with data privacy laws and offer features for consent management and data protection.

Q: What is the future of marketing automation tools for agencies?

The future includes more advanced AI capabilities, deeper integrations, and enhanced personalization features.

The post 25 Best Marketing Automation Tools for Agencies to Impress Clients & Differentiate Themselves from Competitors appeared first on Customers.ai.

Two of the most reported challenges for marketing agencies are finding services to offer that differentiate themselves from the competition and adopting new marketing technologies to gain a competitive advantage.

This article will help you discover the best digital marketing agency tools and software available .

1. Zapier Workflow Automation
2. Teamwork Project Management Software
3. Monday Project Management Software
4. Slack Productivity Platform
5. Calendly Online Appointment Scheduling
6. GrowthHackers Content Marketing Planning
7. Iconosquare Social Media Analytics & Management
8. AgoraPulse Social Media Management
9. SocialBee Social Media Management
10. Customers.ai Facebook Retargeting Audience Builder
11. AdEspresso Facebook Ads Manager
12. Whatagraph Marketing Analytics & Social Media Reporting
13. SE Ranking All-in-one SEO Software
14. SEMRush SEO Management Software
15. aHrefs SEO Management Software
16. SpyFu Competitor Keyword Research
17. WordStream PPC Management Software
18. Rebrandly Link Tracking Software
19. Customers.ai AI Email Writer
20. Klayvio Email Marketing Software
21. Customers.ai Intent-Based Consumer Directory
22. Unbounce Landing Page Builder
23. Visme Graphic Design Software
24. Canva Visual Design Tool
25. Snagit Screen Capture Software
26. Databox Business Analytics & KPI Dashboards
27. Octoboard AI Data Analytics
28. Turtl Content Marketing Software

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Workflow & Project Management Tools

Project management is the unsung hero of the digital agency world. It brings order to the inherent chaos of campaigns, ensuring tasks are organized, deadlines are met, and resources are allocated efficiently. It also enables agencies to adapt swiftly to the fast-paced nature of the digital landscape, allowing them to stay agile, innovative, and ultimately deliver impactful results for their clients. Here are a few of our favorite workflow and project management tools for digital marketing agencies.

Marketing Agency Tools #1: Zapier Workflow Automation

As a marketing agency, you’re going to use a large variety of business and productivity apps. Every client is going to have a different marketing stack, and you’ll need a way to easily integrate many of them. 

Additionally, the need to adopt marketing automation for agencies is growing, fast.

Zapier is an awesome tool for marketing agencies because you can create automated workflows across tools in your mar-tech stack. In fact, Zapier is compatible with thousands of tools, and you can easily chain commands together with an “If X happens, do Y” structure. 

For example, the Customers.ai Zapier integration allows you to easily send information that’s stored to customer profiles in Customers.ai to other applications. 

Here are just some of the more popular “Zaps” for Customers.ai users: 

• Add all new leads to your CRM, such as Salesforce
• Send SMS messages or Slack notifications to new contacts
• Subscribe new Customers.ai contacts to MailChimp
• Register Customers.ai contacts to Zoom Webinars

One of the main selling points of Zapier for marketing agencies is that this automation allow you to combine multiple actions and apps together in a single Zap. So, let’s say a client sends you an email with an attachment. Using Zapier, you can store it on your Google Drive, share it with your team, and update your project management board without needing to do anything. 

Zapier will save your agency lots of time by automating repetitive tasks and please your clients when you’re able to work with their tech stack.

Marketing Agency Tools #2: Teamwork Project Management Software

Teamwork is a flexible work management software that gives marketing agencies the tools they need to deliver exceptional projects for their clients.

As an agency, you’re not only managing your own work, you’re also managing your clients’ work. With Teamwork’s “Workload” solution, you can get a complete picture of your team’s capacity and manage it more effectively. 

This makes it easier for marketing agencies to respond to changes quickly and keep their team on track.

Additionally, Teamwork allows you to build custom workflows and gives agencies one central place to visualize team projects and tasks, deadlines, and workloads.

Lastly, client communication is facilitated by teamwork, as you can add clients as collaborators. By doing so, clients can leave comments, review assets, view the progress of projects, and eliminate many back and forth email threads.

Marketing Agency Tools #3: Monday Project Management Software

Monday.com stands out as a versatile project management tool that adds tremendous value to digital marketing agencies in navigating the intricacies of campaign management. 

One of the standout features of Monday.com is its customizable Workload view, providing agencies with a bird’s-eye perspective of their team’s capacity. This not only facilitates effective resource allocation but also allows digital marketing agencies to adapt to changes in project requirements.

The tool’s strength lies in its ability to create tailored workflows, offering digital marketing agencies a centralized hub to visualize projects, manage tasks, track deadlines, and balance workloads. Whole teams can see a project’s planned schedule and its activities over time via Gantt chart views. This customization capability aligns seamlessly with the diverse and often unique requirements of marketing campaigns, allowing agencies to mold the platform to suit their specific project management needs.

Monday.com also enhances client communication by allowing clients to be added as collaborators. This collaborative feature streamlines feedback processes, as clients can leave comments, review assets, monitor project progress, and significantly reduce the need for lengthy email threads.

Marketing Agency Tools #4: Slack Productivity Platform

Slack is like the ultimate digital clubhouse for digital marketing crews, where communication becomes a breeze and collaboration hits a whole new level. 

With channels for each campaign and direct messaging that’s faster than a marketing trend going viral, Slack is the secret weapon for digital marketing teams hustling in the fast lane.

The real magic of Slack for digital marketing agencies lies in its ability to bring everyone onto the same stage. Brainstorming sessions,  updates on projects, tools, tasks, whatever. 

Plus, with integrations galore, easy file sharing, and feedback loops, it’s basically a digital agency must-have.

Marketing Agency Tools #5: Calendly Online Appointment Scheduling

Calendly is the scheduling superhero that digital marketing agencies didn’t know they needed. No more email tag or phone ping-pong; it helps avoid scheduling headaches and lets clients and team members book time slots that suit everyone’s agenda. Much better than the “does this time work for you?” email.

What sets Calendly apart for digital marketing agencies is its time-saving abilities. Real-time calendar sync and customizable meeting types are A+. 

It is a game-changer for busy agency marketers –  it not only frees up your time but also ensures that every meeting is seamless.

Marketing Agency Tools #6: Growth Hackers Content Marketing Planning

GrowthHackers new Workflow tool helps businesses plan, create, distribute, and analyze content marketing at scale through intuitive and integrated software.

Companies and marketing agencies can use Workflow to: 

• Brainstorm and approve their editorial lines 
• Create content for blogs, social media, and emails 
• Organize and publish through an integrated drag-and-drop editorial calendar 
• Keep track of their content production and workload 
• Analyze results from an SEO and social media perspective after publication

As a compliment to GrowthHackers Experiments tool for running growth tests, they built Workflow for teams to also be able to execute their hypotheses from one platform. 

Workflow helps growth and content marketing teams guess less, learn more, and work together.

Social Media Management & Social Media Automation Tools

Social media management and automation tools make the daily grind of social media marketing a breeze. They’re like having a personal assistant for your social game, helping digital agencies schedule posts, track performance, and engage with the audience effortlessly. With the power of automation, these tools free up time, ensuring that your team can focus on the creative magic that truly sets your campaigns on fire. Here are a few we like:

Marketing Agency Tools #7: Iconosquare Social Media Analytics & Management

Iconosquare is one of the leading analytics and management platforms used by agencies and social media marketers.

Agencies use Iconosquare to help their clients manage their social media accounts. (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are available).

Some of the best features for agencies on Iconosquare are:

• In-depth analytics to understand their clients’ audience for increased account growth and engagement.
• Easy reporting – easily report the performance to your clients thanks to branded PDF reports at the click of a button.
• Multi profile management – report and analyze the social media performance of multiple social media profiles and content for your clients from one dashboard.
• Automatic scheduler – save time by setting and forgetting your content in advance.
• Scheduler collaboration – facilitate collaboration with your clients or your team by sharing your scheduler calendar with external approvers.

Other useful features for agencies on Iconosquare:

• Competitor analysis
• Conversations
• Hashtag tracking
• Industry benchmark

Marketing Agency Tools #8: AgoraPulse Social Media Management

Being able to prove your agency’s social media ROI to your clients can be powerful. AgoraPulse provides the tools you need to do just that.

AgoraPulse has publishing modal’s built-in UTM parameters to show your agency’s impact on conversions and revenue. This allows you to spot and eliminate spam and negative comments on your ads to encourage more positive engagement and ROI on your client’s ad spend.

For marketing agencies, anything you can do to save time is paramount to your success. AgoraPulse makes it easy to export reports with key metrics and analysis on engagement and growth to present to clients.

Furthermore, it never hurts to impress clients. So, add your logo to the PowerPoint decks generated by AgoraPulse and your clients will think you built it from scratch.

AgoraPulse also has tools to allow collaboration between marketing agencies and their clients. For example, with a shared calendar, clients can review, accept, reject, and give feedback on your scheduled social media content. Each shared calendar gives you unlimited calendar users and unlimited profiles.

Marketing Agency Tools #9: SocialBee Social Media Management

SocialBee is a comprehensive tool designed for the seamless management of your social media profiles. With this platform, you can schedule and automate posts and receive assistance in creating a tailored social media strategy. 

Monitor key performance metrics such as engagement and follower growth, and efficiently handle messages, comments, and mentions—all from a unified interface.

For agencies overseeing multiple accounts, SocialBee enables the organization of clients’ dashboards into distinct workspaces for a more structured approach. Collaborative efforts are facilitated through features like assigning roles to team members, obtaining content approval from clients, and leaving notes on posts for effective communication.

Take advantage of SocialBee’s 14-day free trial, with no credit card required.

Marketing Agency Tools #10: Customers.ai Facebook Retargeting Audience Builder

With the iOS 17 privacy changes and Facebook’s focus on protecting user data, retargeting audiences are getting smaller.

With the Customers.ai Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel, you can capture audience data from your website and sync it directly to Facebook, creating larger remarketing audiences and ensuring you are targeting people who are already interested in what you have to offer!

To get started, make sure you add the Website Visitor ID X-Ray pixel to your site. It’s easy to do and takes less than 90 seconds. To add it, sign up (it’s FREE!), go to the dashboard, navigate to My Automations, select + New Automation, and get your pixel. Make sure to test it to verify it’s working.

From there, you can start building your Facebook Ads audience.

Marketers can’t afford to lose their retargeting audiences and Customers.ai is the answer.

Marketing Agency Tools #11: Ad Espresso Facebook Ads Manager

Performance marketing agencies can quickly be in control of managing hundreds or even thousands of ads for their clients. That’s why a tool like AdEspresso can be a particularly useful addition to your marketing agency tools.

Whether you’re a freelancer or an experienced marketing agency, AdEspresso has the right combination of Automation tools designed to save you time and generate more leads for your clients. 

AdEspresso allows you to quickly create and analyze all your clients’ campaigns across three channels, all from one platform:

• Facebook ads
• Google AdWords 
• Instagram ads

What’s particularly useful for performance marketing agencies is AdEspresso’s ability to simplify the onboarding of new clients using its Onboarding Requests tool. With this feature, you can have your clients provide access to their pages and ad accounts with as little friction as possible. 

Additionally, if you need to add external services, you can also request access to your clients’ CRM to connect AdEspresso.

Other useful tools for agencies on AdEspresso:

• Request approval for your campaigns
• Create and send customized reports
• White label the product to the look and feel of your agency
• Team collaboration and permissions management

Give your Facebook ads some extra juice with these 19 powerful Facebook advertising tools!

Marketing Agency Tools #12: Whatagraph Marketing Analytics & Social Media Reporting

Whatagraph is a marketing data platform for marketing agencies and in-house teams to connect, visualize, and share marketing data coming from various sources. 

This tool enables professionals to automatically pull data from connected digital marketing channels, and turn it into visually appealing reports & dashboards, and effortlessly share insights as scheduled emails or live on-demand links. 

Whatagraph helps marketing professionals monitor the performance of their own or clients’ marketing campaigns by aggregating the essential metrics from multiple marketing sources into one unified view. Each dashboard or report can contain multiple data sources, with the possibility to customize every widget for metrics, dimensions, filters, and sources.   

Its main benefits include:

• Native integrations with major marketing platforms 
• Library of report and dashboard templates
• Intuitive drag-and-drop report builder 
• Easy cross-channel insights 
• Custom formulas and metrics
• Linked templates
• Automatic report delivery 
• Sharing reports as live links
• White-label reports — custom domain, colors, and branding
• Connect any source via Custom API, Google Sheets, or Google BigQuery
• No-code data transfers to Google BigQuery

SEO Management Software & PPC Management Software

SEO management and PPC management software are the dynamic duos in a digital marketing agency’s toolkit, working hand in hand to catapult online visibility and drive results. SEO tools are like the backstage crew, fine-tuning your website’s performance, optimizing keywords, and ensuring it steals the show on search engines. PPC tools are the cool kids handling the spotlight, creating and managing those attention-grabbing paid campaigns that bring in the audience. Together, they’re the secret sauce behind a digital marketing agency’s success!

Marketing Agency Tool #13: SE Ranking All-in-one SEO Software

The comprehensive SEO platform SE Ranking is one of the best choices for marketing agencies. It combines all the necessary tools for everyday optimization activities, from rank tracking to keyword and competitive research, and even content creation. The report builder is a huge benefit for agencies and has many templates, a white label feature, and integration with Looker Studio (previously Data Studio). 

So which SE Ranking tools can help clients to create a comprehensive strategy?

• Rank Tracker that provides accurate position tracking for each keyword with many additional features like ranking cannibalization spotting and keyword grouping, and tagging
• On-page SEO Checker that provides an optimization score for the page and advice on how to improve it
• Keyword Research with valuable features like bulk keyword analysis, question generation related to your query, providing long-tail keywords, etc
• Competitive Research that analyzes the organic and PPC traffic of the client’s rivals and extends the competitor list
• Website Audit that evaluates the website’s health and detects any possible technical issues
• Backlink Checker that analyzes backlink profiles from every possible angle
• Content Marketing Module that helps to create briefs and high-performing content based on the client’s competitors.

Marketers and SEO specialists can also connect Google Search Console and Google Analytics so that all the data is in one place. SE Ranking was designed with the needs of agencies in mind, so it also offers:

• White-label functionality 
• The possibility of working in teams on one project
• Marketing reporting tools for presenting well-visualized reports for clients
• More affordable pricing compared to other SEO tools.

Marketing Agency Tools #14: SEMRush SEO Management Software

SEMrush is one of the best SEO tools to make your clients visible online. 

Agency teams use SEMrush to help clients master content marketing, improve SEO across their websites, create PPC campaigns, and manage their social media presence.

Some of the most popular tools to create a plan for your clients consist of:

• Website audit
• Social media tracker
• Backlink audit
• Ad builder
• Keyword position tracking
• On-page SEO checker
• PPC keyword tool
• Organic traffic insights

So, if you think about it, not only can you use SEMrush for SEO optimization with your clients, you can also use SEMrush to find prospects and land new business. 

By gaining insights into potential clients, the better you’ll be able to pitch them. Use SEMrush to:

• Analyze potential clients and their online visibility
• Get insights into their online performance, marketing strategy, and budgets
• Understand their niche and target audience
• Locate gaps in their marketing strategy to offer a personalized action plan

Marketing Agency Tools #15: aHrefs SEO Management Software

Ahrefs is kind of the Swiss Army knife of SEO tools. It does keyword research, backlink analysis, site audits, and more.

With the power to spy on competitors’ strategies, uncover high-performing keywords, and dissect backlink profiles, Ahrefs helps guide the SEO efforts of digital marketing agencies. It’s not just about improving rankings; it’s about crafting campaigns that resonate with the algorithms and audiences alike.

In our opinion, it helps transform SEO from a guessing game into a calculated science, ensuring that every optimization move is backed by data-driven precision.

Marketing Agency Tools #16: SpyFu Competitor Keyword Research

SpyFu is the best tool available for competitor keyword research. 

And each of your current or prospective marketing agency clients are going to get excited when you tell them you can steal traffic and leads from their competitors.

With SpyFu you can search for any domain and see every place they’ve shown up on Google, every keyword they’ve bought on Adwords, every organic rank, and every ad variation in the last 13 years.

SpyFu has step-by-step guides on how to:

• Find the keywords most important to your client’s market
• Increase your clients’ ranking for specific keywords
• Plan a content marketing campaign
• Research your client’s competitors marketing strategies
• Start a new AdWords campaign

Additionally, with SpyFu’s AdWords Advisor tool, if you analyze your client’s website, you can analyze all of their competitors’ AdWords bidding history and recommend the most profitable keywords your clients aren’t yet targeting.

SpyFu makes it easy to delight marketing agency clients because you can walk into a room and present hard data that shows how you’re going to help them beat out their competitors.

Marketing Agency Tools #17: Wordstream PPC Management Software

WordStream for agencies helps to replace multiple complex platforms and spreadsheets with a single user interface designed to streamline Google Ads, Facebook, and Bing workflows. 

Additionally, WordStream’s Advisor tool for agencies makes recommendations to optimize performance across platforms and will highlight your best results each month to your clients. 

The most notable WordStream features to consider for your set of marketing agency tools are as follows:

• Prospect Tracking & Management
• Customizable Proposal Generator
• White Labeled Google Account Audit
• International Currencies
• White Labeled Facebook Account Audit
• Automated Keyword Lists
• Google Places Match

WordStream’s Client Center dashboard is designed to give your agency a view of every account you manage and to assess where to spend your time more efficiently. It comes with tools such as a performance tracker, budget tracking, and spend notifications.

Marketing Agency Tools #18: Rebrandly Link Tracking Software

Rebrandly is the industry-leading link management platform to brand, track and share short URLs using a custom domain name. 

Rebrandly is great for creating many different short links with your client’s brand name on the links, making them more than 30% likely to be clicked. 

Using Rebrandly, you can do the following and much more:

• Build, schedule, and send custom reports based on the traffic your links receive.
• Send visitors to specific landing pages or direct them to your mobile app based on their location, device, browsing language, and other factors.
• Fire retargeting pixels directly from your links, add users to your retargeting lists in Facebook, AdWords, Twitter, and more.
• Quickly build UTM parameters on all your links to know the medium, source, and content traffic is coming from. 

For agency teams, you can set up folders where members of the same team can connect to view and manage sets of branded links collaboratively.

Email Marketing & AI Email Tools

Email marketing is the driver of any digital marketing agency’s communication game, turning client interactions into a symphony of seamless connections. These tools not only save time and streamline communication but also add a dash of personality to your agency’s conversations, making client relationships as smooth as your favorite playlist.

Marketing Agency Tools #19: Customers.ai AI Email Customizer

Customers.ai’s AI email writer is a cutting-edge tool that revolutionizes email marketing by seamlessly blending advanced artificial intelligence capabilities with personalized communication strategies. Businesses can send dynamically generated, hyper-personalized email campaigns, tailoring content to individual recipients with unprecedented precision.

Here’s an example:

By leveraging AI-driven delivery tools, automated follow-up sequences, and real-time notifications, Customers.ai significantly enhances engagement rates.

Even better, the platform goes beyond basic email campaigns, enriching leads with comprehensive demographic and interest-based data, enabling businesses to create detailed customer profiles and finely segmented audience groups.

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Marketing Agency Tools #20: Klayvio Email Marketing Software

Klaviyo is the marketing maestro that empowers digital marketing agencies to orchestrate highly targeted and personalized campaigns with finesse. It’s not just a platform; it’s the key to unlocking the full potential of customer engagement. 

With Klaviyo’s robust email marketing and automation features, agencies can go beyond just managing campaigns – they can craft experiences that resonate with audiences and drive unparalleled results. Plus, Klayvio integrates with Customers.ai for supercharged campaigns!

What sets Klaviyo apart for digital marketing agencies is its intuitive design and data-driven approach. Agencies can harness the power of personalized email sequences, segment their audience with surgical precision, and track the performance of every campaign in real-time..

It’s not just about sending emails; it’s about creating journeys that captivate, convert, and keep customers coming back for more.

Marketing Agency Tools #21: Customers.ai Intent-Based Consumer Directory

With changing privacy regulations, especially around email marketing, growing an emai list is harder than ever. For many marketers, this means supplementing their existing email lists. And that’s where the Customers.ai intent-based consumer directory comes in.

Our Consumer Directory has actionable information on over 250 million U.S. consumers that you can use to filter and purchase leads based on the criteria that’s most in-line with your business’s ideal customers, like: 

• Age
• Location
• Relationship status
• Number of kids
• Estimated income
• Occupation
• And more!

Grow your email marketing list with people who are actually in your target audience!

Graphic Design & Landing Page Tools

Graphic design tools are the creative wizards of the digital marketing realm, turning bland campaigns into visual masterpieces. They’re like a magic wand for your content, allowing agencies to conjure up eye-catching visuals, snazzy social media graphics, and captivating landing pages. These tools not only make your brand shine but also ensure your marketing materials are on point.

Marketing Agency Tools #22: Unbounce Landing Page Builder

Unbounce is a popular addition to the list of many marketing agency tools. It allows you to create custom landing pages with no coding required. 

Additionally, Unbounce’s Conversion Intelligence and Smart Traffic tools help to set Unbounce apart from the competition. 

As an agency, you’re under pressure to turn client campaigns into success stories. Well, sending traffic to your client’s website isn’t going to be successful because websites are for exploring, not converting. 

Landing pages, on the other hand, are focused on the messaging that brought visitors to the page in the first place. A landing page with one, focused goal tailored to a marketing campaign will absolutely increase conversions, and therefore keep your clients happy.

With Unbounce, you can duplicate your most successful landing pages across client accounts to save time and build high converting pages in bulk. Furthermore, you can A/B test variations of landing pages to see which messaging and design works best for your client.

Marketing Agency Tools #23: Visme Graphic Design Software

Visme is an all-in-one visual content creation tool that allows you to design anything from social media graphics and presentations to reports and infographics, and much more.

Start with one of Visme’s thousands of professionally designed templates and fully customize it to fit you or your client’s brand and marketing needs. The intuitive design interface comes with many design assets like icons, popular fonts, color themes, animation and interactivity elements, as well as animated graphics and illustrations that are exclusive to Visme’s platform.

A few categories of templates users can choose from include:

• Presentation Templates
• Infographics
• Flyers
• Brochures
• Schedules
• Instagram Posts
• Instagram Stories
• YouTube Thumbnails
• Greeting Cards
• Certificates
• and so many more!

Business account users can even add in their branded colors and fonts so that they’re easy to access in all-new designs. Save customized templates to reuse in your designs.

Marketing Agency Tools #24: Canva Visual Design Tool

Not all of us are creative design experts. Thank you Canva!

Canva really is the secret sauce for agencies aiming to craft compelling visual content without the need for a graphic design degree. 

It’s user-friendly, has an extensive library of templates, and it makes designing images, videos, ads, etc, so easy.

It’s also collaborative, so agencies can work together or with clients to gather feedback, and iterate designs in real-time

Canva is the design wizard that keeps digital marketing agencies one step ahead in the visual storytelling game.

Marketing Agency Tools #25: Snagit Screen Capture Software

Snagit is the digital detective that equips digital marketing agencies with the superpower of visual communication. It’s not just a screen capture tool; it is so much more! 

For agencies looking to capture, edit, and share screenshots and videos without a ton of software, this is it. It has a super-intuitive interface and tons of editing tools. it’s creating how-to guides, visual content, or client tutorials.

What makes Snagit indispensable for digital marketing agencies is it simplifies complex processes. Capture intricate details, highlight key elements, and annotate images on the fly. 

In the world of digital collaboration, Snagit is the visual storyteller that bridges the gap between ideas and understanding.

Bonus Tool for Digital Marketing Agencies

Marketing Agency Tools #26: Databox Business Analytics & KPI Dashboards

Databox is a business analytics tool that brings all data into a unified platform so users can track performance and discover insights in real-time.

This tool allows agencies to mix and match their data from different sources into one dashboard, and visualize a complete overview of business performance.

Some of the best features for agencies on Databox are:

• Agency + Client Accounts: agencies can create client accounts under 1 umbrella account. Clients then have access to monitor data anytime via URL, mobile application, TV data stream, or office wall.
• Client Performance Screen allows an agency to monitor up to 5 KPIs per client on a single screen. This is great for agency owners, managers & directors that want to quickly review account performance.
• Mobile Application – Databox has a native mobile app that allows users to check data from anywhere, at any time. Data Boards will automatically adjust to fit the mobile screen, so you don’t need to build them twice.
• Calculate KPIs From Different Sources – Data Calculations allows users to aggregate metrics from multiple data sources, calculate different ratios, return-on-investment, financial metrics, then track them over time.
• 3rd Party Automations – 70+ native integrations & 250+ Zapier & Integromat automations that you can connect with Databox.
• Scheduled Snapshots – Your clients or agency may not want to log in to Databox every day to check data. Snapshots allow them to send monthly or weekly updates to important stakeholders, without asking them to log in to the web or mobile app.

Other useful features for agencies on Databox:

• Dashboard Annotations
• Drag-and-Drop Editor
• Pre-made Templates
• Quick Setup
• Smart Goals
• Alerts

Marketing Agency Tools #27: Octoboard AI Data Analytics

Octoboard is an online tool for building online custom reports, using advanced PPC data analytics techniques and dimensions to make them more convenient and adjust them based on your needs connecting any of your platforms to your dashboard. 

Some features Octoboard includes.

• Creating analytics ad spend reports
• Tracking keyword ranking and page insights 
• Segmenting your customers and products of your Ecommerce store
• Connecting all your advertising platforms to the one platform
• Getting updates from Slack or via email about the insights of your campaigns
• Connecting lead generation processes with a dashboard and visualise them in Google sheets

Octoboard is a solution for businesses who are seeking for all in one platform for managing their advertising campaigns.

In the dynamic landscape of digital marketing, success hinges on the right toolkit. The best digital marketing agency tools are designed not just to meet but to exceed expectations. They empower your agency to scale effortlessly, impress clients consistently, and secure new business confidently.

This compilation of top-tier marketing tools for digital agencies addresses the pivotal challenges we are facing in 2024 – differentiation from competitors and leveraging cutting-edge marketing technologies for a competitive edge. As the industry evolves, these tools promise to keep your agency at the forefront.

Marketing Agency Tools #28: Turtl Content Marketing Software

In terms of stakeholder management, Turtl is a remarkable agency tool for content creation and measurement. Anyone in your team (not just the designers) can create long-form interactive content with drag-and-drop, branding is hardwired and you can collaborate and comment live with remote teams. 

Where the platform shines is through its use of data and reporting. Turtl Analytics has several dashboards with granular insights. Teams can manage/track leads at an individual level, see buying intent from content engagement, and report on ROI quickly and accurately. Turtl Benchmarks compares content across teams, organizations, or industries and shares AI-backed suggestions to help max your clients’ content performance. 

If your customers want reliable, scalable ABM, Turtl’s Personalization Engine sends deeply personalized content to unlimited accounts. If you look after corporates with large sales teams, you can personalize brochures for global reach from a master document. And when you’re pitching for business yourself, you can see stakeholder engagement in your decks and proposals. As a modern replacement to the PDF, marketing material made in Turtl turns previously invisible assets into revenue drivers.

Important Next Steps

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FAQs about Marketing Agency Tools

What are marketing agency tools?

Marketing agency tools are software and platforms designed to help agencies manage, optimize, and scale their client marketing efforts. These tools assist in various aspects, including:

• Project Management: Tools for planning and tracking campaigns.
• Analytics & Reporting: Software that provides data insights.
• SEO and Content Creation: Platforms to improve content quality and ranking.
• Client Collaboration: Tools to streamline communication and approvals.

Why are marketing tools important for agencies?

Marketing tools enable agencies to work more efficiently and deliver higher-quality results by:

• Automating Repetitive Tasks: Freeing up time for strategic work.
• Enhancing Data Accuracy: Ensuring precise reporting and decision-making.
• Improving Client Collaboration: Providing a single platform for sharing updates.
• Scaling Services: Allowing agencies to handle more clients or larger campaigns.

What types of tools are essential for marketing agencies?

Essential tools fall into categories such as:

• Project Management: Trello, Asana.
• SEO and Analytics: Ahrefs, Google Analytics.
• Social Media Management: Hootsuite, Buffer.
• CRM & Client Relationship: HubSpot, Salesforce.
• Creative Tools: Canva, Adobe Creative Suite.

How do project management tools help marketing agencies?

Project management tools like Trello or Asana allow agencies to:

• Organize Campaign Tasks: Break down campaigns into steps.
• Track Deadlines and Milestones: Ensure timely delivery.
• Assign Responsibilities: Manage team roles and accountability.
• Streamline Communication: Centralize updates and feedback.

What role do analytics tools play in marketing agency success?

Analytics tools provide crucial insights into campaign performance, helping agencies:

• Measure ROI: Track conversion rates, engagement, and revenue.
• Identify Trends: Discover what content resonates with audiences.
• Optimize Strategies: Use data to refine campaigns for better results.
• Report to Clients: Present clear, data-backed insights.

What are some popular SEO tools for marketing agencies?

Popular SEO tools include:

• Ahrefs: Keyword research, backlink tracking, and competitor analysis.
• SEMrush: All-in-one SEO suite with content analysis and rank tracking.
• Moz: Focused on site audits, rank tracking, and link building.
• Google Search Console: Free tool for understanding search performance.

How do CRM tools benefit marketing agencies?

CRM tools like HubSpot and Salesforce help agencies:

• Manage Leads and Sales: Track and nurture potential clients.
• Improve Client Relationships: Keep client information and communication organized.
• Automate Workflows: Streamline repetitive tasks like follow-ups.
• Enhance Customer Retention: Track client interactions and address needs proactively.

What tools are best for social media management?

Top social media management tools include:

• Hootsuite: Schedule posts, track performance, and monitor social mentions.
• Buffer: Simple scheduling and analytics for multiple accounts.
• Sprout Social: Advanced analytics and social listening.
• Later: Visual planning for Instagram-focused campaigns.

Why is email marketing software essential for agencies?

Email marketing software like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign help agencies:

• Automate Email Sequences: Engage leads at scale with drip campaigns.
• Segment Audiences: Target messages based on user behavior.
• Track Engagement Metrics: Analyze open rates, CTRs, and conversions.
• Personalize Campaigns: Use data to send relevant, timely messages.

What are content creation tools, and why do agencies need them?

Content creation tools enable agencies to produce high-quality, engaging content. Key tools include:

• Canva: Simple graphic design for social posts and ads.
• Adobe Creative Suite: Industry-standard for photo, video, and design work.
• Grammarly: Improves writing quality and checks grammar.
• Jasper.ai: AI-powered content generation for blogs, social posts, and more.

How do agencies use automation tools in marketing?

Automation tools, like Zapier and Integromat, help agencies:

• Connect Multiple Platforms: Integrate CRM, email, and social tools.
• Automate Routine Tasks: Schedule posts, send follow-up emails.
• Reduce Manual Effort: Simplify data entry, reporting, and tracking.

What are some reporting tools agencies use for clients?

Agencies use reporting tools like Google Data Studio and Klipfolio to:

• Visualize Data: Create graphs and charts for easy interpretation.
• Automate Reporting: Schedule regular reports with updated data.
• Customize Reports: Tailor insights to each client’s priorities and KPIs.
• Improve Transparency: Give clients regular updates on performance.

How do SEO tools improve agency services?

SEO tools enable agencies to optimize client websites by:

• Keyword Research: Finding high-potential keywords.
• Site Audits: Identifying technical SEO issues.
• Backlink Analysis: Tracking competitor link profiles.
• Content Analysis: Evaluating what content attracts traffic.

What is the importance of collaboration tools for agencies?

Collaboration tools, like Slack and Microsoft Teams, enhance productivity by:

• Centralizing Communication: Team members can quickly connect.
• Improving Project Visibility: Share updates, files, and feedback instantly.
• Increasing Response Times: Faster internal response helps streamline projects.

Why do agencies need client onboarding tools?

Client onboarding tools standardize the initial setup process, helping agencies:

• Gather Information Efficiently: Collect documents, goals, and preferences.
• Set Clear Expectations: Communicate timelines and deliverables.
• Streamline Agreements: Sign contracts and complete paperwork easily.

What are the best lead generation tools for agencies?

Lead generation tools, such as Customers.ai and HubSpot, help agencies:

• Capture Potential Clients: Use forms and chatbots to engage site visitors.
• Nurture Leads: Automatically send follow-up messages.
• Segment Leads: Identify high-value prospects for targeted outreach.

What are retargeting tools, and how do they benefit agencies?

Retargeting tools like Google Ads and Meta Ads enable agencies to:

• Re-Engage Visitors: Target users who’ve previously visited a site.
• Improve Conversion Rates: Remind interested users about the client’s offer.
• Boost Brand Recall: Keep the client’s brand top of mind.

How do agencies use keyword research tools?

Keyword research tools help agencies identify valuable keywords for SEO and PPC campaigns. Agencies use these tools to:

• Understand Search Intent: Find terms that match user needs.
• Optimize Content: Build articles around high-traffic terms.
• Enhance Ad Targeting: Choose keywords that drive conversions.

What are A/B testing tools, and why are they important?

A/B testing tools, like Optimizely and Google Optimize, allow agencies to:

• Experiment with Variations: Test different versions of ads or web pages.
• Measure User Reactions: Analyze which version performs better.
• Improve Campaigns Continuously: Refine strategies based on real data.

How can agencies use landing page builders effectively?

Landing page builders, like Unbounce and Leadpages, help agencies create targeted pages for campaigns. Benefits include:

• Quick Page Creation: Build optimized pages without coding.
• A/B Testing: Easily test different landing page versions.
• Personalization: Customize pages for different audience segments.

What CRM tools do agencies use to manage client data?

CRM tools like Salesforce and Zoho CRM enable agencies to manage client relationships by:

• Tracking Client Interactions: Keep records of meetings and communications.
• Segmenting Client Base: Organize clients by service type or project.
• Nurturing Long-Term Relationships: Stay on top of client needs over time.

Why do agencies need ad management tools?

Ad management tools, like Google Ads Manager and Facebook Ads Manager, allow agencies to:

• Streamline Ad Campaigns: Manage ads across multiple platforms.
• Optimize Budget Allocation: Ensure spending aligns with client goals.
• Analyze Performance: Track CTR, CPC, and ROAS in one place.

What are account-based marketing (ABM) tools, and how are they used?

ABM tools like Demandbase and Terminus enable agencies to target specific high-value accounts by:

• Personalizing Campaigns: Create tailored messaging for top clients.
• Tracking Engagement: Measure how these accounts interact with content.
• Aligning Sales and Marketing: Help teams work together on shared targets.

How do agencies use website analytics tools?

Website analytics tools, like Google Analytics and Hotjar, provide insights into user behavior. Agencies use them to:

• Understand User Paths: Track common user journeys.
• Identify High-Performing Pages: Discover content that drives engagement.
• Find Drop-Off Points: See where users exit the site.

How can agencies use marketing automation platforms to scale?

Marketing automation platforms like Marketo and HubSpot allow agencies to:

• Automate Repetitive Tasks: Such as email follow-ups and social posts.
• Enhance Personalization at Scale: Deliver tailored content to large audiences.
• Improve Lead Scoring: Automatically score leads based on engagement.

Can marketing agency tools replace human expertise?

Marketing agency tools are designed to enhance the work of marketing professionals, not replace them. While these tools automate certain tasks and provide valuable insights, human expertise, creativity, and strategic thinking are still essential for successful marketing campaigns. Tools should be seen as supportive resources that augment the capabilities of marketing teams.

How often should marketing agency tools be updated?

The frequency of updates for marketing agency tools depends on the tool itself and the provider. Some tools may release updates regularly to introduce new features, fix bugs, or enhance security. It’s recommended to stay up to date with the

What are some common challenges faced when implementing marketing agency tools?

Common challenges when implementing marketing agency tools include integration issues, learning curves, cost considerations, resistance to change, and compatibility.

How can marketing agencies ensure the security of client data when using tools?

To ensure the security of client data when using tools, agencies can choose tools with robust security features, implement access controls, regularly update and patch tools, conduct security audits, and educate staff on security best practices.

Can marketing agency tools help with client retention?

Yes, marketing agency tools can contribute to client retention by improving communication, delivering better results, enhancing collaboration, and providing transparency.

The post 28 Must-Have Digital Marketing Agency Tools appeared first on Customers.ai.

One reason: there are so many new tools and strategies it can be difficult to know what actually provides value! Clients crave cutting-edge solutions but don’t always know what they actually are.

To be an effective AI Marketing Agency, you do have to know what they are. 

Don’t worry, though. We’re here to help. AI marketing tools can automate tasks, personalize marketing messages, analyze data, and identify new opportunities. 

AI marketing can help agencies in a variety of ways, including:

• Improved website SEO: AI marketing can be used to improve a website’s SEO by identifying and fixing any technical issues, optimizing content for search engines, and building backlinks.
• More effective PPC campaigns: AI marketing can be used to create more effective PPC campaigns by targeting the right keywords, setting the right budgets, and optimizing bids.
• Engaged social media audiences: AI marketing can be used to engage with a business’s audience on social media by creating engaging content, responding to comments and questions, and running targeted social media ads.
• High-quality content: AI marketing can be used to create high-quality content that attracts and retains customers by generating ideas, writing content, and optimizing content for search engines.
• Effective email marketing: AI marketing can be used to create more effective email marketing campaigns by segmenting lists, personalizing messages, and tracking results.

All of this and more will be covered in our blog post! 

• Introduction to AI Marketing Agencies
• What is an AI Marketing Agency?
• The Benefits of Using an AI Marketing Agency
• AI Marketing Services Offered by Agencies
• Choosing the Right AI Marketing Agency for Your Business
• AI Marketing Agency Tools by Channel
• Top 10 AI Marketing Agencies

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Introduction to AI Marketing Agencies

Before we jump into the AI tools and strategies marketing agencies can use to be successful, we need to understand the landscape, starting with an understanding of what an AI marketing agency actually is.

Defining AI Marketing Agencies

An AI marketing agency is a different kind of marketing partner—one that uses artificial intelligence to make campaigns smarter, faster, and more targeted.

Unlike a traditional agency that leans heavily on manual work and intuition, AI marketing agencies bring in machine learning, algorithms, and automation to pick up on patterns and trends humans might miss or take forever to spot. They help businesses get a handle on customer behavior, personalize messages, and get the timing just right—all with the help of AI.

These agencies typically offer services like automated content creation, real-time campaign tweaks, predictive analytics, and even chatbots to manage customer questions on autopilot.

Basically, if a company wants to use the latest tech to make a bigger impact without adding a ton of extra work, an AI marketing agency is the way to go.

Importance of AI in Marketing

AI is shaking things up in marketing by making it easier to understand what customers want and deliver it when it matters.

With AI, brands can dive into huge sets of data, spot patterns, and figure out what’s actually working. Instead of relying on old strategies or best guesses, AI lets marketers see what’s happening now and adjust in real time, which means ads hit closer to the mark, and customers get a more relevant experience.

Today, people expect fast, personal interactions, and AI helps brands keep up. Whether it’s serving up product recommendations, timing email offers perfectly, or even automating customer support, AI lets businesses meet customers where they are, with exactly what they’re looking for.

So if you want your marketing to stay sharp, AI isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential.

What Is an AI Marketing Agency?

We already addressed what an AI marketing agency is, now let’s dive into what AI marketing agencies actually do and the perks that come with partnering with one.

Core Services Offered

AI marketing agencies bring a unique set of tools and services to the table, all powered by artificial intelligence. Here’s a breakdown of some of the main services they offer and how they help brands connect with customers on a deeper level.

AI marketing agencies use technology to make marketing campaigns work smarter, not harder. Here’s a rundown of what they usually offer:

• Data Analysis: AI agencies gather and analyze tons of data—things like customer behavior, browsing history, and purchase patterns. This helps brands understand who their customers are and what they’re looking for, so they can create campaigns that really hit home.
• Personalized Content Creation: Personalization is key these days, and AI marketing agencies use algorithms to tailor content for individual users. Whether it’s personalized email recommendations, targeted ads, or custom product suggestions, they make sure customers see the stuff that’s most relevant to them.
• Predictive Analytics: AI marketing agencies also use predictive analytics to get ahead of trends. By analyzing past behaviors, they can forecast what customers might do next—like which products are about to get popular or which customers are likely to make a purchase soon. This allows brands to stay one step ahead and reach people at just the right moment.
• Automated Campaign Management: From email marketing to ad placements, AI agencies can automate entire campaigns. This keeps everything running smoothly without constant manual tweaks and lets brands focus on strategy instead of repetitive tasks.

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The Benefits of Using an AI Marketing Agency

For clients, there are many benefits to using an AI marketing agency, including:

• Expertise: AI marketing agencies have the expertise and experience in using AI to achieve results. They can help you to identify the right AI tools and technologies for your business, and they can help you to implement and use these tools and technologies effectively.
• Time savings: AI marketing agencies can save you time by automating many of the tasks involved in marketing, such as creating and scheduling social media posts, responding to customer inquiries, and generating leads. This frees you up to focus on other aspects of your business, such as product development or customer service.
• Cost savings: AI marketing agencies can help you to save money by using AI to optimize your marketing campaigns. For example, AI can be used to target your marketing messages more effectively, which can lead to a higher return on investment (ROI).
• Improved results: AI marketing agencies can help you to improve the results of your marketing campaigns. For example, AI can be used to create more engaging content, target your marketing messages more effectively, and track the results of your campaigns more accurately.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your marketing efforts, consider using an AI marketing agency. An AI marketing agency can help you to save time, money, and improve your results.

Here are some additional benefits of using an AI marketing agency:

• Increased reach: AI marketing agencies can help you to reach a wider audience by using AI to target your marketing messages to the right people at the right time.
• Improved customer experience: AI marketing agencies can help you to improve the customer experience by using AI to personalize your marketing messages and provide better customer service.
• Increased brand awareness: AI marketing agencies can help you to increase brand awareness by using AI to create more engaging content and target your marketing messages to a wider audience.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your marketing efforts and achieve your business goals, consider using an AI marketing agency.

AI Marketing Services Offered by Agencies

AI marketing agencies offer a range of services designed to make campaigns more targeted, efficient, and personalized.

These services are all about using data and automation to connect with customers in ways that feel relevant and timely. Here’s a look at the core services you can expect from an AI-powered marketing agency.

Data-Driven Marketing Strategies

AI agencies are all about the data. They collect and analyze massive amounts of information—things like browsing habits, purchase history, and engagement patterns—to make smarter marketing decisions.

For instance, a clothing brand could use these insights to learn that their audience clicks on bright, bold colors during the summer months, then shift their campaign to feature these styles when the season rolls around.

By understanding what’s resonating with customers, they can adjust campaigns on the fly, ensuring that brands are always reaching people with the messages they actually care about.

Personalized Content Creation

Personalization is a big deal in marketing today, and AI agencies take it to the next level. Using AI insights, they can create tailored content that speaks directly to individual customers.

For instance, if a skincare company notices that a customer frequently views anti-aging products, they might start sending that person content focused on skincare routines for aging skin.

Whether it’s a product recommendation, a custom email, or a targeted ad, AI helps make sure each person sees content that’s relevant to their interests, making the entire experience feel more personal and engaging.

Predictive Analytics and Customer Insights

Predictive analytics is where AI really shines.

By looking at past customer behavior, agencies can make educated guesses about what customers are likely to do next—whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or exploring new products.

A subscription box company, for instance, might predict which customers are likely to cancel based on certain behaviors, like skipping shipments or visiting the cancellation page. With this insight, they can send tailored offers or personalized messages to keep those customers engaged and potentially prevent them from leaving.

Automated Campaign Management

Managing a campaign from start to finish can be a huge effort, but AI agencies streamline the whole process. They set up automated campaigns that keep running without constant input, so brands can reach people at the right time without lifting a finger.

Imagine a real estate agency that automatically sends new listings to users based on their preferences and browsing history.

With automation, that process is handled automatically, saving time while keeping customers up-to-date with what’s most relevant to them.

Chatbot Development and Management

AI-powered chatbots are becoming a staple for customer engagement, and AI agencies know how to build them to be genuinely helpful. These chatbots can answer questions, provide product recommendations, and even guide users through the buying process—all without human intervention.

For example, a travel company’s chatbot might help a customer book flights, suggest travel insurance, and answer common questions about baggage policies, all in one seamless conversation.

This kind of instant support keeps customers happy and engaged without the need for a support team to be available 24/7.

Each of these services helps brands reach their audiences more effectively by using data and automation to personalize the customer experience, predict needs, and stay engaged—all while saving time and resources.

Choosing the Right AI Marketing Agency for Your Business

Finding the right AI marketing agency can make all the difference in how effective your campaigns are. It’s not just about finding an agency that knows AI—it’s about finding one that understands your business and can deliver the results you’re looking for.

Here’s what to keep in mind when choosing the perfect AI partner.

Factors to Consider

• Experience in Your Industry: Not all AI marketing agencies have the same level of expertise across industries. If you’re in ecommerce, for example, you might want an agency that knows how to work with high transaction volumes and understands shopping behaviors. Industry experience means they’ll be better equipped to tailor AI strategies to meet your specific needs.
• Range of Services Offered: Look for an agency that offers the full suite of services you need. If you’re after personalized email campaigns, predictive analytics, and automated customer support, make sure they cover all those areas. Some agencies specialize in just one or two services, while others provide a broader range—make sure their offerings align with your goals.
• Client Testimonials and Case Studies: Client feedback is one of the best indicators of an agency’s effectiveness. Read through testimonials and case studies to see the kinds of results they’ve achieved. If possible, look for testimonials from clients in similar industries or with similar goals, so you know the agency has a track record of delivering on what matters most to you.
• Use of Advanced AI Tools: Not all agencies are on the cutting edge when it comes to AI. Check to see if they’re using the latest tools and technologies. This could include AI-driven platforms for content creation, customer insights, or automated campaign management. An agency that stays current with the latest tools will be better positioned to keep your campaigns fresh and competitive.

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Questions to Ask Potential Agencies

When you’re narrowing down your options, asking the right questions can help you make the best choice. Here are some questions that’ll give you a clearer idea of each agency’s approach, expertise, and fit for your business:

• What experience do you have in my industry? Knowing if they’ve worked with clients in your field before will give you an idea of how well they understand your unique challenges and audience.
• What AI tools and platforms do you use? This question helps you understand their tech stack and how advanced their capabilities are. If they’re using top-tier AI platforms, it’s a good sign they’re equipped to handle complex campaigns.
• Can you share some case studies or success stories? Case studies give you a real sense of how they operate and the kind of results they can deliver. Ask for examples that are most similar to your own business goals.
• How do you personalize your approach for each client? Since AI marketing is all about personalization, it’s essential to know how they tailor their strategies. An agency that offers a one-size-fits-all solution might not give you the level of customization you’re looking for.
• What’s your process for measuring and reporting results? Understanding how they track success—and how often they’ll update you—will give you a sense of how transparent and results-oriented they are. The best agencies will have a clear, regular reporting process and be comfortable adjusting based on data.

Choosing the right AI marketing agency means finding a partner who not only has the technical skills but also understands your goals and industry.

By keeping these factors and questions in mind, you’ll be better equipped to pick an agency that can deliver the results your business needs.

AI Marketing Agency Tools by Channel

It’s a big understatement, but Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the world of marketing. Businesses of all sizes are beginning to realize the benefits of using AI to reach their target audience more effectively. Marketing agencies can use AI to blow those customers away. 

Here’s how you can AI across all your different channels: 

AI Email Marketing for AI Marketing Agency

There are so many ways AI can help marketing agencies with email marketing. 

The most powerful and effective way to use AI in email marketing is personalization. 

Everyone knows that more personalized emails are more effective. But personalization used to be a lot of work. Even with fields that autofill, you can only get so far. 

That’s why Customers.ai released a suite of tools designed to be more effective and save you time. 

The best, and easiest, way to build a powerful email marketing campaign? Combine Customers.ai’s prospecting tools with our AI marketing tools.

Here’s how to do it: 

1. Sign up for a free account

If you don’t already have a Customers.ai account, sign up here (no credit card is required) and connect your business.

2. Install the x-ray pixel on your site

Installing the website identification x-ray pixel is easy and can be done through Tag Manager, Shopify, WordPress, and more

3. Verify the x-ray pixel is firing

4. Start identifying your website visitors

That’s it! Once the pixel is installed and verified, you can start identifying your website visitors.

And with the highest capture rate in the industry, you should start seeing visitors immediately.

The next step is to build an email list that includes useful targeting data.

Then set up a targeted email automation for each page, designed specifically around your audiences! 

Instead of writing the targeted emails yourself–time-consuming and difficult!–use our AI automated email generator to do it for you. 

You can set up an entire sequence of emails this way. This makes sure that you get the most out of your warm leads! 

Social Media Marketing for AI Marketing Agency

You can use AI to create engaging content, respond to comments and questions, and run targeted social media ads. 

AI marketing agencies can help businesses create engaging social media content that will capture the attention of their target audience. 

They can also help businesses respond to comments and questions in a timely and informative manner. 

Additionally, AI marketing agencies can help businesses run targeted social media ads that reach their target audience with the right message at the right time.

Search Engine Marketing for AI Marketing Agency

You should use AI to improve website SEO, create more effective PPC campaigns, and track results. 

AI marketing agencies can help businesses improve their website’s SEO by identifying and fixing any technical issues, optimizing content for search engines, and building backlinks. 

They can also help businesses create more effective PPC campaigns by targeting the right keywords, setting the right budgets, and optimizing bids. 

Additionally, AI marketing agencies can help businesses track the results of their SEM campaigns so that they can see what’s working and what’s not. Use this information to improve future campaigns.

Content Marketing for AI Marketing Agency

Struggle with generating ideas for content? Need help optimizing content for search engines? Use AI to help!

AI marketing agencies can help businesses generate ideas for content that will be of interest to their target audience. They can also help businesses write content that is informative, engaging, and optimized for search engines. 

Additionally, AI marketing agencies can help businesses track the results of their content marketing efforts so that they can see what’s working and what’s not. You can use this information to improve future marketing campaigns!

Influencer Marketing AI Marketing Agency

Use AI to identify and reach influencers, track results, and measure ROI. AI marketing agencies can help businesses identify influencers who have a large following of their target audience. 

They can also help businesses reach out to influencers and collaborate on marketing campaigns. Additionally, AI marketing agencies can help businesses track the results of their influencer marketing campaigns so that they can see what’s working and what’s not. This information can be used to improve future influencer marketing campaigns.

If you’re a smart marketer, you’re using AI marketing efforts across a variety of channels. By using AI, you can reach your target audience more effectively, improve your results, and save time and money. Adding AI to your marketing agency’s offerings is a great way to become more attractive to potential clients. 

Top 10 AI Marketing Agencies

Choosing the right AI marketing agency can significantly impact your business’s success. Here’s a list of ten highly-rated AI marketing agencies, known for their expertise and client satisfaction:

1. Viral Nation

• Overview: A global leader in AI-driven influencer marketing, Viral Nation offers services including social media marketing, talent management, and branding.
• Notable Clients: Disney, Oculus, Energizer.
• Unique Offering: Utilizes proprietary AI platforms like Viral Nation_Secure to detect influencer fraud and Viral Nation_CreatorOS for performance assessment.

2. SmartSites

• Overview: Specializes in AI-powered SEO and PPC advertising, catering to startups and Fortune 500 companies.
• Notable Clients: BMW, Harvard University, Poker Stars.
• Unique Offering: Incorporates AI for content creation and strategy development, enhancing digital marketing efforts.

3. GrowthRocks

• Overview: A UK-based growth marketing agency recognized for expertise in growth hacking and digital strategy.
• Notable Clients: Mindvalley, Damex, BlueAir.
• Unique Offering: Provides AI consulting services, including strategic planning and AI solution development.

4. Single Grain

• Overview: A full-service digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, PPC, content marketing, and conversion optimization.
• Notable Clients: Amazon, Uber, Airbnb.
• Unique Offering: Integrates AI to enhance marketing strategies and drive growth.

5. Major Tom

• Overview: A full-service digital agency offering web design, SEO, content creation, and paid media management.
• Notable Clients: United Nations, Air Canada, Hootsuite.
• Unique Offering: Incorporates AI tools into digital marketing services for enhanced performance.

6. Brave Bison

• Overview: A global social media and marketing agency specializing in content creation and influencer marketing.
• Notable Clients: Vodafone, Panasonic, Johnson & Johnson.
• Unique Offering: Utilizes AI to optimize content and social media strategies.

7. Compose.ly

• Overview: An AI content marketing agency blending artificial intelligence with human expertise to produce high-quality content.
• Notable Clients: Staples, Mailchimp, Pacific Life.
• Unique Offering: Uses AI for content automation and writing tools to streamline creation processes.

8. inBeat

• Overview: Specializes in micro-influencer marketing, leveraging AI to partner with top content creators.
• Notable Clients: New Balance, Nordstrom, Nissan.
• Unique Offering: Provides high-engagement influencer collaborations tailored to amplify digital presence.

9. Appier

• Overview: A SaaS company specializing in AI-powered solutions for smarter full-funnel marketing initiatives.
• Notable Clients: Heineken, Estee Lauder, Toyota.
• Unique Offering: Offers AI-driven first-party data to drive performance at scale.
  
• 10. Lemon AI
• Overview: Provides AI-powered customer relationship management (CRM) solutions for businesses.
• Notable Clients: Unspecified.
• Unique Offering: Offers tailored ad operation strategies with AI-driven ad operations and app store optimization.

When selecting an AI marketing agency, consider factors like industry experience, range of services, client testimonials, and the specific AI tools they employ to ensure they align with your business goals.

Bringing It All Together: Finding the Right AI Marketing Agency

In conclusion, AI marketing is a powerful tool that can be used to improve your marketing efforts across a variety of channels. By using AI, you can reach your target audience more effectively, improve your results, and save time and money.

If you’re looking for an AI marketing agency to help you with your marketing efforts, be sure to do your research and choose an agency that has experience and expertise in using AI to achieve results.

AI marketing is a rapidly growing field, and there are many new and innovative AI marketing solutions available. By working with an AI marketing agency, you can stay ahead of the curve and take advantage of the latest AI marketing technologies to improve your marketing efforts and achieve your business goals.

Important Next Steps

• See what targeted outbound marketing is all about. Capture and engage your first 500 website visitor leads with Customers.ai X-Ray website visitor identification for free.
• Talk and learn about sales outreach automation with other growth enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, our Facebook group of 40K marketers and entrepreneurs who are ready to support you.
• Advance your marketing performance with Sales Outreach School, a free tutorial and training area for sales pros and marketers.

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Frequently Asked Questions about AI Marketing Agencies

1. How does an AI marketing agency help businesses grow?

• An AI marketing agency helps businesses grow by using data-driven strategies to target the right audience, personalize customer experiences, and optimize campaigns in real-time. With AI, agencies can create smarter, more efficient marketing that leads to higher engagement, better conversions, and ultimately, increased revenue. By automating repetitive tasks and providing deep customer insights, AI marketing agencies free up resources and enable businesses to scale their efforts without needing additional manual work.

2. How does an AI marketing agency differ from a traditional marketing agency?

• AI marketing agencies leverage machine learning and automation to analyze data, optimize campaigns in real-time, and personalize content at scale, while traditional agencies rely more on manual processes and intuition.

3. What services do AI marketing agencies typically offer?

• Core services include data-driven strategy, personalized content creation, predictive analytics, automated campaign management, and chatbot development, all aimed at improving customer engagement and ROI.

4. How can AI improve my marketing results?

• AI can boost marketing results by analyzing customer data to target more accurately, personalizing content based on behavior, predicting trends, and automating repetitive tasks, which makes campaigns more effective and efficient.

5. What are the benefits of working with an AI marketing agency?

• Benefits include increased efficiency, deeper customer insights, real-time optimization, and higher ROI. AI agencies streamline campaigns, allowing businesses to focus on strategy instead of manual processes.

6. How can AI help with personalized marketing?

• AI enables highly personalized marketing by using data to understand individual preferences, purchase behaviors, and engagement patterns, allowing agencies to create custom content and recommendations tailored to each customer.

7. What is predictive analytics in AI marketing?

• Predictive analytics uses AI to analyze past behaviors and trends, forecasting future customer actions. This helps marketers target the right audiences at the right time, enhancing the chances of conversion.

8. What industries benefit most from AI marketing agencies?

• AI marketing agencies are valuable across industries, but they’re particularly effective in ecommerce, retail, finance, healthcare, and technology, where personalized experiences and data-driven decisions are crucial.

9. How do I choose the right AI marketing agency?

• Look for experience in your industry, a strong suite of relevant services, client testimonials, and familiarity with advanced AI tools. Ensure they understand your business goals and have a data-driven approach to achieving them.

10. What should I ask a potential AI marketing agency before hiring?

• Key questions include their experience with similar businesses, the AI tools they use, examples of past successes, how they customize strategies, and their process for measuring and reporting results.

11. How much does it cost to work with an AI marketing agency?

• Costs vary widely depending on the agency’s experience, service scope, and the complexity of your needs, ranging from a few thousand dollars per month for smaller campaigns to much higher for full-service partnerships.

12. What are some examples of AI tools used in marketing?

• Common tools include CRM systems with AI capabilities (like Salesforce), marketing automation software (like HubSpot), predictive analytics tools, and AI-driven content platforms that create and optimize content.

13. Can AI really understand my target audience better than human marketers?

• While AI doesn’t “understand” in a human sense, it analyzes data patterns and behaviors to deliver insights that often surpass manual analysis, helping marketers make data-driven decisions that improve targeting.

14. How does an AI marketing agency use data?

• AI agencies gather and analyze data on customer behaviors, preferences, and demographics, using it to create targeted, personalized campaigns, predict future actions, and adjust strategies in real time for better outcomes.

15. Will AI marketing replace traditional marketing jobs?

• AI is more of a tool than a replacement—it handles data-heavy, repetitive tasks, freeing up marketers to focus on strategy, creativity, and customer relationships that require a human touch.

16. How can AI help with customer service?

• AI-powered chatbots and automated support systems allow businesses to offer 24/7 assistance, answer common questions, guide users through the buying process, and collect valuable customer insights for future interactions.

17. What’s the future of AI in marketing?

• The future of AI in marketing includes even more advanced personalization, improved predictive analytics, AI-generated content, and seamless integration across all channels, making customer interactions smoother and more relevant.

18. Is AI marketing suitable for small businesses?

• Yes, AI marketing can be scaled to fit any budget. Many AI tools are accessible to small businesses, offering affordable automation, customer insights, and personalization to enhance marketing efforts.

19. How do AI marketing agencies measure success?

• AI marketing agencies track success through metrics like conversion rate, click-through rate, ROI, engagement, and customer lifetime value, often providing clients with regular reports on campaign performance.

20. How can AI marketing help with lead generation?

• AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify potential leads, score them based on likelihood to convert, and create personalized outreach campaigns, making lead generation faster and more effective.

The post AI Marketing Agency: Top Agencies, Tools and Strategies appeared first on Customers.ai.

Chatbots are the biggest marketing trend to emerge in the marketing landscape in the past ten years. The marketing agencies with the biggest successes and the highest client retention right now are the marketing agencies that are using chatbots to their maximum potential.

This is a very big deal.

If you are part of a marketing agency, it’s crucial to take advantage of this massive opportunity in the marketing landscape. Selling chatbot services is a fast path to an exploding lead pipeline, buckets of revenue, and an unstoppable advantage over your competitors.

Read this article, and you’ll learn…

• Exactly how to capitalize on the chatbot marketing trend before it becomes saturated
• How to sell chatbot services without losing your marketing edge
• How your agency can scale in spite of the massive new demand for your services

Want to start a chatbot agency? This article is the framework you should follow if you want to sell chatbot services, go big, and forge the future of marketing.

Start a Chatbot Agency Step 1:  Decide how chatbots will fit with your current marketing services.

If you want to start a chatbot marketing agency, this is a no-brainer. You already know you want to sell chatbots.

But if you’re on the fence about selling chatbot services, this section is for you. (Plus this article, which provides more detail on the subject.)

There are two basic approaches here:

1. Start a chatbot agency from scratch. Brilliant. Skip to section 2.
2. Add chatbot services to your existing marketing services. Awesome. Keep reading.

Should you sell chatbot services?

In most cases for marketing agencies, the answer is yes. Why?

• Your existing customers are expecting it.
• Chatbots can generate massive results for your clients.
• Chatbot marketing perfectly complements other digital marketing services like Facebook ads and social media management.
• Chatbots can provide a recurring revenue stream with valuable retainer contracts.
• Chatbots are an easy sell.
• Chatbots set your agency apart as innovative and unstoppable.
• Chatbots are a perfect way to defy seasonal slumps or becoming outmoded.
• Chatbots are scalable.
• Chatbots are easy to learn.
• Chatbot builders are inexpensive.

Let’s use an example.

Say you have a client who is a personal coach. You’re running Facebook ads, and she’s getting moderate success.

But Facebook ads are expensive. Plus, she’s having a hard time qualifying her leads. She’s not upset about your services, but she wants something more

Enter chatbots.

Creating a simple chatbot sequence for your client can transform her ho-hum marketing results into slap-you-in-the-face success

Hand her this chatbot, and instantly several things happen:

• She qualifies leads automatically using a conversational chatbot sequence
• All her non-qualified leads are funneled into her Facebook group for exciting fitness tips and health advice.
• Qualified leads can instantly schedule appointments for a free consultation
• Her chatbot Messenger messages get 70-80% open rates and 40% clickthrough rates every time.

There’s more, but you get the idea.

Oh, and one of the best parts? All you had to do was clone our personal coach bot template and sell it to her. (But you don’t need to tell her that.)

Test the bot sequence yourself by clicking here.

The first step is simple — make the decision that you’re going to sell chatbot marketing services, and visualize what it’s going to look like as part of your ongoing marketing practice.

Start a Chatbot Agency Step 2: Select a chatbot building platform like Customers.ai.

To start a chatbot agency, you need chatbot tools.

And the best chatbot creator we know of is Customers.ai. (No surprise there.)

Insert shameless plug for Customers.ai.

As a marketing agency, whenever you offer a new product or service, it’s important to purchase top-of-the-line tools for creating and sustaining your new product.

There are more chatbot builders than Customers.ai, of course, so here are some guidelines for selecting a good chatbot builder.

• Choose a chatbot builder that is easy to use.
• Select a chatbot builder that offers plenty of features.
• Choose a chatbot that has endorsements from notable marketers.
• Choose a chatbot company that won’t go out of business anytime soon.

That fourth point is crucial. Chatbots are in the early days of development, so companies are rising and falling all the time. Find someone who’s been in business longer than a few months, has a solid support team, and has some social support (like a Facebook group).

Customers.ai is the fastest-growing official Facebook Messenger marketing solutions provider partner. What this means is that Customers.ai is the rising star in the chatbot marketing world, recognized by Facebook (as an official partner) and endorsed by marketing notables like Neil Patel, Mari Smith, and Brian Dean.

Customers.ai was designed as an agency software with an agency pricing model. The entire Customers.ai platform is ideally suited for agency marketers, and the tools are designed for agencies to use on behalf of their clients.

Customers.ai has thousands of agency marketers including Facebook marketing agencies, social media marketing agencies, and other boutique marketing agencies. Check out the Customers.ai Certified Agency Directory to find out how other marketers are using the product and selling their chatbot services.

Customers.ai’s advantages for agencies are multifold:

• Unlimited Facebook pages. Easily scale your services without accruing additional costs.
• Unlimited features. Every one of Customers.ai’s features is available to every Facebook page and every one of your clients.
• On-boarding support provided by Customers.ai expert bot builders. Unlimited Messenger contacts included free, which gives you more than enough runway to build major results for your clients.
• Your entire marketing team and your clients can collaborate on the development of the chatbots.

If you want to start a chatbot agency, you’re going to need an agency plan. Buy it. Get it. Do it.

While you’re just learning the platform, however, you can get started with a free plan.

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Start a Chatbot Agency Step 3: Learn how to use your chatbot builder.

This is the fun part. And I don’t mean “fun” as a euphemism for “arduous, painful, and difficult learning curve.”

Making chatbot is fun, easy, and (this is an important one for me), code free!

This is the main screen of the dialogue creator in the bot builder. No code, anywhere.

If you want to skip the creation process and work with something ready-made, we’ve got you covered. Customers.ai has assembled a powerful library of chatbots.

When you’re starting out, you can simply copy or borrow from the existing chatbot templates.

Then, the more dialogues and sequences that you develop, the more options you’ll have to choose from when you create chatbots for other clients.

If you become niched-down into a particular vertical, then it becomes easy to simply tweak a few elements to offer your new chatbot client a chatbot service. It takes you a few minutes, but you give them a brand new marketing channel.

For example, if you serve doctors and dentists with marketing services, then you can simply repurpose the dentist’s office chatbot for many of your clients.

This is where the subject of scaling comes into play as I mentioned earlier.

The best way to learn chatbots is to use them in your marketing funnel. The more you use it yourself, the better you’ll be able to create and provide them for your clients.

(Oh, and, yes, we have a marketing agency template for you.)

Start a Chatbot Agency Step 4:

Determine your pricing structure for your chatbot agency.

It’s time to talk about money. In a good way.

Chatbots are a valuable marketing service, and it’s important to determine a pricing structure that asserts the value of your product without making it cost-prohibitive for tentative clients.

One of the best pricing structures, especially if you’ve just started a chatbot agency, is a simple fee for chatbot creation plus a retainer fee for the ongoing service.

Here’s how it might work.

• 1 chatbot = $1,000
• Ongoing retainer = $500/month base + $50 per additional chatbot

This is, obviously, a simple pricing structure, but it gives you a starting point.

There are a variety of chatbot-related services that you can offer your clients. These can be priced independently, upsold, provided as free, or whatever combination you think would work best in your particular niche.

Here are some examples

• Adding a WordPress plugin to the client’s website
• Creating Messenger ads on Facebook
• Developing QR Messenger codes
• Sending chat blasts
• Launching drip campaigns
• Providing integrations
• Posting comment guards
• Creating custom landing pages
• Live chat takeover
• Adding RSS blaster
• Providing bot analytics

Be sure to set an ongoing retainer fee for chatbot service. The retainer fee covers the ongoing cost of your chatbot building software, maintenance or optimization required and reporting on data and other analytics.

Start a Chatbot Agency Step 5: Launch your chatbot agency or sell your chatbot services to existing clients.

It’s time to start your chatbot agency.

And, if you already have a marketing agency, you can cross-sell or upsell your chatbot services to the clients you already have.

Pull out the stops to your marketing. You are offering a valuable service — one that is almost certain to blow up your clients’ business.

How To Start a Chatbot Agency: Action Items

Customers.ai has an ever growing number of resources for digital marketing agencies.

We have great relationships with our agency partners, and continue to be amazed by the returns agencies get by selling chatbot services to clients.

Start by learning how to grow an agency business with chatbot marketing services.

Or, if you prefer print, here are our latest knowledge bombs to help you grow your client portfolio, increase your average deal size, and win more business:

• Text Marketing for Agencies
• Marketing Agency Pricing Guide 
• Affiliate Marketing Tools
• Instagram Marketing Tips for Agencies
• Web Chat for Agencies
• Digital Marketing Agency Tools 

Customers.ai agency Team Plan partners get advanced web chat marketing automation features, multi-page and multi-user dashboard, and new client referrals as a certified Customers.ai agency.

Important Next Steps

How To Start a Chatbot Agency: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 

How do you promote a marketing agency?

The most common ways to promote marketing agencies consist of the following:

• Client testimonials
• Advertising
• Case studies
• Thought leadership
• Conference sponsorships
• Industry awards

There are many other things you can do to promote your agency, and then there are marketing agency growth hacks to consider when you’re ready.

However, the best way to promote a marketing agency is to offer something new and differentiated in your services portfolio. It doesn’t have to be unique, just something that not every other agency offers and that you can do as well, if not better than, the competition. Selling chatbot services has been one of the more popular and profitable agency services to offer in recent years.

How do I write a marketing proposal as an agency?

The only perfect marketing agency proposal is the one that works for your specific agency, in your specific situation, and with your specific clients. Which is a lot of variables to consider.

Thankfully, however, there are marketing proposal templates that can speed up the process. 

The most important thing to consider when writing a marketing proposal are the client’s motivations. So, focus on how you can help to solve the client’s problems, as well as what you can include in your proposal to evoke positive feelings and excitement from the client.

How are agency fees calculated?

There’s no single pricing model that’s going to work for every marketing agency. In fact, most digital marketing agencies should adopt multiple pricing models based on the type of service and project that’s being delivered to the client.

However, there are a handful of marketing agency pricing models that work for the large majority of agencies, including:

• Project-Based Pricing Model
• Hourly-Rate Pricing Model
• Value-Based Pricing Model
• Retainer Fee Pricing Model

Your ability to both grow a marketing agency and your ability to retain clients is going to largely be determined by how you price your services.

What are some client retention strategies for marketing agencies?

Client retention is one of the most effective methods for growing your agency’s income and keeping it. Here are five extremely effective client retention strategies for marketing agencies:

1. Eliminate month-to-month sales contracts. Yes, you’ll get fewer clients, but the ones you do get will stay longer, providing long-term value and delivering consistent revenue.
2. Attract high-spend clients if you do performance marketing. Meaning, avoid clients that have low advertising budgets. Low ad budget clients churn at a high rate. Avoid them when possible.
3. Do a better job of qualifying your clients. One way to do this is to use marketing automation tools for agencies, such as adding live chat to your agency website. 
4. Correctly manage client expectations. Churn will skyrocket if you over-promise and under-deliver. Don’t do it.
5. Request referrals from high NPS (net promoter score) Clients. This sounds like a lazy idea, but for digital agencies, it’s actually quite useful. The reason being, NPS averages in the marketing agency world are low. So, high NPS agency clients are much more likely to give you a referral. Find your high NPS clients and ask them for referrals. You’ll be surprised. 

What is a chatbot agency?

Chatbot agencies develop custom chatbots for businesses. While simpler bots can be built quickly with an intuitive chatbot builder, more complex bots that are expected to handle a high number of queries require development time. 

Chatbots are the present and future of marketing, and they provide enormous value to clients while delivering a high ROI to agencies. Due to the nature of bots, agencies end up both saving a lot of time and providing 24/7 value via chatbot messaging automation tools.

An agency that adopts chatbots into their services portfolio can offer many different types of services, such as:

• Web chat for agencies
• Instagram marketing for agencies
• Text marketing for agencies
• Marketing automation tools for agencies

To get started selling chatbot marketing services to clients, you’ll need some advanced chatbot marketing training and a chatbot proposal template. You can also watch this chatbot marketing agency webinar that covers Facebook Messenger marketing and has chatbot training.

Are chatbots profitable?

Chatbots are indeed one of the most profitable marketing agency tools and have proven to help scale marketing agencies fast. Here at Customers.ai, we’ve seen chatbot marketing literally 10X results for their clients with tools such as Facebook ad coupons bots, lead generation tools, and product recommendation chatbots.

The post How to Start a Chatbot Agency: The 5-Step Process for Launching a Successful Chatbot Marketing Agency appeared first on Customers.ai.

So should you be leveraging growth hacks for your digital agency?

The answer should be: Why wouldn’t you be trying to grow your digital agency?

The number one excuse that holds Donkey agencies back from the wonderful world of Unicorn Agency Land is that they “don’t want to be a big agency.” Some marketing agencies will claim that they are a boutique agency. This typically translates to: “My marketing agency is stuck, and I don’t know how to scale it.”

I gave this presentation at Mention Agency Optimization Day 2020. Watch the replay above and read on to see the hacks I used to scale my first company to a +300 employee PPC and SEO agency with tens of thousands of customers, managing over a billion dollars of ad spend. And get the slides here.

So why grow your digital agency at all?

Three reasons to grow your digital agency:

1. For money. You can make millions. You can speak at all the cool conferences. You can become an internet sensation.
2. For a challenge. Some people do things because, “why not?”
3. For a purpose. Create a valuable service that truly helps people. Participate in job creation that also helps people.

And thus, we present my top 5 growth hacks for your digital agency.

Agency Growth Hack #1: Be a little bit delusional!

Doesn’t the old saying go, “Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today?”

Sure, the quote might be about living life to the fullest rather than scaling a digital agency, but it can be applied the same way. If you can dream as if you’ll live forever, why can’t you dream as if you’ll develop the greatest digital agency in the world?

In order to grow a digital agency to the top, you need to project a bold vision of that agency. Take a look at my business plan for my first company, before I started Customers.ai, from 2008:

The scale depicted by this plan shows the company’s total revenue increasing over one hundred times the starting amount in just three years. Talk about a lofty goal!

But, it worked.

The reason that having bold, bordering delusional, aspirations for your agency is the first step in scaling it is because of what these bold ideas attract (or rather, who).

A lot of people want to simply go to work, do the bare minimum to achieve their base goals, and go home. An agency with goals that show projection of over 100 times the starting revenue won’t attract these types of people. It’ll attract people that share those visions.

Having lofty goals for scaling your agency will attract the employees, partners, and investors needed to make those goals a reality.

Agency Growth Hack #2: Deploy the customer churn detectors and churn busters!

In order to successfully grow your digital agency, you need to have customers. But not just any customers – you need customers with a long customer lifetime – meaning they stay customers for a while!

The longer the customer lifetime, the more profitable the customer is. If you are churning customers after just a couple months, your agency business is not going to grow.

You want to retain customers for at least a year; better yet, keep them for over a year! The best you can do is to keep a customer for 18 or more months. This means they are likely to stick with you for the long haul, and will be the most profitable.

The average customer lifetime for marketing services is around 13 months.

How can you predict customer churn?

There are several ways that you can predict customer churn, and, using those predictions, you can take action to eliminate the possibility beforehand!

4 Ways to Predict Customer Churn

The biggest predictor of customer churn is the type of client option that your customers choose. Customers that choose the month-to-month client option tend to churn at a rate two times higher than the rest, because it’s the path of least commitment.

So what’s the churn buster in this situation? Eliminate the path of least commitment!

If you eliminate the month-to-month client option, you’ll sell less customers, but the customers you do sell will stay on for longer and be more profitable in the end, thus helping you grow your agency.

The second biggest predictor of churn is the customer’s pre-existing monthly advertising budget. This can also be viewed as the customer’s pre-existing commitment to the marketing channel.

Usually, the higher the monthly advertising budget, the more the customer has bought into whatever form of marketing your agency provides. This makes the customers more committed and thus, better customers. The most committed quartile of customers will churn at half the rate of the bottom quartile.

So what’s the answer here? How do you bust this churn?

Go up market! If you focus on finding bigger customers (much bigger customers), you’ll likely have fewer customers, but the customers you do have will have much bigger budgets and be far more committed to the marketing channel. These will be better customers overall and result in a higher profit for your agency.

The third biggest predictor for customer churn is mis-set customer expectations, or when you can’t live up to sales promises.

The way to defeat this problem is to look at the average customer value based on the sales representative who sold it. This way, you’ll be able to see if one particular sales rep is causing customers to churn; then you can take action accordingly.

Another way to deal with this problem is to disincentivize selling bad clients. For example, if you don’t pay your commission checks until 30-60 days into a client engagement, your sales representatives will be less likely to promise things that can’t be provided in order to gain more customers.

The fourth biggest predictor of customer churn is the 90-day Net Promoter Scores.

Net promoter scores (NPS) come from those surveys that often get sent out with questions like “How likely are you to recommend us to your friends or colleagues?” The answer is usually a number chosen by the customer from 0-10.

As you can see from this chart, a customer is only a promoter if they rank your agency with a 9 or 10. If they rank you with a 7 or 8, they are simply passive. And if they rank you from 0-6, they are actually detractors.

The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percent of detractors from the percent of promoters.

A good NPS is anywhere from 20-30%. If it is any less than that, you’re in trouble.

There are ways to manage and manipulate your score. If your agency has a lot of detractors and a bad NPS, do interventions! This can mean anything from a discount on a product to upgrading a client account to a more senior sales representative.

In addition, if someone says they are likely to refer your agency, ask them for that referral. Referrals can go very far in helping your agency grow. If you have a good customer give you a good referral, you will likely get more good customers.

Some churn-busting tips…

You can benchmark customer churn by using client service representatives.

Customer satisfaction and retention metrics should be reviewed monthly. You can incentivize great service by tying around 15% of a client service representative’s compensation to tangible performance numbers in terms of customer service rankings.

Believe it or not, a client’s happiness and satisfaction with their service representative is slightly more tied to client retention than account performance. To ensure a lot of happy customers, and thus a scaling agency, focus on training your client service representatives!

Another churn-busting tip is to hire more salespeople.

Obviously, the more people working to sell, the more customers are gained. This accelerates your agency’s rate of growth and decreases the customer churn rate. Both of these things result in accelerating the rate of revenue growth for your agency!

Here’s another churn busting tip: up-sell adjacent marketing services to established customers.

If you have established customers, it’s easier to up-sell them additional services than it is to find new business.

This also makes it harder for them to churn, because your agency is taking over so many parts of their business!

And a last churn-busting tip for you: use Facebook Messenger marketing tactics.

Messaging apps have surpassed social networks in terms of monthly active users.

So why not utilize this technology for your marketing?

In fact, Facebook Messenger marketing gets 10-80 times better engagement than email marketing or Facebook Newsfeed ads.

You can even use Messenger in your Facebook Newsfeed ads. Instead of clicking a link that takes them to a website, a potential customer will click a link that takes them to Facebook Messenger. This also captures their contact info. You can send these potential customers into Facebook Messenger chatbots that you host, and bring them to surveys, registrations or reminders, or segmentation and drip campaigns.

Chatbots are very influential in marketing. They also provide a differentiated value to your agency over others. Talk about scaling!

You can use Facebook Messenger marketing to put together an easy pricing proposal, charting a monthly retainer fee for your services. Here’s an example:

Now…let’s get back to growth hacks for your digital agency!

Agency Growth Hack #3: Growth Marketing!

Your agency’s purpose might be to do the marketing for your customers, but you can’t forget to market yourself!

Put time and energy into marketing your own agency to help it grow.

You can do this in a number of ways. Use popular marketing methods to catch attention. This can mean content marketing, or something completely different! Perhaps you can offer some of your services for free for a select number of people. This gets your product out there and shows potential customers what you’re made of!

It’s like sales events at car dealerships – draw attention to your agency!

Agency Growth Hack #4: Recruiting to grow your agency!

A good agency becomes a good agency when it has good people working for it and supporting it. A major growth hack for digital agencies is to focus on how and who you are recruiting.

It is a good idea to determine how you will spend your agency’s money. A good financial ratio splits the money three ways. One third will go to general administrative costs and cost of customer acquisition, including marketing and sales. Another third will go towards the costs of goods sold, meaning the cost of the software, and the hiring of employees. And the final third will be the net profit; money that you can drop to the bottom line to cover taxes, etc.

Here’s three agency scaling hacks that will help you recruit the best candidates for your agency:

Have an internal training department for client service representatives. This will allow you to hire your service reps at a lower cost and train them to do the work.

Have employee non-compete agreements in employment documents and client contracts. This way, you can take action against employees that move to work for competitor agencies.

Have an amazing work culture. Having a beautiful office is a perk in its own right. But making sure people don’t want to leave your agency will mean your employees aren’t only there to do a job; they actually like where they work. This will lead to better performance. In addition, employees who genuinely love where they work will refer more good people to work for you.

And finally, the last marketing agency growth hack…

Agency Growth Hack #5: Cold Emailing!

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean spamming your customers and potential customers with email after email. It’s more about supplementing traditional inbound marketing with outbound prospecting.

It’s important to note that you should do your outbound prospecting from a different email domain.

So how do you go about cold emailing as a digital marketing agency growth hack?

First, get a list of emails. You can do this by manually searching for emails  using tools like Hunter, if you happen to know the name of a person or company that you want to email. You can also buy lists from tools like ZoomInfo or LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Or, you can use a Scraper like the Phantom Buster Facebook Group Extractor to collect information.

And then…bombs away!

Here’s a couple tips about cold emailing:

Use an email list verfier service. This will ensure that you have minimal deliverability issues and the majority of your emails actually get sent.

Increase email deliverability by sending emails to friends and family. Tell them to open and reply to the emails!

Fly under the radar. Instead of going crazy and sending hundreds of emails a week, go slowly. Send around 10 or so emails a day. This makes engagement rates higher because people are less likely to feel spammed. There is software that will do this for you automatically.

Make emails more engaging. Low intent means low engagement rates (around 3 to 5 times lower, in fact!).

Use intent signals. Obviously you have to find ways to make your emails more engaging, and one easy way is by using intent signals. These include changes in management, a company moving, and similar things. This means you’ll send out fewer, but more targeted, emails that are more likely to be clicked on.

And…

There’s 5 great growth hacks for digital agencies. Let’s recap this journey from Donkey Agency Land to Unicorn Agency Land:

1. PROJECT a bold vision for scaling your company.
2. DEPLOY the churn detectors and churn busters.
3. HACK your growth. Use the latest marketing strategies and outbound marketing.
4. EXPAND. Offer adjacent marketing services and charge more.
5. HIRE great employees. Train people yourself.

And finally…

6. ACCELERATE. Grow your agency as fast as possible to maximize exit valuation.

With those steps, you’ll be in Unicorn Agency Land. Your agency will be scaling faster than you can even keep track of, and you’ll achieve whatever it was that led you to leverage digital agency growth hacks in the first place.

Important Next Steps

The post 5 Digital Marketing Agency Growth Hacks & 4 Ways to Reduce Customer Churn appeared first on Customers.ai.

And the benefits of having a strong Instagram marketing game for attracting new agency clients are undeniable.

Instagram has over 1 billion active users, 500 million of which use features like Stories every day to quickly update their followers.

It’s hard to believe that Instagram used to be the younger, immature sibling of Facebook where people would filter pictures of their dinner.

It’s no surprise that businesses and agencies have adopted Instagram as one of their main revenue-generating tools.

Today Instagram has over 2 million advertisers and 25 million business profiles, making it hard to imagine not including Instagram as a large part of your overall marketing agency growth strategy.

So, how can you increase engagement on Instagram to make money for both your clients and your agency? Start with these Instagram marketing tips from top digital agencies:

1. New Instagram messaging tools for business
2. How to create a great Instagram bio
3. Add a strong call-to-action to your Instagram bio
4. Do not buy followers
5. Partner with Influencers to amplify campaign reach
6. How to use Instagram Stories for business
7. Create high-performing Instagram ads
8. Use actionable Instagram hashtags
9. How to increase engagement on Instagram
10. Sell products on Instagram Shops
11. Track Instagram KPIs and key metrics
12. Use the best Instagram marketing tools
13. Learn from the best Instagram business accounts
14. Use Messenger bots for remarketing and engagement

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Instagram Marketing Tips #1: NEW Instagram messaging tools for business

Announced by Facebook in late October 2020, the Messenger API now supports Instagram messaging.

With Facebook Messenger API support of Instagram, businesses can scale messaging communications, start more conversations, follow up instantly with alerts to notify live agents to jump into the chat.

This is a big deal, with many implications.

Most notably for business, adding messaging to Instagram will create a 3.3 billion user mega-network that accounts for roughly 43% of the world’s population on one messaging platform.

Additional benefits to marketers should be crystal clear:

• Reach Instagram’s 1 billion users
• Capture leads and follow-up automatically
• New ad formats and even better targeting

So, how can your agency take advantage of this huge chat marketing opportunity?

Jump on these brand new Instagram tools from Customers.ai!

• Manage Instagram DMs (direct messages) from the OmniChatⓇ Inbox.
• Instagram live chat support tools.
• Automation tools for comments, mentions, Instagram Stories, welcome messages, and a whole lot more…

Limited spots are available so apply ASAP and use partner code UNICORN to get on the Instagram messaging beta list.

Instagram Marketing Tips #2: Optimize Instagram bio

We may have gotten a little ahead of ourselves with the first Instagram marketing tip for agencies.

One of the first things you’ll want to do for your clients is to optimize their Instagram bio.

As simple as it may seem, an Instagram bio plays a critical role in establishing your brand presence. It shows people who you are and what you sell. 

You can also use the same space to tell them why they should care about your business and its offering.

You have 150 characters to tell people what the profile is about, what your brand offers and why they should follow you. 

So you don’t have much to work with, which makes it even more crucial to plan ahead and perfect your Instagram business bio.

Follow this checklist in order to assure your client that you’re creating the best Instagram bios for their business:

Have a clear goal for each bio

In order to create a great Instagram bio for your client, you need to know what your clients want from Instagram. 

Is it to show off their brand’s personality? Is it simply to maintain a visible Instagram presence? Or do your clients want to use Instagram to promote their latest products and offers?

Regardless, each Instagram bio you create needs to serve a purpose. And don’t forget that it’s perfectly normal to have multiple Instagram handles tied to a single business. The point being, you don’t need to jam everything into one bio.

For example, Nike doesn’t have just one Instagram business account. They have many, such as Nike Skateboarding.

If you do promote sales and recent products, be sure your team is ready to regularly update those clients’ bios and ensure their info is up to date. 

Additionally, plan for this and set client expectations for more complicated Instagram business accounts that require extra time and resources.

Put your brand personality on display

Instagram is an expressive environment. So you really want to show off your brand language and tone on Instagram, possibly more so than on other social platforms. 

But this can be difficult considering the limited number of 150 characters allotted. So work with your client to match their brand personality through some trial and error. 

Additionally, some businesses may also add relevant emojis if that kind of approach fits the brand personality.

Include relevant hashtags and profile links

Instagram lets you add clickable hashtags and profile links in your bio. So make the most of this to direct customers to your other Instagram handles or to relevant, tagged content.

The option to add profile links is great for agencies that manage multiple accounts.

As for hashtags, adding them to your bio will let you direct your audience to tagged user-generated content. For example, try using a branded hashtag to collect user-generated content, as Canva does with #canvalove.

Alternatively, you could also use branded hashtags to promote a specific campaign or a product launch. 

Check out how OnePlus uses the hashtag #OnePlus8T to promote the launch event.

See why Rebrandly has the best Instagram marketing tool to create dynamic bio links here.

Make Instagram bios clear and precise

As mentioned earlier, your main Instagram bio should be able to convey what your business does or what it offers. This way, people can easily read and process information. 

Formatting such as line breaks and spacing makes it easier to read and emphasize important information at a glance.

You could use a pipe or vertical bar to space out your info like in the following Instagram business profile example. 

Notice how thredUP skillfully uses lists in its bio, using emojis as a bullet point.

Test different formatting to see how they impact overall profile engagement for your clients.

For more great Instagram bio examples, check out some of the best Instagram business accounts here.

Instagram Marketing Tips #3: Include a strong CTA (call to action)

Although we’re still technically discussing your Instagram bio, a strong CTA deserves its own spot on the list of Instagram marketing tips.

There’s no point in creating an Instagram account for business if it doesn’t contribute to your client’s KPIs.

So make sure people know exactly what to do when they visit your client’s profile by including a CTA in the bio. Ahrefs makes this crystal clear by literally points at their CTA with an emoji.

You can be very specific with this depending on the goal of the Instagram account. 

For example, you could invite people to visit your website, shop your feed, read your latest blog post, download your new guide, or even share their own photos using a branded hashtag.

If your clients insist that their Instagram follower count is important, you can even use a CTA such as “follow us” in order to receive updates from your client’s brand.

Instagram Marketing Tips #4: Do not buy followers

It’s tempting to buy Instagram followers. And if you’re an influencer or wannabe influencer, that could even make sense. 

However, do not buy Instagram followers for your clients under any circumstances. Both you and your client will ultimately be disappointed in the results. Not to mention you could have your account suspended, which would not be a fun agency-to-client conversation.

This should go without saying, but there are still some agencies out there doing this.

When you start working with a new client, it’s also a good idea to check if their followers are real before you get started. Fake followers can seriously hinder results.

There are negative consequences to buying fake followers and likes on Instagram:

• Instagram catches you and purges your account
• Engagement numbers will fall
• Revenue will not increase

Lastly, your clients and Instagram users can easily tell if you have a fake follower base. And they absolutely will call you out on it. Not a good look for any brand.

Instead, build an authentic following that generates high engagement on Instagram over time. Your clients will thank you for it!

Instagram Marketing Tips #5: Partner with influencers to expand campaign reach

A much better alternative to buying Instagram followers and likes is to partner with influencers. 

And whether or not you dislike the Instagram influencer scene, if you want to reach potential customers on Instagram, the fastest way to do that is through influencers who have already built a large following.

In fact, when it comes to millennials (the largest demographic on Instagram by age), only 1% of them trust advertisements. However, 33% of millennials trust blog reviews for their purchases.

Plus, influencer marketing is earning businesses $6.50 for every dollar spent – an ROI that your agency could stand on if attained.

So, if you partner with the right Instagram influencers, you can get any client brand out in front of their target audience.

Here’s an example of how Tom’s of Maine, an all-natural ingredients toiletries company, used micro-influencers to get macro results:

Tom’s wanted to increase brand awareness among health-conscious buyers by encouraging people to try their products and talk about them on social media. Tom’s focused on micro-influencers, who then encouraged their followers to publish their own posts.

This strategy created a snowball effect that reached 4.4 million potential customers in the first three months of the campaign.

Key takeaway: It’s easy to think more followers equals better reach, but that’s not always true. In many cases, a group of micro-influencers is more affordable and more effective than a single “macro” endorsement.

Furthermore, your clients’ existing customers might not be influencers, but you can still use their posts to influence people to buy products by collecting user-submitted photos.

Lastly, if you’re wondering what to charge clients for an influencer marketing campaign, here are the average cost per one-thousand followers and engagements, according to Buffer:

• $10 per 1,000 followers
• $250 – $750 per 1,000 engagements

As an agency, start building as many meaningful influencer relationships across different target audiences as you can. It won’t be long before you have an influencer army that you can rely upon for nearly any client.

Instagram Marketing Tips #6: How to use Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories aren’t new. However, they are underrated in terms of using Instagram for business.

Plus, Stories just got a lot more underrated in 2021 with introduction of new Instagram automated messaging tools from Customers.ai!

Customers.ai’s Instagram Story Mention tool can automatically send a reply to anyone who mentions you in their Instagram Story.

With over 500 million daily active users, Instagram Stories are a great way to expand your reach and increase engagement. In fact, 68% of people become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in a story, according to Ipsos.

And although they’re only live for 24 hours, Instagram Stories can easily be saved and reused at a later point.

Here’s an awesome example of how @HydroFlask, an insulated water bottle company, created ads in Instagram Stories and realized an 80% increase in revenue.

To increase awareness and sell more products, Hydro Flask worked with performance marketing agency SocialWithin to run ads in Instagram Stories. 

The digital agency followed best practices and created engaging, well-branded, vertical videos promoting upcoming sales, new color releases, and created anticipation for a limited-edition Escape Collection. 

Ads in Instagram Stories gave the brand a full-screen canvas to tell a short story in a creative way.

To reach the right audience, the team showed the video ads to lookalike audiences based on its most valuable customers. To increase the potential audience size, even more, the team also layered in various interest-based audiences that aligned with the Hydro Flask brand and its ideal customers.

Between November 2018–February 2019, Hydro Flask earned the following compare to the previous 4-month period:

• 12,000 purchases
• 80% increase in revenue
• 16X return on ad spend

Want to be able to share a success story like this with your clients? Talk about your all-time rhetorical questions. ????

There are also a number of other features included in Instagram Stories, such as Questions and Polls. These Instagram marketing tools are highly useful when using Instagram for business, particularly to increase engagement and brand awareness.

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Instagram Marketing Tips #7: Create high-performing Instagram ads

According to Instagram, 60% of people say they discover new products on the platform, and 20% of users visit a business profile every single day. Plus, 33% of the most popular Instagram Stories are shared by businesses like yours. 

Similar to Facebook ads, Ads placed in the Instagram News Feed and Instagram Stories are a big part of the Facebook Ads ecosystem, providing competitive ROAS (return on ad spend) for advertisers.

What advertisers should really latch onto is the fact that Instagram uses Facebook’s demographic data to serve up ads to the appropriate parties. This makes the tool super valuable for advertisers looking to target a niche audience because Facebook already has a strong history and thorough demographic targeting options.

Consider using Instagram interactive ads. Interactivity adds a whole new dimension to the world of Story ads on Instagram that help bring people closer to brands.

Interactive ads in Instagram Stories, starting with the polling sticker, allow businesses to be more engaging and playful in order to build better connections.

As for Instagram Story ads, here are some rules of thumb:

• Instagram Stories have the lowest CPM and CPC by placement in the Facebook ads system.
• Instagram Stories video creative can be up to 45 seconds (or actually, 15-second videos stitched together) 
• The call-to-action in Story ads is to “swipe up” to view a webpage with more info.
• More organic-looking content, that looks like it was filmed by a friend on their phone and uses text and GIF stickers native to Stories, gets better results than high-production-value video.

Lastly, check out the Top 7 Facebook Ad Hacks of All-Time from recognized Facebook Ads expert and Customers.ai Founder, Larry Kim.

Instagram Marketing Tips #8: Use actionable Instagram hashtags

The great thing about a good hashtag strategy is that it can be leveraged across other social networks like Twitter and Pinterest. However, hashtags are key to Instagram and are the perfect way to get your client’s audience to engage with their brand.

A good example that Instagram recognized was by Nike, who started a movement with their #runfree campaign.

As you can see, Nike was able to generate over 600 thousand posts with this hashtag campaign. Check it out for yourself and click through your favorite images to get some inspiration for your client campaigns.

Smaller brands in your agency portfolio can leverage hashtag campaigns as well. Take Infatuation for instance, a trendy restaurant review site, which has generated over 20 million posts using the hashtag #EEEEEATS.

Infatuation created an online food community for “anyone who is serious about food, but doesn’t take food too seriously,” according to their site.

So why is this hashtag so successful? For starters, amazing looking food pictures never hurts, but Infatuation also creates engaging, geo-targeted content around their posts, such as the following:

Instagram Marketing Tips #9: Increasing engagement on Instagram

As an agency, you need to emphasize to your clients that audience engagement on Instagram is far more important than gaining followers.

Vanity metrics are for lazy marketers – end of story.

On Instagram, more engagement makes the algorithm happy, which is what’s going to make your clients happy in return.

And in 2021, the top way to increase engagement for Instagram Agencies is Customers.ai’s new suite of Instagram Tools.

Do not miss out on these automation tools for Instagram that marketers have dreamed about for years:

• Manage Instagram DMs (direct messages) from the OmniChatⓇ Inbox.
• Instagram live chat support tools.
• Automation tools for comments, mentions, Instagram Stories, welcome messages, and a whole lot more…

Now, let’s talk about others ways to increase engagement on Instagram.

When posting to the Instagram feed, you have the option to post photos or videos.

You also have the option to post up to 10 photos and videos at once in a singular post, complete with a scrolling feature that allows followers to scroll through each photo or video in the set.

This is something that you can use to your advantage: Consider using the opportunity to post up to 10 photos or videos at a time as a chance for unique content creation.

Here are a few content ideas that tend to get great results on Instagram:

• Behind-the-scenes content of your client’s business
• Posts that show a business volunteering, talking at conferences, and interacting with the public in a leadership role in general.
• Actionable posts, such as tutorials 

Make sure that you’re combining your use of photo and video content when using these ideas.

Here’s an example of a business that does this very well: 

The above example is called “Happy Hour with Sophia.” It’s literally just a video of Sophia making a super cool cocktail. That’s it. And it has 3,700 views. Amazing, right?

Bon Appétit Magazine has a wildly popular YouTube channel on which different Bon Appétit chefs (with big personalities!) cook popular foods, try out recipes, or taste-test different items. 

Bon Appétit frequently shares clips of these videos on their Instagram.

These videos serve multiple purposes: they are educational, as the audience can learn from them; they build brand trust, as the audience loves the personalities of the chefs featured; and they draw users to Bon Appétit’s various social media platforms. 

As we already discussed, another great tactic to boost engagement on Instagram is to curate user-generated content that you can reshare on your own profile. 

This can be done in a number of ways:

• Through a hashtag campaign in which you encourage users to include a specific hashtag in their posts.
• Searching for images related to your client’s industry.
• Monitoring your notifications to see when users share posts that tag or mention your client’s business.
• Searching for images related to your client’s business.

Curating and sharing user-generated content lets followers know that you like to interact with their content and aren’t simply a robotic presence on Instagram.

This builds brand trust and loyalty, helping to increase customer satisfaction rates.

Once you have a bunch of ideas for content to share on your clients’ Instagram profiles, it’s time to make sure that it all reflects cohesive brand imagery.

If you look at business profiles on Instagram, you’ll see that they put a lot of effort into the production of the photos and videos that they share. 

Sometimes there are color schemes, sometimes there are themes; either way, everything is cohesive and looks visually appealing.

Having visually compelling material on your Instagram account makes content look cohesive and draws in followers.

And honestly, the best way to get great ideas is to look for brands similar to your client in question and take note of the Instagram experiences that keep your attention for long periods of time.

Instagram Marketing Tips #10: Sell products on Instagram Shops

Facebook Shops, or in this case Instagram Shops, is a new way to present, market, and sell physical products. For agencies, it’s an opportunity to differentiate your offering and stand out amongst your competitors. 

With an Instagram Shops Page you can:

• Organize your products into collections and categories.
• Add an unlimited number of products.
• Communicate with your customers through the page directly with Messenger.
• See analytics for your sales, visits, and more.
• Get your products appearing on Facebook Marketplace, giving you access to a much larger base of potential customers.

Instagram ad implications of Instagram Shops

Last-click attribution will be easier to determine when someone checks-out on Facebook or Instagram. You won’t even need to rely on a properly installed Facebook Pixel.

As for ad performance, this too could significantly improve due to a couple of main factors: 

• One-click checkout on Facebook Shops reduces friction, therefore making it easier for consumers to make a purchase. When Amazon introduced its one-click checkout option, overall sales increased by 5%.
• When Facebook sees that certain consumers are more likely to convert on Instagram Shops than they are when redirected to a website, Facebook’s algorithm will pick up on it. This means that Facebook will automatically send certain consumers ads that direct them to your Instagram or Facebook Shops page, and vice versa.

Instagram Shops can also be featured in ads and Stories. So consider how you’ll want to incorporate those ad channels into your agency’s overall strategy.

Live stream shopping on Instagram

Sellers, brands, and creators are now able to tag products from their Instagram Shop or catalog before going live and those products will be shown at the bottom of the video so people can easily tap to learn more and purchase. Facebook has started to test this with businesses on Facebook and Instagram, and it continues to be rolled out more broadly.

This means you can go on Instagram or Facebook Live and the products you’re discussing will actually show up at the bottom of the screen for people to engage with a click or tap.

This is something to start planning for now and giving a shot because if conversion rates turn out to be high, the implications for your agency could be massive.

Adding sales capabilities to live streaming on Facebook and Instagram Shops is also a major win for influencers that can sell products in real-time.

Not only does it give influencers a new channel to sell products in real-time, but there’s also the added benefit of direct attribution of sales.

This eliminates much of the complexities associated with properly attributing sales to influencers and affiliates who deserve to get paid.

Instagram Marketing Tips #11: Tracking Instagram KPIs and metrics

You can’t improve your Instagram performance and optimize it unless you know how well your page and posts are performing (or underperforming).

When you have measurable results, you’ll know exactly what works and what doesn’t.

Instagram Follower Rate

Start by tracking follower growth rates for your clients. The number of followers alone shouldn’t matter to your clients. However, do keep track of follower growth rates, and present that as a KPI to your clients.

When you keep an eye on what the growth rate of your followers looks like, you will get a great idea of how your content is performing.

You can track your follower growth rate and other key performance metrics with Instagram marketing tools like Owlmetrics and Analisa.io.

Instagram Engagement Rate

Next, measure Instagram engagement rates for your clients. This includes likes and comments.

You want to find out the average engagement percentage of your client’s total followers as well as the average engagement rate of each post to get a clear picture of how your campaigns are performing.

Also keep in mind that If your client has a small following, your engagement rate should be higher.

Instagram URL Click-Through Rate

Finally, you need to track URL click-through rates for your clients.

If you’re not already using Instagram marketing tools like link.gallery from Rebrandly, you need to get one ASAP.

Then, measure how many people are clicking through to your URL.

The average CTR on Instagram is 0.94%, according to Conversion XL.

The more effective your Instagram marketing techniques are with your audience, the higher your CTR will be. If your CTR is low, work on improving your approach.

Instagram Marketing Tips #12: Use the best digital agency tools

Finding Instagram marketing tools specific to the platform can be frustrating because it’s a unique social media platform. 

This is because Instagram is focused on image-based content, allows for fewer characters than other platforms, and purposely makes it difficult to link to your website.

When marketing on Instagram, you’ll need to have software for generating leads, making cool images, creating videos, scheduling posts, business promotion, and analytics. And we have you covered.

Check out these 12 Instagram marketing tools. You’ll find the best tools for the following use cases and more:

• Best Chatbot for Instagram
• Image and Video Editing Software for Instagram
• Instagram analytics for business
• Software for selling products and services on Instagram
• Hashtag generator app for Instagram
• Schedule posts on Instagram
• Add branded links to your Instagram bio and posts

Additionally, you’ll find 14 agency specific tools in this article with the best overall marketing tools for digital agencies in 2020!

Instagram Marketing Tips #13: Follow the best Instagram business accounts

There are literally millions of Instagram business accounts. As an agency, you can learn from the best business accounts, as well as the agencies you already follow on other channels.

Here are a few notable Instagram marketing agency accounts to check out right now:

• @heystudio
• @y.media.labs
• @hugeinc

They say the best artists steal, so there’s no crime in taking what’s working for others and making it work for you and your clients.

Check out these seven best Instagram business accounts you should follow right now and see what you can learn from them!

Instagram Marketing Tips #14: Use Messenger bots for remarketing and engagement

As of October 19, 2020, Messenger from Facebook announced API Support for Instagram. The combination of these two massive channels has huge implications for marketing professionals everywhere.

In addition to cross-channel messaging, many new features are coming to Instagram. Most notably for digital marketers and agencies alike is the ability to seamlessly connect with people across Instagram and Messenger by using either app.

Prior to this announcement, there was a big gap for marketers trying to leverage Instagram messaging with their funnels: Instagram DMs didn’t feature a developer API that allowed for private messaging at scale.

But all of that is about to change.

You can create deeper personal interactions with Instagram followers using chatbots that keep customers in-the-know of the latest sales and promos, as well as order updates and account status.

As a premier Messenger platform solution provider, however, here at Customers.ai we need to be careful about what we say during the Instagram and Messenger rollout.

For now, we can offer the following information:

Businesses can reach an incredible number of engaged Instagram users with the tools enabled through the Messenger API. Messenger API support for Instagram means businesses and developers can now manage their customer communications on Instagram at scale.

Our partners at Messenger said it best:

“We are thrilled that Customers.ai is launching messaging tools for Instagram. Businesses and people are messaging with each other more than ever, and Instagram is an important channel to connect with customers and build relationships,” said Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, VP of Platform Partnerships at Messenger.

And we could not agree more!

Business across verticals that connect with customers in Instagram messaging are discovering bottom-line boosting benefits of real-time chat like:

• More leads: Businesses can automatically capture and qualify leads who start chat sessions.
• More sales: Prospects who chat with a business are 40% more likely to buy.
• Better customer experiences: Messaging tools empower customers by providing 24/7 instant support.

We can’t wait to see how businesses grow with messaging tools for Instagram!

Make sure your agency is the first in line to offer your clients the most exciting marketing channel to become available in quite some time: Get early access to Instagram DM tools!

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In fact, 57% of businesses agree that chatbots deliver large ROI with minimal effort. Furthermore, 56% of businesses claim that chatbots are driving disruption in their industry (Accenture 2020).

It’s not bold to suggest at this point that every digital marketing agency needs to at least consider selling web chat as a service to their clients.

Plus, it’s a relatively simple model to sell chatbot services as an agency:

• Create custom chatbots for your clients.
• Set a price for the creation of the bots.
• Charge a monthly ongoing retainer for the continued use of the Messenger bots.

After reading this article, I guarantee you’ll be persuaded that your marketing agency needs to sell multi-channel chatbot services, or double-down on your existing web chat strategy.

Web Chat for Digital Agency Marketing

It’s become clear with chatbots capturing leads from web traffic and ads, that agencies are providing better performance for clients than ever before. Chatbot marketing automation is a 24/7 solution to quickly increase engagement and sales for your client portfolio.

The benefits to agencies are undeniable. Getting positive results and growing your agency will mean that you can expand retainers with existing clients and deliver higher profit margins.

Okay, now that we’ve hyped up the benefits of web chat for agencies, let’s jump into the 7 tools and tactics that can make chatbot services the new cash cow of your agency.

1. Multi-channel chatbot automation
2. SMS text marketing for agencies
3. Live chat widget for client websites
4. Facebook web chat for agencies
5. Facebook Messenger ads
6. Re-engage your client’s audience
7. Track campaign metrics for your clients

#1. Multi-channel chatbot automation

Live web chat software allows you to proactively engage with customers and prospects in order to grow revenue, generate leads, and offer real-time support. However, the best live chat solutions today are also cross-channel marketing tools.

Studies have shown that web chat software:

• Boosts engagement rates by 3X
• Increases conversions by 45%
• Makes consumers 63% more likely to return to a website

Still, the aforementioned problem that most web chat tools are only available to use on a single channel still persists.

However, with OmniChat® technology by Customers.ai, you can engage with customers across multiple channels, whether that’s a website, SMS text messages, or other messaging apps, such as Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp.

There are a lot of web chat examples for digital marketing agencies to choose from, such as:

• Qualify and generate leads
• Build a sales chatbot
• Get more reviews
• Run a contest or giveaway
• Send bulk text messages and Facebook Messenger chat blasts 

The ability to use live web chat on different marketing channels, all from one unified inbox, can be a game-changer for your marketing agency.

Learn all about OmniChat® by Customers.ai and you’ll see why so many digital agencies have already jumped on-board.

#2. SMS text marketing for agencies

Text marketing for agencies is rapidly growing in popularity, and that’s because it’s instant, convenient, and universal for consumers.

Outdated mobile-targeting tactics are costing your agency conversions, clients, and revenue. Meanwhile, SMS marketing is lurking in the background, waiting for you to capitalize on it.

Using Customers.ai SMS marketing tools, agencies can set themselves apart from the competition by dramatically increasing open, response, and conversion rates.

SMS marketing tools empower businesses to send customers both bulk and personalized messages at scale with smart features like: 

• Contact list growth tools
• Text message delivery time scheduling
• Triggering text messages to send based on behaviors and interactions
• Results tracking and analytics

Getting your clients’ audiences to opt-in to text message marketing campaigns is simple with Customers.ai. Multiple opt-in options exist, such as SMS keywords, a website chat SMS opt-in widget, and an SMS opt-in popup form. 

For example, here’s one of our CTAs where we’re using a dedicated phone number and the keyword “UNICORN”: Join my Unicorn Marketing Club for news and updates once a week by texting “UNICORN” to 1-309-740-3151.

When you text UNICORN to the number, you’ll receive the text message found below.

Go ahead and test it out for yourself to receive marketing news and updates from Larry Kim!

There’s so much more you can do with Customers.ai SMS marketing tools. Here’s just a few:

• Bulk text messaging
• SMS drip campaign automation
• Automated responses and proactive messaging
• Send GIFs, emojis, and images in text blasts
• Trigger workflows through Zapier and the Customers.ai API

Not sold on SMS marketing? Take a look at these 60 SMS marketing statistics, and you’ll surely change your mind.

#3. Live chat widget for client websites

Adding chat to a website can improve conversion rates by 45%.

The best way to get live chat integrated into your website is to install what is generally called a “chat widget.”

From a technical perspective, a chat widget is simply a quick line of code that you can easily install on your website.

This code will position a chat icon at the bottom right-hand corner of your site. When customers click on it, they can chat with an agent from your business.

There are many benefits to adding a Messenger bot to your website, including:

• No wait times for customers — 24/7 instant responses
• For visitors chatting in Messenger, they will save the conversation and can reach out any time with follow-up issues
• Your business is able to reengage that website chat contact in Messenger with Sponsored Message ads
• Your business creates customer profiles enriched with each interaction
• Messenger web chat is cross-device functional and mobile-friendly — the conversation is available on your site, the Messenger app, and Facebook desktop!

Here’s how to get started and how to add live chat to a website.

#4. Facebook web chat for agencies

Facebook Messenger is an automation weapon that your clients will love.

Using an omnichannel chatbot like Customers.ai, you can use the same dialogue as you do on your client’s website across multiple web chat apps. This makes it easy to get tons of Messenger contacts and their data using tools like Facebook post autoresponders.

In addition to the items listed in the infographic above, there are even more powerful ways you can use Facebook Messenger marketing for clients as well.

The latest and greatest of which, is the Free Facebook Lead Generator.

Customers.ai has built a free tool that allows you to get email addresses from Facebook. And this free offer is great because, with just a few clicks, you can turn your Facebook fans into leads. These are people who follow and like your company’s page on Facebook.

And you capture their names, emails, and phone numbers – automatically!

This is great for remarketing campaigns as well because you’re capturing all of their Facebook contact information. What you can do is segment the leads you capture for your clients into audiences based on certain properties, and then re-engage using customized bulk messages on Facebook, SMS, and other web chat apps.

Lastly, because you receive the user’s contact information as soon as the conversation starts, the cost-per-lead becomes incredibly low.

So, delight your entire client portfolio by adding the Free Facebook Lead Generator to their Business Pages and Posts. It’s a no brainer to effortlessly capture leads and add prospects to your retargeting campaigns.

#5. Facebook Messenger ads

You’re probably used to running ads that send traffic to client landing pages where the average website conversion rate is 4%.

And that’s a solid and predictable business model if you’re good at it. However, there are thousands of performance marketing agencies out there, and you need to impress clients with ads that lower CPAs and a higher conversion rate.

Solution: Add click-to-Messenger ads to your list of services.

Facebook Messenger ads direct prospects to your Messenger bot, where 100% of replies to the bot are captured as a lead.

And that’s why Messenger ads present a rare opportunity that savvy digital marketers are taking advantage of in 2020.

Messenger ads actually perform better than normal Facebook ads, which can be attributed to the fact that they start a more engaging experience with conversational chatbots.

A couple of types of Facebook Messenger ads exist. There’s an ad viewed on any Facebook property that directs traffic to Messenger. And then there’s sponsored content that’s native in Messenger.

Another cool thing about Facebook Messenger ad experiences is that they can take place across the Facebook family of apps, including the Facebook newsfeed, Instagram newsfeed, Facebook and Instagram Stories, Marketplace, Messenger, and others.

Here are the top 4 reasons why marketing agencies love Facebook Messenger ads:

• Messenger ads outperform other ads by 2X-10X
• Instant lead and data capture
• More features available for personalization
• Fully automated lead qualification and follow-ups with chatbots

Experience a click-to-Messenger ad in action for yourself here. As soon as you respond to the bot, your lead info is captured!

Your clients will love this unique lead generation tool!

#6. Re-engage your clients’ prospects and customers

What should be obvious by now, is that people would rather be using live chat software or text to stay in touch.

The average chat session duration is 8-12 minutes according to a 2020 live chat benchmark report.

Meanwhile the average web session duration is 2-3 minutes.

So, establishing a connection to message with someone in an opt-in messaging app with persistent history, like Messenger and SMS, is key to restarting messaging sessions and leveraging messaging as a re-engagement channel.

Here are the top reasons why consumers are interested in receiving messaging re-engagement:

• Product offers and coupons: 62%
• Account activity, payment reminders, fraud alerts: 59%
• Order alerts or delivery notifications: 56%
• General appointment and event reminders: 51%
• Security authentication prompts: 32%
• Satisfaction surveys: 22%

With those types of content in mind, let’s talk about the importance of retargeting and marketing automation for agencies.

Drip campaigns automatically send messages to customers based on triggers, like when a new contact subscribes, you can send them a welcome message and offer.

Or when a customer support ticket is closed, and a chat conversation is marked done, that can trigger a satisfaction survey.

In the image above you’ll see a chat drip campaign example in action.

Shortly after the prospect’s last text, they receive a triggered message, “Let us know how we did.”

Twenty minutes later they also receive an offer for new customers. And then again, one more offer comes an hour later.

Webchat drip campaigns are easy to set up using Customers.ai. Better yet, with OmniChat, you can send chatbot drip campaigns via SMS, Messenger, and live chat on your website.

Learn how to do SMS drip marketing and Messenger chat drips to sell more and increase engagement for your clients!

#7. Track campaign metrics for your clients

Running a marketing agency has many challenges. Everything has a hard deadline. Clients demand unreasonable results. Your competition is constantly trying to underbid you. And your team wants catered lunches at least once a week ????.

Paramount to your success, however, is being able to demonstrate that your marketing campaigns are producing an ROI.

Therefore, it goes without saying that you want your digital agency tech stack includes tools that allow you to present the KPIs and reports that matter most to your clients.

So let’s jump into how Customers.ai’s newly updated chatbot analytics will help you retain agency clients.

These are the B2B web chat marketing metrics you’ll be keeping tabs on:

• Contacts
• Sessions
• Conversion rate
• Open rate, response rate
• Unsubscribe rate

Live chat support metrics include:

• Response time
• Satisfaction rate

And when you want to know more about conversation stickiness and conversion hurdles, you can use tagging to understand how many people enter a conversation flow, where there are conversational bottle-necks or abandonment.

And then here’s a chatbot analytics dashboard view from Customers.ai. As you can see, these interactive analytic dashboards include:

• Total contacts captured by each platform.
• Daily contacts and bot sessions
• Top-performing chatbot dialogues
• Q&A keywords that have been triggered

Furthermore, Customers.ai’s bot analytics include dashboards for both chatbot and live agent performance, as well as analytic dashboards for all of your Facebook Messenger ads.

These interactive dashboards allow you to view your data at a high-level. Additionally, you can hover your mouse over each of the dashboards to get further details, and you can also click on them to drill down even further into your data.

More Web Chat Resources for Digital Agencies

Customers.ai has a plethora of resources for digital marketing agencies. 

We have great relationships with our digital marketing agency partners, and continue to be amazed by the returns agencies get by selling chatbot services to clients.

Start by watching the Marketing Agency Growth Accelerator Summit with Larry Kim.

Or, if you prefer print, here are our latest knowledge bombs to help you grow your client portfolio, increase your average deal size, and win more business:

• Text Marketing for Agencies
• Marketing Agency Pricing Guide 
• Affiliate Marketing Tools
• Digital Marketing Agency Tools 

Customers.ai agency Team Plan partners get advanced web chat marketing automation features, multi-page and multi-user dashboard, and new client referrals as a certified Customers.ai agency.

Live Chat for Agencies: Important next steps

See all the tools in Customers.ai’s multi-channel chatbot platform by getting started with Customers.ai for free.

The post 7 Ways To Leverage Web Chat for Agencies and Increase ROI for Digital Agency Clients appeared first on Customers.ai.

What went wrong?

First let’s take a look at marketing agency doing everything right.

Sharkey’s Cuts For Kids had a goal of shattering previous records and launching the largest Grand Opening in the most cost-efficient way.

The hair salon worked with Almost Magical Marketing, a Customers.ai Premier Agency, to launch Facebook ads that click to Messenger where a Customers.ai chatbot enters new clients in a giveaway, delivers a voucher, and assists applicants in booking their appointment for Grand Opening Day.

The result was a record-breaking opening day that cost 58% lower cost than previous campaigns.

Source: Customers.ai case study

In 2018, brands were surveyed to find out what they wish their marketing did better.

Or their marketing agency did better, specifically.

The #1 reason companies are dissatisfied with their marketing agency is a lack of innovation.

Source: Hannapin

This tracks with marketing agency owners I’ve talked to who say there are two types of clients: 

• Clients who want their agency to do everything
• Clients who hire a marketing agency to train their team so they can eventually fire the agency

I’ll admit I’m part of the second group. 

I recently broke up with an agency because we had picked up on all the tricks up their sleeve and they hadn’t brought any innovations to the table to grow our leads.

If you want to be irreplaceable as a marketer, or as an agency, here’s my tip: Invest in your skills with cutting-edge marketing tactics and strategies.

I started Customers.ai in 2017 because I saw an opportunity to be on the forefront of what I knew would one day be an essential marketing channel: automated chat and text messaging.

Then came COVID-19. 

The pandemic has been a true disruptor to business.

There have been winners and losers in the transition to total reliance on online commerce.

What do the winners have in common?

Innovation.

Pivoting to be where their customers are.

News flash: Real-time chat and text is the way we stay in touch with everything critical to our lives.

Yet at last count only 2% of businesses use chat marketing automation in their customer communication and marketing strategy.

If you’re reading this, you might know that scaling real-time instant chat and text messaging is what Customers.ai does.

And on Wednesday, October 7, at Chat Marketing 2020 Virtual Summit we’re sharing the fool-proof playbooks that Customers.ai’s fastest growing customers are using to:

• Drive tons of customers into your inbox using Facebook Messenger ads that convert
• Grow an SMS marketing list to create a direct line to customers text message app
• Boost ecommerce revenue +13% with on-site chat
• Sign more marketing agency clients and get bigger contracts with chatbot services

This summit is for you if:

• You want your business to grow
• You want to learn more about scaling leads with chat marketing
• You see the writing on the wall and it’s time to do real-time customer communication
• You’re driven to be an innovative, irreplaceable member of your team

Why I Fired My Agency: Important Next Steps

The post Why I Fired My Marketing Agency (and How to Be an Irreplaceable Marketer) appeared first on Customers.ai.

Here a few SMS marketing statistics that tend to surprise many of our agency partners:

• Text messages have a 98% open rate.
• Marketers see 6-8X the engagement when comparing SMS vs email. 
• Response rates of 45% and an average response time of 90 seconds.

Furthermore, text message marketing is the most preferred channel of communication by consumers when compared to email, app notifications, and direct mail.

SMS marketing is rapidly growing in popularity because it’s instant, convenient, and universal.

Outdated mobile-targeting tactics are costing you conversions, clients, and revenue. Meanwhile, SMS marketing is lurking in the background, waiting for agencies to capitalize on it.

Text Marketing Examples

Here are 10 ways for digital agencies to use text marketing in order to impress and retain clients:

1. Send exclusive deals and offers
2. Mass text messaging for marketing agencies
3. SMS keyword campaign
4. Automated SMS drip campaigns
5. Get opt-in from Facebook Messenger
6. Run contests, giveaways, and sweepstakes
7. Get opt-in from live chat on website
8. Send clients and their customers status updates
9. Perform community building for your agency and clients
10. Build contact lists with SMS lead generation

#1. Text Marketing For Agencies: Exclusive Deals & Offers

Digital agencies use SMS to send promotions and sales because it is one of the most engaging and cost-efficient ways to engage their clients’ prospects and customers.

Customers.ai’s OmniChat® messaging inbox allows you to support messaging on multiple chat platforms, including SMS text messaging.

Reaching out proactively and engaging with segments of your audience is effective in moving prospects to the bottom of your sales funnel. And one of the most powerful proactive channels is text message marketing.

After opting-in new SMS subscribers, you can send bulk text messages to that audience with announcements, news and deals. 

For example: “Claim your free gift!”

This text marketing example includes an image, the promo code, and a link to the website to claim the offer.

You could also consider offering a 20% promotion code for all shoppers.

If 75% of all consumers want to have special offers, discounts, and coupons delivered to their smartphones via SMS, this should be a no brainer to pitch to your clients, right?

#2. Text Marketing for Agencies: Mass Text Messaging

Send mass SMS text message blasts to your clients’ contact lists with an SMS Blaster.

Using SMS chat blasts reaches audiences with whatever business information or promotional material you have to offer, and it’s easier than ever using Customers.ai’s SMS opt-in and text message blasting tools. 

By the way, you can send chat blasts via SMS and other messaging channels like Facebook Messenger at the same time using Customers.ai OmniChat cross-channel marketing tools.

Learn how to send a text message blast with Customers.ai.

#3. Text Marketing for Agencies: SMS Keyword Campaign

What’s the best way to grow an SMS subscriber list for clients?

Well, one fantastic way is to use SMS keywords, which are also supported by Customers.ai.

If you live in Canada or the United States and text the word “CLUB” to 309-740-3151, that will enter you into our Unicorn Marketers Text Messaging Club where Larry Kim will send you a weekly message with the latest growth marketing strategies.

SMS keywords are just one way you can get more SMS subscribers.

SMS opt-in is powerful, not only because you can re-engage with your customers after they leave your website, but because the results from SMS marketing are almost hard to believe.

Tips for advertising or promoting any SMS marketing program:

• Provide a link to the Terms and Conditions.
• Set expectations about how often the audience gets SMS updates.
• And offer an incentive or make the value of joining really clear.

Sign people up for SMS text marketing updates with SMS keyword opt-in.

#4. Text Marketing for Agencies: Automated Drip Campaigns

Utilizing marketing automation for agencies is no longer a “nice to have.” And when we’re talking about text marketing, SMS drip campaigns are another highly effective way for agencies to delight clients.

Drip campaigns are key to keeping active customers engaged as you continue to send them valuable and relevant content.

You can use your growing contact lists to send SMS drip campaigns to:

• Welcome and onboard customers
• Keep leads engaged with the brand
• Activate the use of sophisticated solutions
• Leverage automation to communicate at scale

If you were sending coupons in a drip campaign, for example, you could send a 5% off coupon right after a subscriber signs-up, a 10% coupon after three weeks, and a 20% off coupon after two months.

The longer they stick around, the bigger the potential bonus. So you’re incentivizing the action you want.

Customers.ai’s SMS drip campaign builder is all visual. It’s just a matter of choosing an audience, adding your content, and setting the timing of the drips.

#5. Text Marketing for Agencies: Get Opt-In from Facebook Messenger

Similar to how you can invite someone chatting on you or your clients’ website to opt-in to SMS updates, you can invite leads and customers chatting on a Facebook page.

So, when a customer is chatting with the chatbot on your Facebook page, now you can give them the option to stay in touch and receive updates from you via SMS. 

Use the Customers.ai SMS opt-in widget from your Facebook Page welcomer to give customers the ability to use the messaging app that’s most convenient for them. 

See this in action by clicking the “Send Message” button on the Customers.ai Facebook Page. We’ll ask you if you want to sign up for the Customers.ai Text Marketing Club.

Did you know you can capture names, emails, and phone numbers from a Facebook Page automatically? Check out the new Free Lead Generator and start building your client contact lists on auto-pilot!

#6. Text Marketing for Agencies: Run Contests & Giveaways for Clients

Agency clients always love new and creative ideas. Especially when they generate a ton of leads, fast.

Get your clients pumped on having their customers sign-up for sweepstakes by texting a particular keyword.

Once again, this is a standard promotion tactic and one of the most effective marketing tools for small business.

You can select some winners from everyone who opts-in. Or you can also give away a smaller prize to every person who texts your keyword. And you can even use it as an opportunity for cross-promotions.

Running a short-term contest is one of those growth hacking strategies that always works to get more SMS subscribers.

But they can’t run forever.

Consider a contest or giveaway something you can do every year to every quarter, attached to holidays, anniversaries, and special occasions. 

In the case of how to get more SMS subscribers, folks enter by texting the magic keyword to your SMS phone number or shortcode.

Keep in mind these tips for contests and giveaways that generate the most leads:

• Create urgency 
• Use a partner to cross-promote
• Have a low bar to entry
• Don’t forget a really sweet prize

Build-in urgency, leverage partner networks, and make the process for entry very simple to generate a spike in the size of your clients’ SMS subscriber list. 

#7. Text Marketing for Agencies: Get Opt-In from Live Chat

Website visitors can be invited to sign up for SMS marketing updates. Get SMS opt-ins from leads and customers chatting on your website chatbot.

You can turn your clients’ website into a lead generation machine by turning live chat into an automated path to SMS subscription.

Live chat has been shown to increase average order value, increase conversions, and build loyalty among customers.

When customers can get in touch with a business to receive real-time answers to their questions, the business can reduce bottlenecks obstructing conversions.

In fact, someone that chats on a website is 10X more likely to convert. And you can generate SMS subscribers from live chat using a bot and an opt-in widget.

Here’s what that SMS opt-in widget looks like using Customers.ai’s live chat software on your site:

When a customer is chatting with the chatbot on your website using native web chat, invite them to provide their phone number to get updates or in case they’re disconnected.

One of the easiest ways to grow your SMS list is by adding an opt-in option to an existing chatbot dialogue.

Your website chatbot is a tool for adding SMS subscribers who are already engaged with your brand. 

Test the website chat widget SMS opt-in for yourself by sending a message in the chat window on this page!

#8. Text Marketing for Agencies: Send Clients Appointment & Billing Reminders

“Valued client, we have updated our policies. Read more here.”

SMS messages are read instantly and are the most effective way of sending time-sensitive messages.

That’s why SMS is the channel of choice for sending urgent messages and status updates.

If hours are changing, or appointments are being rescheduled, canceled, or moved, use SMS to update customers en masse.

#9. Text Marketing for Agencies: Community Building

“Everything’s going to be amazing.”

Gary Vaynerchuck is a marketing industry influencer with massive reach. 

Gary Vee uses SMS marketing updates to cultivate community and deepen brand engagement and customer relationships.

He does this by sending motivational and encouraging updates for marketers and entrepreneurs.

And you can do this for all of your agency clients.

Depending on the brand, sending inspiration and motivation can be a way to secure a positive place in customers’ trusted mobile space.

#10. Text Marketing for Agencies: SMS Lead Generation

Text message marketing is one of the most popular lead generation tools you can have in your tech stack. And that’s because SMS has by far the highest open and engagement rates of any kind of media.

Take a look at these SMS marketing statistics which prove my point.

SMS text message marketing is incredibly effective in both generating new leads and converting existing leads.

In fact, the average response time to business text messages is just 90 seconds. If you compare that to an average of 90 minutes for business email, then you’ll understand why we emphasize the importance of adding SMS to your marketing toolset.

Check out these 20 SMS marketing tools available on the Customers.ai platform.

How To Get Started with SMS Marketing

Now that you’re all set to test out these effective SMS marketing tips, it’s time to get started with your first campaign.

However, if you want to learn more, take a look at these two articles of “SMS Marketing Examples” and “How To Send a Text Message Blast.”

Or, watch our video on “How To Do Text Message Marketing.”

SMS marketing is the fastest way to reach the more than 5 billion people that send and receive text messages around the world. And that’s because it’s instant, convenient, and universal.

Want the best stats on the effectiveness of text message marketing? Check out these 60 SMS marketing statistics that will have you wondering why you didn’t get started with text marketing sooner.

Have questions? Customers.ai’s SMS FAQs help doc has answers.

Important next steps

Here are some additional chatbot marketing resources our agency partners love.

Start with these chatbot marketing services case studies for agencies.

Watch the Marketing Agency Growth Accelerator Summit with Larry Kim.

Check out our Marketing Agency Pricing Guide to find the pricing models that work best for your agency.

Customers.ai agency Team Plan partners get advanced web chat marketing automation features, multi-page and multi-user dashboard, and new client referrals as a certified Customers.ai agency.

See all the tools in Customers.ai’s multi-channel chatbot platform by getting started with Customers.ai for free.

FAQs about Text Marketing for Agencies

What is text marketing?

Text marketing, also known as SMS marketing, is a strategy that involves sending promotional messages and offers to a group of people via text messages. It is an effective way for agencies to reach their target audience, engage with customers, and drive conversions.

How can text marketing benefit agencies?

Text marketing offers several benefits for agencies, including:

• Instant reach and high open rates
• Increased customer engagement and interaction
• Cost-effective compared to other marketing channels
• Ability to target specific customer segments
• Higher conversion rates and ROI

What are some effective text marketing strategies for agencies?

Here are a few effective text marketing strategies for agencies:

• Segment your audience and personalize messages
• Offer exclusive discounts and promotions
• Send appointment reminders or event updates
• Run SMS contests or giveaways
• Provide valuable content and tips

Is text marketing legal for agencies?

Yes, text marketing is legal for agencies, but it is subject to various regulations depending on the country you operate in. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the local laws and obtain consent from recipients before sending them text messages. Compliance with regulations like TCPA (in the US) and GDPR (in the EU) is crucial to avoid legal issues.

How can agencies build their text marketing subscriber list?

Agencies can build their text marketing subscriber list by implementing various strategies such as:

• Adding opt-in forms on their website or landing pages
• Promoting text message opt-ins through social media and email marketing
• Running targeted advertising campaigns to drive subscriptions
• Providing incentives like exclusive discounts or content for subscribing

How often should agencies send text marketing messages?

The frequency of text marketing messages depends on your target audience and the type of content you’re sending. It’s important to strike a balance between staying top-of-mind and avoiding excessive messaging that may lead to unsubscribes. Generally, 1-2 messages per week or a few messages per month can be a good starting point. However, it’s essential to monitor engagement metrics and adjust the frequency based on audience response.

How can agencies measure the effectiveness of their text marketing campaigns?

Agencies can measure the effectiveness of their text marketing campaigns by tracking key metrics such as:

• Open rates: The percentage of recipients who open the text messages
• Click-through rates: The percentage of recipients who click on links within the messages
• Conversion rates: The percentage of recipients who take the desired action (e.g., make a purchase)
• Subscriber growth: The rate at which the subscriber list is expanding
• Churn rate: The percentage of subscribers who unsubscribe from the text messages

Analyzing these metrics will provide insights into the campaign’s performance and help agencies optimize their strategies for better results.

Are there any compliance requirements for text marketing?

Yes, there are compliance requirements for text marketing to protect consumers and ensure responsible messaging. Some key compliance requirements include:

• Obtaining proper consent from recipients before sending text messages
• Including opt-out instructions in each message
• Complying with anti-spam laws and regulations specific to your country or region
• Respecting customer privacy and handling personal information securely

The post 10 Text Marketing Examples for Digital Agencies to Impress and Retain Clients appeared first on Customers.ai.

The webinar contains advanced chatbot marketing tactics and pricing models for Facebook Messenger services designed for agency marketers:

✓ Quick intro to Messenger marketing
✓ How to 10X results for clients with 3 case studies
✓ Product demo for chatbot campaign setup
✓ Finding clients and pricing chatbot services appropriately
✓ Special offer for agencies
✓ Q&A

Customers.ai works with marketing agencies to grow their monthly retainers by servicing clients with high-impact, high-ROI marketing agency bot campaigns for Facebook and Instagram Messenger, SMS, live chat, and more.

Sharing three killer case studies of unicorn return was our special guest, Samir ElKamouny, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at Customers.ai agency partner Fetch & Funnel.

Watch a replay of the chatbot marketing agency webinar: How To Turn Your Agency Into a Unicorn with Chat Marketing

And for the full presentation deck, take a look here:

A full run-down of the chatbot marketing agency webinar and chatbot case studies is below.

Watch our first webinar “Getting Started with Facebook Messenger Marketing: Customers.ai 101” here.

3 Facebook Messenger Chatbot Campaigns and How to Execute Them

Samir’s digital marketing agency specializes in customer acquisition through online advertising, influencer marketing, conversion rate optimization, and recently, chatbot marketing software.

“In a few years, Facebook Messenger will be the biggest digital channel,” he tells clients.

Samir’s seeing great results by getting clients around the email promotions tab and in front of customers with push notifications via Facebook Messenger

The fantastic results of these chatbot marketing campaigns he shares with us.

Chatbot Case Study 1: Facebook Ad Coupon Bot

→ Coupons, discounts, promotions, cart abandonment

There’s a little-used Facebook ad type: the click-to-Messenger ad.

Click campaigns send traffic to your website landing page anonymously. You have no way of knowing who visited and no way to follow-up if they leave.

Click-to-Messenger ads meanwhile:

• Engage your audience on their own turf
• Get higher usage and effectiveness for promos
• Reduce cart abandonment
• Generate sales
• Increase ROAS

These Facebook Messenger ad campaigns are a type of direct response marketing. Direct response marketing campaigns are characterized by their ability to drive immediate engagement and sales.

A Messenger ad features the “Send Message” button:

Click “Send Message” results in an engaging Messenger chat page you design in Customers.ai:

The quick how-to on a send to Messenger ad:

1. Use the Send to Messenger ad format.
2. When the user clicks on the “Send Message” button on the ad, it opens a Facebook Messenger page.
3. The user clicks the CTA, opting into the offer.

Ready to see some impressive ad performance?

Samir’s marketing agency used Messenger ads targeted to their client’s abandoned cart audience and saw 1113% increase in conversion rate and 50X return on ad spend!

Facebook ad performance before chatbots:

• 7.5x ROAS
• $234.53 CPA

There’s room for improvement there.

Facebook ad performance with chatbots:

• 50.4x ROAS
• $33.83 CPA

Ohhh yeah!

To start running Messenger ads for your clients, the setup is simple:

See how to set up Facebook Messenger ads in our blog tutorial and for a quick video and Messenger ads best practices, check out the Customers.ai help portal.

Chatbot Case Study 2: Lead Gen Bot

→ Webinar registration with Zapier integration

Webinars are great B2B marketing tools for businesses to provide an interactive education experience.

Doing lead gen like webinar sign-ups in Facebook Messenger has key benefits.

(By the way, there’s a pre-made lead gen template in Customers.ai’s chatbot templates.)

Benefits of lead generation via Facebook Messenger:

• Minimal friction, super easy to register or opt in
• More leads at a lower cost
• Significantly more engaging for users
• Lead qualification
• Easily guide users through a funnel

When a user enters into a chat session with Customers.ai, Facebook automatically gives first name, last name, gender, location and Facebook ID permission for Messenger. Plus, all chat sessions are identifiable.

This data is added as a contact in Customers.ai.

Contacts can be enriched with more data collected in session, like email, phone number or the type of product they are interested in.

All the data you used to have to ask for in long contact forms can be collected in mobile-friendly chat sessions!

Where webinar registrations cost around $15 each previously, the cost per webinar registration dramatically dropped to $1 using a chatbot for sign-ups:

Another win for chatbots in webinar registration: Webinar attendance is higher thanks to event reminder blasts with push notifications in Messenger chat.

But not everything needs to be done via Messenger chatbot software.

Instead, you can also use Customers.ai OmniChatⓇ to send reminders to segmented audiences via SMS text message blasts, or even ping them via live chat the next time they visit your website.

See our blog tutorial How to Do Webinar Sign-ups and Engaging Event Reminders with a Messenger Chatbot to set it up for your clients next.

Chatbot Case Study 3: Product Recommendation Bot

→ CRO, alleviate funnel bottlenecks, lead qualification

Here’s a generic example that shows the power of building an if-this-then-that chatbot. Ask them a question and when they answer you have an automated conversation with them.

For this client, the number one barrier to selling a $1,500 electric skateboard is that people aren’t sure what size to get.

So Samir built a chatbot that asks three simple questions:

• How tall are you?
• What’s your riding style?
• What’s your snowboard stance?

Boom, the user gets their recommendation for skateboard size:

They embedded this bot on the website with a button so it’s easy to find and interact with.

As a follow-up, they introduced an automated drip campaign with timed messages.

The first message on the following day is, “Thanks for using our sizing bot. Do you have any questions or need additional assistance?”

This opens up a dialog with their customers, a powerful tool for improving conversions. How powerful?

These 60-day results say it all:

1. 500+ visitors have used the sizing bot
2. 12% increase in Avg. Monthly Sales

Plus, the business can message users later with follow-up deals, promos and content. That’s a lot of marketing power.

You can create your own product recommendations, taking people down any pathway, setting attributes that let you follow-up with relevant messaging.

Positioning and Pricing for Agency Chatbot Services

Samir has actionable recommendations for how to start building your chatbot services business:

These tips allow you to specialize and find clients:

• Pick an industry to target, like gym, real estate or ecommerce.
• Create a demo chatbot in that industry. Seeing the chatbot in action is the most powerful sales tool. Build a showcase case study.
• Demo your chatbot example and review your case study.
• Focus on the results that you can get for them. You can get them significantly better results doing the same Facebook ads (targeting and offers) moved to Messenger.

When it comes to pricing your chatbot marketing services, here’s some advice:

Start with something small but impactful for free. Offer it to your current clients for free. If you already run Facebook Ads for clients then ads are a logical place to start. It’s the easiest way to get started and you get the case study data.

When it goes well and you have case studies and examples, you can move to point-based pricing. This is pricing based on how many functionalities are in place, like auto-drips and blasts you build out:

• Functionalities are landing pages in Customers.ai.
• Drip campaigns are auto-drip sequences programmed for any audience segment.
• Opt-in points are like ads or campaigns to get more contacts.
• Blasts are sending out content to your list.
• Webhooks are the setup of integrations with other business applications, like the CRM, email marketing platform, webinar platform and more.

You might eventually graduate to value-based pricing, a fee that estimates the value that the project brings to the client. An agency can always charge based on time, or deliverable, but you probably want to charge for value because that’s when profits become exponential.

Bonuses for meeting a set goal for new contacts or sales attributed to the bot is a type of value-based pricing strategy you can employ immediately.

Check out our digital marketing agency pricing guide to maximize revenue for both your agency and your client!

Differentiating Your Services with Chatbot Marketing

If you message a big brand and tell them that you’re going to improve their AdWords performance, they’ll probably pass on the offer. 

If you tell them that you’re going to build a chatbot for them, they’re going to be interested.

They’ve been paying attention to chatbots and have heard of them, but they don’t have the resources and expertise in-house. Building the best chatbots for business are an easy way for you to get noticed by clients.

When you have the proven results and can show the value and a chatbot demo you can show people, you can charge according to the business receiving the services, what the bot is going to do and the value you’re going to bring them.

Chatbot Marketing Resources for Digital Agencies

Customers.ai has a plethora of resources for digital marketing agencies. 

We have great relationships with our agency partners, and continue to be amazed by the returns agencies get by selling chatbot services to clients.

Start by watching the Marketing Agency Growth Accelerator Summit with Larry Kim.

Or, if you prefer print, here are our latest knowledge bombs to help you grow your client portfolio, increase your average deal size, and win more business:

• Text Marketing for Agencies
• Marketing Agency Pricing Guide 
• Affiliate Marketing Tools
• Marketing automation tools for agencies
• How to leverage web chat for agencies
• Digital Marketing Agency Tools 

Customers.ai agency Team Plan partners get advanced web chat marketing automation features, multi-page and multi-user dashboard, and new client referrals as a certified Customers.ai agency.

Be a Unicorn in a Sea of Donkeys

Important next steps:

The post How to Grow an Agency Business with Chatbot Marketing Services appeared first on Customers.ai.

Today, every marketing agency needs to sell Messenger chatbot services

Here’s what to expect from reading this article.

1. You’ll be 100% persuaded that your marketing agency needs to sell Messenger chatbot services.
2. Find out if your marketing agency has one of the four characteristics required to successfully sell Messenger chatbot services.
3. Get the five-step plan for selling Messenger chatbot services immediately.

Let’s go. Q&A time.

Sell Messenger chatbot services? What exactly are you suggesting?

Simple: Digital marketing agencies should sell Messenger chatbot services to their clients.

It looks like this.

1. You create custom Messenger chatbots for your clients.
2. You set a price for the creation of the Messenger bots.
3. You charge a monthly ongoing retainer for the continued use of the Messenger bots.

Let’s say that one of your marketing clients is a personal trainer. You’ve been running some Facebook ads for her. She’s had some marginal success.

So far, so good.

But what if your client was using a Messenger chatbot?

She could save time, seamlessly onboard clients, segment her audience, filter out weak leads, scale her business, schedule complimentary consultations, and increase her revenue. All without having to lift a finger.

Who wouldn’t want that?

You, as an agency, can offer this service. Your client sees the benefits, purchases chatbot services, and gets major results.

That’s what I’m suggesting. Your agency sells Facebook Messenger chatbot services.

You win. Your clients win. We all win.

Why should marketing agencies start selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services?

I’m always reluctant to tell people “you must,” “you should,” and “you need.” Every situation is different.

But this is really important.

Facebook Messenger chatbots have the biggest reach, the highest level of engagement, the greatest amount of power, and the least amount of cost and effort of any marketing channel anywhere.

(Whew. That’s a lot of superlatives in one sentence.)

Right now, there are more users of the top four messaging apps than the top four social networks combined.

(And honestly, that was like two years ago, so the disparity is probably even higher today.)

People use messaging apps all the time. Think back on your day. Have you used Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, or Instagram messages today? It’s only 11:15a and I’ve received or sent over 71 messages on iMessage, Instagram, and Messenger already. (I work in the chatbot marketing field, so there’s that.) 

Posting on social media is no longer the optimal method for high customer engagement. The stratospheric ad spend required to compete on Facebook advertising is getting out of hand.

Messaging apps are the present and the future of digital marketing. And integrating chatbots with these messaging apps is the ticket to high-success marketing.

The reasons why agencies should start selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services are legion, but there are three overarching upsides:

1. Facebook Messenger chatbots are the most effective marketing tactic available today.
2. Digital marketing agencies are in the best position to profit by selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services.
3. Clients stand to benefit enormously from purchasing chatbot services from marketing agencies.

Let me throw out a final observation on this point. 

Very few agencies are doing this right now. You’ll find the occasional freelancer who may offer to create up a bot sequence for a thousand bucks, or an agency that vaguely discusses their NLP customer service chatbot.

But not many agencies are doing the thing I’m suggesting here — adding Facebook Messenger chatbot services and selling it to their clients.

What does this mean for you?

You have the potential to get in early, profit big, and dominate the marketplace.

That’s why you should sell Messenger chatbots now.

How will my agency benefit if we sell Facebook Messenger chatbot services?

A marketing agency benefits when they earn more revenue, attract more customers, increase ROI, improve client satisfaction, reduce client churn, and scale.

If your agency exists to earn revenue and serve customers, then adding Facebook Messenger chatbot services is basically a no-brainer.

Digital marketing agencies today are in an ideal position to sell chatbot services. Customers already recognize you as an authority on digital marketing trends. Customers know that you do Facebook marketing. Based on this rationale, launching Messenger bot services as a product makes logical sense.

It’s likely that some of your clients expect your agency to sell chatbot services. Digital marketing agencies are “supposed” to do certain things — SEO, PPC, local search, etc. Chatbot services are on their way to becoming de rigueur for today’s digital marketing agencies.

A simple way to answer the question “how will my agency benefit” is to respond “because your clients benefit.”

When they win, you win.

The majority of businesses admit that “generating traffic and leads” is a top challenge.

As a marketing agency, this is a problem that you can solve for your clients.

Regardless of your client’s industry, demographic target, product, or service, Messenger chatbots can help to solve the problem of generating traffic and leads. 

So, should my agency sell Facebook Messenger chatbots? How do we know? 

I’ll be honest. Selling chatbot services is not for every marketing agency.

Some agencies are focused, say, on Squarespace websites, billboard design, or magazine layouts. They probably don’t need to sell Messenger chatbots. 

Broadly speaking, there are six main types of digital marketing agencies.

Each of these agency types is in a position to sell Messenger chatbot services without distracting from their service focus or clientele.

Does your agency qualify for selling Facebook Messenger chatbots? (Keep in mind that an “agency” can be a solopreneur or independent contractor, too.)

Agencies that are ideally positioned to sell chatbot services have at least one of the following characteristics:

1. The agency offers a broad array of digital marketing services (SEO, PPC, CRO, etc.).
2. The agency offers website design or creation, especially WordPress. (The free WP-Chatbot is a must-have).
3. The agency deals with any customer-service related solutions for clients.
4. The agency deals with any type of Facebook-related service (paid search, social posting, etc.).

If your agency performs any one of these four broad activities, then your agency is a perfect candidate for selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services.

Here are nine more qualifying questions that will allow you to determine if selling chatbot services is the right move for your marketing agency.

1. Does your agency want to make more money?
2. Does your agency want more high-dollar retainer clients?
3. Do you want to scale back on the number of hours you work for clients, but get higher returns?
4. Have you invested in the growing need for more marketing automation for agencies? 
5. Do you want your clients to succeed?
6. Do you want to beat the competition by staying ahead of the curve in marketing trends?
7. Do you want to improve client retention?
8. Do you want more word-of-mouth referrals for your agency?
9. Do you want to scale easily?

(I hope we got some yesses up in there.)

If you’re not sure what exactly you do as a marketing agency, that’s okay, too. You can position yourself by selling chatbots and be able to quickly gain clients.

Our marketing agency already sells some services really well. Why add chatbot services?

I get it.

You do one thing well. You sell it with streamlined precision and excellent markup. Your clients are giddy. Your retainers are kicking ass. Your marketers are unicorns. Your rate card is so pretty. Why mess it up by selling Messenger chatbot services?

And, sheesh, who wants to be a “chatbot agency?”

I do get it.

But you also want to evolve as an agency. You want to stay ahead of the proverbial marketing curve.

Clients expect chatbot marketing services. And if they don’t now, then they will soon.

Adding an additional service will not dilute the services you already offer. Instead, it will complement them.

Chatbot services are stellar upsells. If you’re already servicing clients with your legendary paid search services, then integrating chatbots makes enormous sense. It enhances the paid search efforts, giving them greater reach and success than paid search can achieve alone. Besides, with techniques like click-to-Messenger Facebook ads and Facebook post autoresponders, you can lower their ad spend and boost conversions.

Let’s talk about niches for a minute. Niching yourself as a marketing agency is obviously a smart move. You get hyperfocused on a certain type of client, gain a reputation within that vertical and make bank.

You can do the same thing with Messenger chatbots.

Let’s say your marketing agency is just fantastic at servicing East Coast, kid-friendly, dental offices with their marketing needs.

Now, you can be the go-to marketing agency for customers in the happy-kid-dental niche who will benefit from Messenger chatbots.

Wait. Isn’t there a learning curve for building Messenger chatbots? I’ve heard these things are complicated.

Yes, there is a learning curve.

But, no, it isn’t complicated.

You don’t need to raise capital, hire more people, buy expensive stuff, and have month-long, offsite training sessions. Building Messenger chatbots is so easy! 

Here’s a peek into the Customers.ai app. There’s absolutely no coding required anywhere in the app.

It’s simply click, drag, tap, point, type, deploy. The WYSIWYG editor and logical sequencing of chatbot dialogues means that you’ll be up and running with a fully-functioning Messenger chatbot within minutes of creating a Customers.ai account. 

You can make full dialogue sequences, create lead magnets, send chat blasts, and perform other Messenger hacks simply, quickly, and easily.

Based on our internal data, most users are spending an average of 14 minutes per session in the app creating chatbots. They can create a whole sequence or send a chat blast to thousands of users in those fourteen minutes.

Customers are deploying these chatbots at a rate of hundreds per day. User data and satisfaction studies have proven that for Customers.ai customers, creating chatbots isn’t just easy. It’s fun! Maybe even addicting. [Cue evil laugh.]

So, no, the learning curve is not steep. In fact, for most types of businesses, we’ve already created Facebook Messenger chatbot templates for you. All you need to do is tweak a few things and launch.

For example, that dentist office you’re servicing would benefit from a chatbot like this one (pre-made).

You can test the chatbot here.

Look, if you’re already offering Facebook services — ads, posting, whatever — then you possess the requisite understanding for creating Messenger chatbots.

Even if you’ve never touched Facebook Ads Manager, creating Messenger chatbots is not hard at all.

What price should we set for selling Messenger bot services?

This is a big question with lots of contingencies, factors, and disclaimers, but I’ll try to shoot straight.

First, you’ll need to pick what kind of pricing structure you want

1. Hourly rate. Simply charge the client at your customary hourly fee. Be careful with this method, since the time required to create chatbots is extremely low, but the payoff for clients is extremely high. 
2. Value-based pricing. Your client pays according to how much estimated value the addition of a chatbot will bring to your client. It can be a tough sell, especially if payment is required upfront, but it’s a lucrative payoff for both agency and client.
3. Point-based pricing. The point-based model adds charges based on additional functionalities, drips, blasts, and integrations. The more the client wants, the more it costs.

If you manage your client’s chatbot after you create it (recommended), then you’ll also want to charge an ongoing monthly fee or retainer. Managing the bot takes time and usually requires a monthly payment for the chatbot tool and/or the number of contacts on the list.

What is an average point-based pricing model? Here’s an example:

As you can see, selling Messenger chatbots can deliver an enormous ROI to your agency. Equally as thrilling is the fact that chatbot services are just as lucrative for your clients.

Okay, selling Messenger chatbot services sounds good. So how do we do this? [Free Five-Part Framework]

Ah, we’re at my favorite question. Implementation.

How does an agency start offering Messenger chatbot services to their clients?

I suggest this five-part framework.

1. Select a chatbot building platform like Customers.ai. It’s free.
2. Learn how to use it. Creating chatbots for your own agency is the perfect starting point.
3. Set a price point for chatbot creation, which could be as simple as your hourly rate.
4. Set an ongoing retainer fee for chatbot service. The ongoing chatbot service may include optimization, reporting, etc.
5. Offer this shiny chatbot service product to existing clients.

This is only a framework. It provides guidance, but the exact process you follow to start offering chatbot services will differ according to how your agency operates.

Um. I have questions. Lots of questions.

That’s fine. Offering a new marketing service, especially an emerging tactic like chatbot technology, can be intimidating. Plus, it requires some careful consideration.

There are five things I suggest for getting your questions answered. Pick one or pick them all. Chances are, you’ll find what you need.

1. VERY IMPORTANT: Sign up for the Agency Growth Accelerator. This is a full-day summit that tells agencies how to scale big time using a medley of tactics, chatbots included. Free tickets available here.
2. Start using Customers.ai. It’s free, so you have nothing to lose. Getting into the product will answer a lot of questions.
3. Learn about the Customers.ai agency plan. We’ve created an exclusive price point for agencies to unleash the full power of Customers.ai for as many clients and Business Pages as they want. Check it out.
4. Purchase a Customers.ai Pro Plan that includes one-on-one consulting sessions with a dedicated account manager. With this plan, you’ll receive as many coaching sessions you want (additional charges may apply) to get bot building support, and answers to all your chatbot questions.
5. Join the Customers.ai Facebook group. Apply to join this closed group, and get deep intel on all the agency chatbot information you’ve been missing out on.

Please, do this now.

Reggie Bradford, the late VP of Oracle delivered a keynote in Prague in 2016. In that keynote, he predicted that the biggest technological innovations in the next few years would be messaging apps and chatbots.

In Bradford’s words, “This wave is about to hit you hard. It’ll knock you back into the sand and force water up your nose. But, if you’re ready, this could be an incredible opportunity.”

A bit dramatic, but yeah, the time is here. The wave has come. (Not sure about the water up your nose, but still.)

Marketing agencies that survive and thrive in the new era of digital innovation are agencies that sell Messenger chatbot services. Marketing agencies that don’t sell Messenger chatbot services may not stand a chance.

Now is the perfect time to get started.

Important Next Steps

The post Every marketing agency needs to stop everything and sell Messenger chatbot services right now. appeared first on Customers.ai.

Your ability to grow a marketing agency and just as important, your ability to retain clients is going to largely be determined by how you price your services.

The truth is, there’s no one pricing model that’s going to work for every marketing agency. In fact, most digital marketing agencies should adopt multiple pricing models based on the type of service and project that’s being delivered to the client.

Think about it, why would you price the design of a logo the same way you would price the management of a company’s Facebook Ads? The only way to price these two deliverables the same would be to charge on an hourly basis. 

But you shouldn’t do that, and this article will outline why you shouldn’t do that, and how to get your marketing agency pricing right from the start.

So, what are the different marketing agency pricing models and which should you consider using?

In this article, we cover the four most popular pricing models, as well as marketing agency pricing best practices.

• Project-Based Pricing Model
• Hourly-Rate Pricing Model
• Value-Based Pricing Model
• Retainer Fee Pricing Model
• Best Practices for Marketing Agency Pricing

Project-Based (aka ‘Milestone’) Pricing Model

Project-based pricing is an easy to understand pricing model for both the agency and the client. The complication for the agency, however, is being able to accurately scope out each project and the time it will take to deliver.

Typically, a fixed-scope project is billed on a milestone basis, which means payments come in increments. One way of doing this could be 50% up-front and then have the final amount due at the completion of the project.

To set rates for a project, you’ll need to figure out how many hours you think the project will take to finalize.

Pros: Project-Based Pricing

• Easy to understand the model for both the agency and the client.
• Agencies profit off of their own efficiency, because they’re experts at the services they offer and can get projects done quickly. If you charged at competitive prices on an hourly basis, you’d actually be losing money by being efficient. 
• Clients like being able to predict both the cost and time of payments for each project. Agencies like being able to predict revenue and when it will be received.   

Cons: Project-Based Pricing

• If you underestimate the time it will take to complete a project when you set your fixed prices, you’re going to be less profitable. 
• Even if properly scope out a project, things always change. Clients often want to make updates to what it is they want to be delivered, and this can cause relationship issues if not handled properly.  

When should a marketing agency consider a project-based pricing model?

Agencies that specialize in an area where deliverables are predictable, such as the design of logos or cover images, pricing those items on a project-based model makes lots of sense.

If agencies are smart about how they price their services, project-based pricing can be a win-win for the agent and the client. This is because the agency makes more money than they would if they charged on an hourly basis, and the client gets an expertly done project delivered quickly.

However, if you lack experience scoping projects, and you work too many hours, you significantly reduce the amount of revenue earned per hour. Be sure to either educate yourself on how to properly scope projects. 

It’s important to work closely with the client when scoping out each project when you’re using a project-based pricing model. Make sure that what’s expected of the agency is clear from the beginning, and you can reduce the damage done by unexpected changes requested by the client.  

Hourly-Rate Pricing Model

Hourly-rate pricing is another straightforward marketing agency pricing model.

It’s simple, the agency sets an hourly rate for their services either across the company or by the individual(s) contributing to the project. 

If the hourly rate is agency-wide, then all agency individuals contributing to a project cost the client the same amount across the board per hour. And if the hourly rate is on an individual contributor basis, then each individual will cost the client an amount determined by factors such as their level of experience and talent.

For example, for an agency-wide hourly rate of $40/hr where two marketers are working on a project, each hour will cost the client $80. And if hourly rates are based on an individual’s experience and talent level, where Bob is valued at $55 per hour and Virginia is valued at $65 per hour, each hour will cost the client $120.

Pros: Hourly-Rate Pricing Model

• Clients like hourly rates because they’re easy to understand and it becomes simple to predict how much they’ll pay per month. 
• Agencies have the potential to make more money on complex projects such as web design. However, this is also a negative, because you risk upsetting the client.

Cons: Hourly-Rate Pricing Model 

• Results and value to the client are not emphasized. Instead, the cost to the agency is emphasized.
• Agency is incentivized to take longer to finish a project because the agency will then make more money.
• The ability to predict profits and cash flow for the agency becomes more difficult.
• It becomes risky for the marketing agency to estimate project costs due to the unpredictable nature of how long a project may take.

When should a marketing agency consider an hourly rate pricing model?

An hourly rate pricing model is best for digital marketing agencies that work with clients who have a tendency to change their mind or require lots of edits/revisions. By agreeing to an hourly rate, you can avoid things such as scope creep.

Additionally, consider hourly pricing if you’re an agency that’s just getting started and you’re not sure how long a certain project is going to take. Or, consider hourly pricing even if you’re an experienced agency, but you have a project or part of a project that’s hard to predict the time and scope of.

Ultimately, the hourly rate model is a bad choice for most marketing agencies because the incentives to the agency actually work against the wants and needs of the client.

However, if you do choose an hourly rate for your marketing agency pricing model, keep in mind that you’ll need to compensate for overall business operating costs in addition to the amount you’ll pay each individual working on a project. 

Additionally, always inflate the estimated cost of a project in order to avoid the uncomfortable situation of where a project takes longer than expected and ends up costing the client more than they had expected. 

Value-Based Pricing Model

Value-based pricing could also be referred to as results or performance-based pricing. 

With a value-based pricing model, both the agency and the client become incentivized by the end result due to the shared risks and rewards. 

Clients don’t need to worry about the costs, and the agency can focus on delivering high-value products.

Value-based pricing is, however, the most complicated model, which not surprisingly contributes to why value-based pricing has also proved to be highly effective at increasing an agency’s profits.

Here’s how it works…

The agency needs to determine what’s valuable to each client, such as the number of leads generated from Facebook Ad campaigns or landing page conversion rates. 

Therefore, the agency has to be able to track and measure their performance, which can be complicated when it comes to obtaining access to the backend and dashboards of the client.

So, this will take more time to establish, and clients aren’t always the quickest to provide all the things needed for an agency to be effective. However, if you really care about the success of your clients, you should want to have access to these things regardless. Not to mention, the potential profits are worth your time and minor frustrations. To keep in line with the values you offer, you can consider warehouse management systems and control your inventories properly.

Pros: Value-Based Pricing

• The goals of the client and the agency are aligned. Higher potential profits for the agency, and therefore quality work being done for the client.
• Clients like being able to measure results and having the ability to hold the agency responsible when outcomes don’t meet expectations.
• Eliminates confusion around how well an agency is performing.

Cons: Value-Based Pricing

• The agency is on the hook to perform. 
• Value-based pricing can be hard to sell for the agency.
• If your client has a poor performing product, it’s going to be hard to meet their expectations.

When should a marketing agency consider value-based pricing?

Value-based pricing models work well if you’re a performance marketing agency. It really only makes sense to introduce results-based pricing if outcomes are indisputable and backed up with data. 

So, if you’re an advertising agency, value-based pricing almost has to be included in your pricing model.

Additionally, if you’re confident in your abilities to produce high-value results for your clients (and you should be), performance-based pricing can be a great way to build trust in a relationship, and increase your profits. This is especially true if your client’s product is attractive and you think it’ll be easy to drive traffic and conversions.

As the agency, you do need to perform, but the client can’t deny the results when there are reports and data to show. 

Most prospective clients will find value in this pricing model if you explain it to them well. The better the outcome is for the client, the more you’ll increase your profits. It’s that simple.

Retainer Fee Pricing Model

Some form of a retainer are popular among marketing agencies because you’re paid up-front and the client can easily budget out retainer fees for each month.

Retainers are pre-negotiated and paid up-front by the client for either a:

• Specified time period, or a
• Pre-defined number of deliverables.

If you’re working on a time-based retainer, agencies and clients agree on a set number of hours to be worked each month. For example, if your client agreed to a 40-hour-per-month retainer at $125 per hour, the monthly retainer fee = $5,000. 

Time-based retainers can be specified differently. The agency could set the retainer in stone, where a client must use all hours each month. Or, an agency could allow the client to roll over hours to the next month if they’re not used.

If you have a deliverables-based retainer, the agency and the client agree to what will be delivered each month, such as 5 blog posts, 10 images, and 10 SEO backlinks. The issue with a deliverables-based retainer is that the agency is on the hook to get those tasks done. 

This can cause problems at the end of the month if the agency is behind, or if the client decides they don’t like something and want it changed. So, when determining how much your agency can actually deliver each month, pretend like there’s only 3 weeks instead of 4. This way, you’ll give yourself a buffer for any complications that arise.

Pros: Charging a Retainer Fee

• Good for agencies because it gives them a recurring revenue stream from clients.
• Clients like retainers because it helps with budgeting and accounting.
• Agency gets paid up-front, which eliminates the uncertainty of other pricing models.

Cons: Charging a Retainer Fee

• Some clients don’t like retainers because they view them as an additional expense that’s hard to hold the agency accountable for. 
• Signing new clients to a retainer fee isn’t always easy, and you may need to negotiate when a retainer fee will go into effect with clients that want to try you out first. 

When should a marketing agency consider adding a retainer fee to its pricing model?

Retainers could be difficult to pitch to clients if you’re just getting started and working with clients without large budgets. 

However, it’s important to have some form of a recurring revenue stream for all companies, and retainers can provide that for you. So, depending on how established your agency is, or how confident you are in being able to sign a new client, adjust your retainer fee accordingly to avoid potential objections. 

Or, if you do publish your pricing publicly, be sure to make your retainer fee clear, and this will naturally weed out prospects that you probably wouldn’t want to work with anyway.

Lastly, consider waiving a retainer fee for the first month with prospects that you think would be a valuable client to add to your portfolio.

Best Practices for Marketing Agency Pricing

Here are 5 awesome tips and best practices for marketing agency pricing.

#1. Use multiple pricing models

Different services need to be priced differently in order to maximize your profits.

If you’re running ad campaigns for clients, use value-based pricing. If you’re unsure about how long a project is going to take, consider proposing hourly-based pricing.

Furthermore, always try to secure some form of a retainer in order to guarantee you’ll have a recurring revenue stream every month.

#2. When to display marketing agency pricing publicly

Too many digital marketing agencies are afraid to put their pricing on their website. 

And that makes sense because it likely depends on the services being rendered, and therefore pricing can become very complicated.

If you’re an established agency with referrals as your number one source of new revenue, you’ll probably do better by not displaying your pricing publicly. 

However, if you’re out prospecting for new clients and you’re not well known or established, we highly recommend addressing your pricing publicly. The reasoning here is similar to why a SaaS company displays their pricing and then has a “contact us” option for enterprise-level clients. 

You don’t want to waste your time talking to prospects that don’t have the budget or are going to object to your marketing agency pricing model.

One of our agency friends uses the following language on their agency pricing page for social media services:

“Our most ideal client is coming to us with about $3,000/month to spend on our services, and ~$3,000-$10,000 in advertising budget.”

Then they go on to list out: 

• When you would want these kinds of services
• Why the pricing model makes sense, and 
• What the client will receive in deliverables. 

The goal here is to be completely transparent and to attract the right kind of clients to your agency.

#3. Do competitor marketing agency pricing research

Regardless of which marketing agency pricing model you choose, competitor research is going to be essential to your success. It allows you to see the pricing margins in your niche and shows you where you fall in the market.

By identifying at least 10 closely aligned competitors’ pricing models, you can see if you’re overvaluing your product, or selling yourself short. If a competitor company has private pricing, just go undercover and ask for a quote using an unbranded email or phone number.

Prospects are going to compare your services against your competitors, so this is a must.

#4. Avoid month-to-month sales contracts to increase retention rates

It’s hard to say no to clients when your agency is just getting started. However, flaky clients can cost you big time because they churn quickly, and the time you’ve spent getting them to sign is a net loss.

In every industry, there are ways to identify which clients are likely to churn. In our research, one of the main indicators has been with clients that purchased month-to-month contracts as opposed to 6 or 12-month contracts.

So, consider the following if you’re a performance marketing agency:

Require a 10% fee on ad spend of month-to-month clients, 8% for 6-month clients, and a 6% fee for year-long client contracts. This incentivizes clients to stay with you longer, and it also demonstrates confidence, as well as experience.

Here’s how we calculated the fee structure for our ad spend levels…

When we did our churn research, something fascinating emerged from the numbers.

High-churn customers were almost always month-to-month customers. These customers typically churned 2x more than all the other clients.

What did we do to improve client retention?

Easy. We eliminated the month-to-month option.

Sure, you’ll get fewer clients in the door, but the ones you do get will stay longer. Improving client retention by providing long-term value and generating consistent revenue is the best way to scale your marketing agency.

#5. Differentiate your product offering from the competition

One of the biggest challenges for marketing agencies is finding services to offer that differentiate themselves from the competition. 

There are literally tens of thousands of marketing agencies in the United States alone, so you need to stand out.

The #1 thing brands said they wish their agency did better? Adopt new marketing technologies to gain a competitive advantage.

Customers.ai has helped our many agency partners:

• Get higher retainer fees
• Increase client retention
• Get revenue share as an affiliate partner
• Expand services offered
• Get leads from Customers.ai Agency Directory

Additionally, if you use Customers.ai OmniChat technology, you’ll also be able to crush it for your clients with live web chat, SMS marketing, Facebook Messenger marketing, and more.

Get the free chatbot proposal template for agencies: Real-World Marketing Agency Chatbot Proposal and RFP Response

Marketing Agency Pricing Models: Important next steps

Customers.ai agency Team Plan partners get advanced web chat marketing automation features, multi-page and multi-user dashboard, and new client referrals as a certified Customers.ai agency.

See all the tools in Customers.ai’s multi-channel chatbot platform by getting started with Customers.ai for free.

Digital Marketing Agency Pricing FAQs

What factors influence the cost of hiring a marketing agency?

Several factors affect the cost, including the agency’s experience, the scope of services required, the complexity of your project, and the duration of the engagement. Agencies with a proven track record and specialized expertise may charge higher fees. Additionally, comprehensive campaigns involving multiple channels typically incur greater costs.

How do marketing agencies typically structure their pricing models?

Agencies commonly use various pricing models:

• Hourly Rates: Charging based on the time spent on your project.
• Project-Based Fees: A fixed price for a specific project or campaign.
• Retainer Agreements: A recurring fee for ongoing services over a set period.
• Performance-Based Pricing: Fees tied to achieving specific results or KPIs.

Each model has its advantages, depending on your business needs and budget.

What is the average hourly rate for marketing agencies?

Hourly rates vary widely based on the agency’s location, expertise, and services offered. On average, rates can range from $80 to $200 per hour. Boutique agencies or freelancers may charge less, while top-tier agencies with extensive experience may command higher rates.

How much should I expect to pay for a comprehensive digital marketing campaign?

A full-scale digital marketing campaign can cost anywhere from $2,500 to $12,000 per month, depending on the services included. Factors such as the number of channels utilized, target audience size, and campaign duration influence the overall cost. It’s essential to align the campaign’s scope with your marketing objectives and budget.

Are there additional costs beyond the agency’s fees?

Yes, additional expenses may include:

• Advertising Spend: Budgets for platforms like Google Ads or social media ads.
• Production Costs: Expenses for creating content, such as videos or graphics.
• Software Subscriptions: Tools for analytics, email marketing, or CRM systems.

It’s crucial to discuss these potential costs upfront to avoid surprises.

How do agencies determine pricing for social media management?

Pricing for social media management depends on factors like the number of platforms managed, content creation needs, posting frequency, and engagement strategies. Monthly fees can range from $900 to $20,000, with more extensive services and higher engagement levels commanding higher prices.

What is the cost difference between traditional and digital marketing services?

Traditional marketing services, such as print ads or TV commercials, often have higher production and placement costs compared to digital marketing. Digital marketing offers more cost-effective options with measurable results, making it a preferred choice for many businesses.

How can I ensure I’m getting value for money from a marketing agency?

To ensure value, clearly define your marketing goals and KPIs. Regularly review performance reports and maintain open communication with the agency. It’s also beneficial to compare proposals from multiple agencies to assess the best fit for your needs.

Do agencies offer customizable pricing packages?

Many agencies provide customizable packages tailored to your specific needs and budget. This flexibility allows you to choose services that align with your marketing objectives, ensuring you pay only for what you require.

What are the benefits of a retainer agreement with a marketing agency?

Retainer agreements offer several advantages:

• Consistency: Ensures ongoing marketing efforts without interruption.
• Priority Access: Often grants priority to your projects and requests.
• Budgeting: Provides predictable monthly expenses, aiding in financial planning.

This arrangement fosters a long-term partnership focused on sustained growth.

How do performance-based pricing models work?

In performance-based models, the agency’s compensation is tied to achieving specific outcomes, such as lead generation or sales targets. This aligns the agency’s incentives with your business goals, potentially leading to more effective campaigns.

Are there any hidden fees I should be aware of when hiring a marketing agency?

To avoid unexpected costs, request a detailed breakdown of all fees and expenses in the contract. Clarify any potential additional charges, such as for extra revisions, rush projects, or third-party services. Transparency is key to a successful partnership.

How does the agency’s location impact pricing?

Agencies in major metropolitan areas or regions with a higher cost of living may charge more due to increased operational expenses. However, location doesn’t always correlate with quality; many excellent agencies operate in various locales.

What is the typical duration of a marketing agency contract?

Contract lengths vary but commonly range from six months to a year. Shorter contracts may be available for specific projects, while longer agreements are typical for ongoing services. Discuss contract terms to ensure they align with your business needs.

Can I negotiate pricing with a marketing agency?

Negotiation is often possible, especially if you’re committing to a long-term partnership or bundling multiple services. Be open about your budget constraints and discuss how the agency can tailor their offerings to meet your needs.

How do agencies handle billing for third-party expenses?

Agencies may bill third-party expenses, such as advertising costs or software subscriptions, in two ways:

• Pass-Through Billing: Charging you the exact amount without markup.
• Marked-Up Billing: Adding a percentage to cover administrative efforts.

Clarify this aspect in your contract to understand how these costs will be managed.

What should I look for in a marketing agency’s proposal?

A comprehensive proposal should include:

• Scope of Work: Detailed description of services to be provided.
• Timeline: Estimated schedule for deliverables and milestones.
• Pricing: Clear breakdown of costs, including any potential additional fees.
• Case Studies: Examples of past work demonstrating the agency’s capabilities

How do marketing agencies price content creation services?

Pricing for content creation depends on factors like content length, complexity, and required expertise. For example, a blog post may cost $100–$500, while video production can range from $1,000–$10,000 per project. Agencies often provide package options to accommodate various budgets and content needs.

What are the average costs for PPC management services from a marketing agency?

Pay-per-click (PPC) management services typically cost between $500 and $5,000 per month, depending on the ad spend and campaign complexity. Agencies may charge a percentage of the ad budget, usually 10–20%, as their management fee. This ensures campaigns are optimized for performance while keeping costs transparent.

What services are typically included in a marketing agency package?

Agency packages often bundle several services, such as:

• SEO Optimization: Keyword research, on-page SEO, and technical fixes.
• Content Creation: Blog posts, videos, and infographics.
• Social Media Management: Scheduling, posting, and engagement.
• Analytics and Reporting: Regular updates on campaign performance.

These comprehensive packages are designed to address multiple aspects of your marketing strategy.

How can a small business afford marketing agency services?

Small businesses can start with smaller packages or focus on essential services like SEO and social media management. Many agencies offer flexible pricing, allowing businesses to scale services as their budget grows. Choosing an agency experienced in working with small businesses can also ensure cost-effective solutions.

How do agencies calculate ROI for their services?

Marketing agencies calculate ROI by comparing the revenue generated from campaigns to the total investment. For example, if a campaign costs $5,000 and generates $20,000 in sales, the ROI is 300%. Regular performance reports help clients track these metrics and assess the value delivered by the agency.

What are the advantages of working with a specialized marketing agency?

Specialized agencies focus on specific industries or marketing techniques, providing deeper expertise. For example:

• Tech-Focused Agencies: Expertise in SaaS or IT solutions.
• Creative Agencies: Strong in branding and design.
• Performance Marketing Agencies: Skilled in PPC and data-driven strategies.

Choosing a specialized agency ensures your marketing efforts are aligned with industry best practices.

Do marketing agencies charge extra for rush projects?

Many agencies apply rush fees for expedited timelines, typically 20–50% above standard rates. These fees cover the additional resources required to meet tight deadlines. Discussing timelines early can help avoid these extra costs.

What is the difference between a full-service agency and a boutique agency?

Full-service agencies handle all aspects of marketing, from strategy to execution, making them ideal for large-scale campaigns. Boutique agencies focus on specialized services like branding or digital marketing, offering a more personalized approach. The choice depends on your specific marketing needs and budget.

What are the hidden costs of marketing agency services?

Hidden costs may include:

• Additional Revisions: Extra charges for exceeding included revisions.
• Third-Party Fees: Payments for ad spend or software not included in the base package.
• Administrative Fees: Costs for project management or unexpected requests.

Requesting a detailed contract can help mitigate surprises.

How do marketing agencies handle multi-channel campaigns?

Agencies integrate strategies across platforms like social media, email, and PPC to create cohesive campaigns. They use tools like HubSpot or Google Analytics to track performance and ensure messaging consistency. This approach maximizes reach and optimizes ROI.

How much does branding and design cost through a marketing agency?

Branding services, including logo design and brand strategy, can range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on the agency and scope. Design services like website or packaging design are typically priced separately, with hourly rates or project-based fees.

What are common KPIs used by agencies to measure success?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) vary by campaign type but often include:

• SEO: Organic traffic growth and keyword rankings.
• Social Media: Engagement rates and follower growth.
• PPC: Click-through rates (CTR) and cost per acquisition (CPA).
• Content Marketing: Page views and lead generation.

Regular KPI tracking ensures campaigns align with your business objectives.

Do agencies offer discounts for long-term contracts?

Yes, many agencies provide discounts or additional perks for signing long-term contracts. For example, a 12-month agreement might include a 10% discount or extra services like free analytics reports. Discussing options upfront can help secure better rates.

How do agencies approach pricing for startups?

Startups often receive customized packages focusing on growth-oriented services like SEO, content marketing, and lead generation. Many agencies offer lower upfront costs or performance-based pricing to accommodate limited budgets while driving results.

What is the most cost-effective way to hire a marketing agency?

The most cost-effective approach is to start with a small, focused project to evaluate the agency’s performance. Alternatively, you can bundle services to take advantage of discounted package rates. Clearly defining goals ensures you only pay for what you need.

The post The Digital Marketing Agency Pricing Guide + 5 Tips To Maximize Agency Revenue appeared first on Customers.ai.

We get this pretty regularly in the Customers.ai Island Facebook group. 

Chatbot proposals aren’t like normal proposals. As the question below indicates, there are certain details you need to consider, especially if you want to include a retainer. 

This article provides you with a clear outline for creating a chatbot proposal and RFP response. In situations where chatbot services are part of a larger proposal, the information here will help you understand how to integrate chatbots into your proposal.

Chatbot Proposal Template

What follows is a template that you can use for your agency’s chatbot proposal.

Before we dive in, a few points of clarity:

• This chatbot template does not provide all the copy for you to use. Instead, you’ll understand what you should write. We believe that writing the proposal copy is something that your agency should do in house in order to make it as personal and unique as your agency is.
• This chatbot template does not include pricing details. To get some insight on pricing your chatbot, check out the pricing discussion in this article.
• Throughout the template, I use the term “client” to refer to the potential client. Might as well be optimistic.
• You can customize and develop this template in a Google document. Access the document here, then click File → Make a copy to save it to your Google Drive and work on it yourself.

Here’s the template.

Welcome Letter | 1 Page

Your welcome letter is a personal note to an individual within the company. The objective of the welcome letter is to provide personalization, to warmly introduce the proposal, and to get them prepared for what they’re about to review — an outstanding proposal for your chatbot services.

[DATE]

To.: [NAME], [COMPANY NAME]

Dear [NAME]

Your letter should consist of three to five paragraphs.

Briefly discuss whatever interaction you’ve had with that person in order to make the letter personal.

Explain in a few sentences why and how your chatbot services can help achieve goals and get results.

Preview the proposal in a sentence or two so they understand what follows.

Invite them to reach out to you with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR POSITION AND COMPANY NAME]

Chatbot Strategy | 2-5 Pages

The chatbot strategy or blueprint is the heart of the proposal. That’s why it should come first. The objective of the chatbot strategy is to explain to the potential client exactly how you will help them achieve their goals. The chatbot strategy ties your services directly to the challenges that the business is facing.

Important note: You cannot create a chatbot strategy unless you have had a conversation with the potential client. The strategy section includes specific information that they’ve provided to you such as (for example) their average order value, primary traffic sources, highest-converting channels, etc.

Pro tip: Use bullet points in this section. They’re easier to read, and the proposal will have a high degree of forward momentum.

[CLIENT COMPANY] Key Points

In a few bullet points, summarize some key metrics about their business — their web traffic, primary marketing channel, and features that might differentiate them from the competition. Make this positive

• Example: Company’s Facebook Page has 1.3 million likes and high engagement.

[CLIENT COMPANY] Challenges

In a few bullet points, focus on the client’s pain points.

Why did they come to you? What is hurting the business? If possible, use real numbers to dial in on their problems so they can feel them.

• Example: ROAS is 1.95x, a 65% decrease from one year ago

Our Objectives

List, in bullet points, what your chatbot services will do. Paint this in terms of results, not deliverables. Use real numbers if possible, but don’t overpromise. If you think that you can improve something by 50%, then tell them 25%. Underpromise and overdeliver.

• Example: We will decrease Facebook Ad CPA (cost per acquisition) by 35%.

Action Plan | 2-5 Pages

In this section, you will discuss the deliverables that the client will receive with your chatbot services.

Tell your prospective client what they will receive and how it addresses their challenge. This is the longest section of your chatbot strategy discussion and will go into detail regarding your approach, plan, and solution.

A smart idea here is to include screenshots of your deliverable.

For example, if your action plan includes creating an appointment scheduler for a dentist’s office, then put an image of that chatbot right in the proposal. When the client visualizes their potential product, it increases their eagerness to accept your proposal.

• Example: Schedule Appointments: Customers will be able to schedule a cleaning or dental service automatically through Messenger.

Pricing | 1-2 Pages

Your pricing page should come right after your chatbot marketing strategy. From a psychological perspective, it makes sense.

Bullet out the price points with clarity. Make sure you list all the expenditures, including your monthly optimization and maintenance service, or any additional spend based on audience volume.

Introductory Statement (Optional)

Discuss your philosophy, perspective on chatbot investment, etc.

Prices

List the prices.

Example:

• $2,997 for building and deploying 1 Messenger appointment scheduler, 1 chatbot funnel (including Zapier integration to your CMS), and 1 website chatbot.
• $997 per month for chatbot management and optimization including 1 Facebook click-to-Messenger ad, unanswered questions review and programming new Q&As
• $45 per 20,000 subscribers per month

Total first-month expenditure: $3,994

Total second month expenditure: $997 (plus $45 per 20,000 subscribers, if subscriber count exceeds 20,000)

Final Notes

In this section, add in any special notes about refunds, intellectual property ownership, or other terms that should be an important part of the pricing consideration.

Pro Tips

• Instead of “pricing,” you could use a term like “Your Investment.” Sure, some clients might see this as gimmicky. We all know that it’s about spending money. At the same time, “investment” better connotes the fact that they will be profiting wildly from this expenditure.
• Use price anchoring. The first number that the client sees should be face-palming high. This is not the actual cost of your service. Why? Pure psychology. It’s called anchoring and is a cognitive bias that helps the client understand they are getting a really good deal. For example, in the leadup to your pricing page, you could mention something like “Businesses of your size typically spend more than $50,000 on a chatbot strategy.” Later, you tell them that the cost of your service is only $10,000. Instantly, the client’s mind is flooded with positive endorphins and a growing acceptance to such a good deal.
• Add a guarantee. A lot of agency owners get skittish about guarantees. I understand. However, you may want to consider it. Obviously, you don’t want to eviscerate your profit margins, but it’s fine to assure them of some level of success.

Sign Here and Next Steps | 1-2 Pages

This is where you bring it all together and invite them to sign.

Notice the flow of the proposal up to this point — intro, powerful strategy, how much it costs, and then sign. This is intentional and strategic.

Sign Here

Add a signature line or e-sign.

Next Steps

Bullet out the action steps that should follow — 1) invoice, 2) strategy call, etc. Be sure to make it clear what you need the client to do next.

In this section, tell the client exactly how to get in touch with you, how to get their questions answered, etc.

Pro Tips

• If possible, use an e-sign tool here. It makes it easy for the client to close the deal, which means that you get a quicker turnaround on your proposal.
• You may also want to add a link to your invoice with pay now option into your proposal. This gets you your funds faster and ties the entire proposal + payment process together in a beautiful package.

Terms and Conditions | 3-10 Pages

Contracts and proposals should come with legal language to protect both you and the potential client. Add your standard agreement to this section.

Sales Material | 2-10 Pages, Optional

Most of the time, you’ll send your proposal after you send sales material — the information about your business, your service, etc.

However, if you are responding to an RFP, you should include all of this information since the client may be seeing it for the first time.

This proposal does not include a full explanation of everything that should be in your sales material, here’s a general idea of what to include.

• 1-2 Pages – About your company, your people, key personnel, and your mission
• 1-2 Pages – Information about the services that you provide
• 1-2 Pages – A discussion of what sets you apart from the competition, an overview of your process, and how you achieve success for your clients.
• 1-2 Pages – Case studies
• 1-2 Pages – Endorsements

Questions and Answers about Chatbot Proposals

Now that you have the bones of an amazing proposal, let’s answer a couple of common questions.

How should I send my chatbot proposal? Email? Fancy online form? Paper made out of trees? Fax?

First off, what’s a fax?

Second, whatever works best for you and your client.

I’m a fan of sending simple proposals — basic documents with clear instructions. But I also like electronic versions that look pretty and work well.

The important thing is to have a system for creating and sending these. Efficiency is key.

What’s the sequence of sending a proposal, an RFP, etc. How does it all work?

This depends on your funnel and lead generation strategy.

Typically, the process works like this:

1. A prospect reaches out for information.
2. Your agency gets on the phone with the prospect for a discovery call. This is where you gather as much detail as possible regarding the client’s business, challenges, and desired objectives. The outcome of this call should be the client’s openness to reviewing your proposal.
3. You send the proposal.

Chatbot Proposal Pro Tips

• Sending something quickly is more important than making an uber-personalized proposal. Creativity, branding, color scheme, and personal touches are great! Don’t ignore them. However, you should prioritize speed over those creative and personal touches.
• Set clear expectations. The client should know exactly what to expect from you in terms of communication, deliverables, and timeline. Make this absolutely apparent in your proposal.
• Never send the proposal (blueprint and pricing) without a personal confirmation.
• Everything should be an easy yes. Make it easy for clients to agree to the information and proposal without having to dig around for additional information or answers to common questions.

Chatbot Proposal for Agencies: Important Next Steps

• Does your agency sell chatbot services? If not, find out how.
• As a first step to selling chatbot services, you’ll need to sign up for Customers.ai. You can do so for free right now.
• Join Customers.ai island, a free Facebook group with thousands of members. You’ll get to get cutting-edge intel on scaling your agency, selling chatbot services, and anything else you need to succeed.

The post [Free Template] The Proven Chatbot Proposal: Real-World Marketing Agency Chatbot Proposal & RFP Response appeared first on Customers.ai.

But that might leave you wondering, what else do I need to grow a digital marketing agency? What kind of tactics, tips, tools, and actual things do I need to do?

In two words, client retention.

In my experience of scaling an agency from startup to billions of dollars in ad spend, client retention is one of the most effective methods for growing your agency income and keepingit.

These are the seven most effective methods for client retention.

Client Retention Tactic #1: Onboard more clients faster.

This tactic sounds simple (and it is), but its simplicity belies its power. If you do nothing else in this article, follow this tactic — get more clients faster.

Here’s the fact: Clients don’t stay clients forever.

If you’re into marketing lingo, this is about customer lifetime value (CLV or CLTV). It is also referred to as lifetime customer value (LCV) or even lifetime value (LTV). You get the idea. Mix up an L, C, V, and maybe a T in there, and you’re using the right lingo.)

So, does your average customer lifetime value suck or are you doing okay?

How can you tell? Here’s a handy chart. Identify your customer lifetime and see if you’re ranking poor, fair, good, or excellent.

The sweet spot for client retention is 18 months or longer. At that point, you’re basically printing money.

What makes the difference between a customer who bails prior to six months and a customer who hangs in for a year and a half or more?

We performed research on tens of thousands of agency customers to answer this question.

There are two parallel things that a marketing agency is trying to address as they grow:

1. Reduce churn – Client, please don’t quit!
2. Increase customer lifetime – Client, please stay longer!

Here’s something you may not realize about growing your agency. Often, your revenue will increase quickly, but then it flatlines.

Why does this happen?

Because while you’re onboarding newcustomers, you’re losing revenue from churnedclients. Let’s put some numbers on this:

• Your salesperson brings on a $10k/month client every six months
• The customer lifetime of the client is 1 year
• Your churn is 8.33%
• Revenue flatlines at $20,000/month

The rate of cancellation equals the rate of new signups. And this is where mostagencies find themselves stuck!

Donkeys get stuck. Unicorns fly.

So, how do you grow a pair (of unicorn wings) and fly out of this hole? Hire more salespeople. This allows you to sign on more customers faster.

If a new sales member costs less per month than the average customer pays per month, then hiring a new salesperson makes sense. (Assuming, of course, that the salesperson is able to hit quotas. If your salesperson works on a commission, then it automatically makes financial sense.)

This technique doesn’t directly affect client retention; it just solves the revenue problem.

So, what does it take to improve client retention more directly?

Client Retention Tactic #2: Eliminate month-to-month sales contracts.

The second point is to eliminate month-to-month sales contracts.

Most agencies lurch uncontrollably towards any client who might say yes.

Donkeys lurch. Unicorns prance.

Flaky clients can cost you because they churn so quickly.

In every industry, there are ways to identify which clients are likely to bail early. In my research, one of those biggest predictors were clients that purchased month-to-month contracts as opposed to 6 or 12-month contracts.

In our marketing agency, we required a 10% fee on the ad spend of month-to-month clients, 8% for 6-month clients, and a 6% fee for yearlong client contracts.

Here is how we calculated the fee structure for our ad spend levels. (Pardon the primate terminology in the chart below. I have a thing for monkeys.)

When we did our churn research, something fascinating emerged from the numbers.

Our high-churn customers were month-to-month customers. These customers typically churned 2x higher than all the other clients!

What did we do to improve client retention?

Easy. We eliminated the month-to-month option.

I can hear the gasps of horror now. Eliminate month-to-month?!

Sure, you’ll get fewer clients, but the ones you do get will stay longer, providing long-term value and delivering consistent revenue. Your agency grows.

Client retention made simple.

Client Retention Tactic #3: Attract high-spend clients.

The less a client spends on advertising, the more likely they are to churn. In my research, I discovered that the churn rate of the top quartile was half that of the bottom quartile!

There’s an easy solution to this issue. Go upmarket. Focus on finding bigger customers, better customers, customers who don’t churn.

Ad spend isn’t the only marker that you can use to identify big fish clients. If you’re in the content marketing or SEO space, the predictor might be the size of the website, traffic levels, or MRR.

The larger the client in terms of revenue, spend, etc., the less likely they are to quit after a few months.

Finding these clients requires that you be more selective and possibly take longer to find the right clients. But again, this pays off in spades due to superior customer retention.

Client Retention Tactic #4: Qualify clients using a Messenger chatbot.

Another way to improve client retention is to prequalify leads. Based on the information from above, you know that low spend leads are likely to churn. If their ad spend is below a certain threshold, you can decline to work with them.

This sounds harsh, but the truth is, you’re doing both them and your agency a service.

In the interest of growing your agency, you’re saying no to a high-risk lead. And in the interest of the lead, you can nurture them until the time is right for them to become a client.

How does this magic work? It happens with Facebook Messenger marketing using a lead-qualifying Facebook Messenger bot.

A Messenger bot like this can bring in loadsof clients. But it will strategically filter out those clients who don’t meet certain qualifications — such as a low ad spend.

For a marketing agency that runs Facebook advertising services, the chatbot flow looks like this:

We’ve detailed the whole process in this article. Along with explaining exactlyhow to do this, we provide you with the free lead qualifying template.

You can try the template out here.

After you sign up with Customers.ai, you’ll be able to access this template and others and be able to customize each of them for your own agency.

Client Retention Tactic #5: Correctly manage client expectations.

One massive reason for churn that I discovered was unrealistic customer expectations.

If a customer thinks that they are getting results A, but get results B, it causes problems. Chances are, the client is going to churn.

But here’s the thing about unrealistic expectations. It’s not the client’s fault for having unrealistic expectations. It’s the customer service rep’s fault for not disabusing the client of those expectations.

This situation may roll out like this:

1. Donk, the Dishonest Salesperson, promises the client the moon.
2. Client has expectations of receiving the moon. Client signs up!
3. Client does not receive said moon.
4. Client is angry.
5. Client leaves.

A case in point. My “best” sales rep was actually my “worst” sales rep. He was the “best” because he was signing 20 deals a month! But he was the worst rep because those clients were churning like a strawberry smoothie in a Vitamix blender.

He would raise the client’s expectations, but the agency was in no position to deliver on those expectations. They were shockingly unrealistic. The clients he signed on were usually gone in 4-6 months.

How do you solve this problem?

1. Train your sales team on properly setting customer expectations. A customer whose expectations are met or exceeded is highly likely to stay.
2. Incentivize the sales team with client longevity rewards.
3. Terminate the employee. Sorry, Donk. (I recommend this only as a last resort.)

Incentivization may work like this. If the client stays longer than six months, the salesperson gets a reward. If they stay longer than 12 months, the salesperson gets an additional bonus, and so on in perpetuity.

Incentivizing your sales team in this way will help them to go into their work with the long view — taking time on the sales process, managing expectations, and then staying at your company a long time to reap the reward of their patient and careful sales process.

Client Retention Tactic #6: Request Referrals from High NPS Promoters

NPS or Net Promoter Score is one of the most data-driven methods that I’ve come across for identifying the clients who might churn.

Now, I realize that not everyone puts their faith in NPS. It’s darn hard to quantify sentiment. But as scoring mechanisms go, NPS has value for predicting which clients you might not retain for the long-term.

Net Promoter Score or NPS is a rating scale that tells you how willing a customer is to promote your brand. The NPS question is simple — how likely are you to recommend us to your colleagues on a scale from 1-10.

• 6 and below – detractor
• 7-8 – passive
• 9-10 – promoter

You arrive at the Net Promoter Score by taking the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors.

In the agency world, net promoter scores typically aren’t sky-high. You aren’t selling a sexy product like an iPhone or something. You’re selling a boring B2B service. There are moving parts, lots of money involved, and human interaction. Things can go wrong.

So, is your NPS good or could it use some improvement? Here’s my reference chart:

Go back to the NPS record for those who gave you a ten-star rating. Ask them for a referral. Incentivize them if necessary.

You are five times more likely to get a deal from a referral than you are from a cold call. Besides, the quality of the referral from a really happy client is going to be high.

I understand that some people are afraid to ask for a referral. Won’t it annoy the client? Don’t worry about it. The client is already happy, so your request for a referral probably won’t bother them.

Client Retention Tactic #7: Provide Expert Client Care to Low NPS Detractors

As you’re measuring NPS, you will come across clients who simply don’t like you. They’ve given you a score of six or below.

What do you do with these disgruntled customers?

My research-driven solution is to provide them with the absolute best client care possible.

The client retention method that I’m proposing here involves your client service representatives. They are the client retention task force. To grow your agency, give your client service team lots of love, attention, training, and even financial incentivization.

Low-NPS clients are likely to churn, and your client reps are here to save the day. When you encounter a low-NPS client, follow this process:

• Track the low-NPS client to their respective client service rep.
• Have a conversation with the rep to find out the reason for the client’s discontentment.
• Make whatever changes necessary to improve the working relationship.
• Consider giving the client to a more qualified customer service rep.

Following this process with low-NPS clients is a client-retention marvel. Instead of simply letting your disgruntled client leave, you’re giving them superior care and retaining them.

Of course, this tactic won’t work for every client, but it will work for most, thereby improving your client retention.

When we performed our client retention study we came up with a really surprising result.

We wanted to find out, what KPI is more closely tied to retention — amazing results or a client loving their service rep.

My assumption was that the most important factor would be the results, of course. If a client is getting great results, then, of course, they’re going to stay!

You can imagine my surprise when our results showed that, nope, the KPI most closely tied to retention was the client’s love for their service rep. Happiness with a rep was more strongly correlated with client retention than account performance.

In some cases, a client was getting low results, but they had a great customer service rep which improved their retention. Of course, the quality of the work matters! But if the client hates their rep, it doesn’t matter how good the performance is.

Based on these findings, there are several changes we made to our customer service team:

• Instead of measuring NPS generally, we made sure we connected individual client scores to their respective client service rep. In this way, we could identify which reps were struggling and which were succeeding.
• We reviewed customer satisfaction and retention metrics with the client service reps on a monthly basis.
• We provided bonuses (up to 15% of the rep’s salary) based on client retention. The longer a client stayed, the more money the rep could make.
• We invested in customer service rep training to ensure that reps were providing the best possible service for each client.

The primary takeaway here is to salvage the clients whose NPS score predicts their departure. But there are plenty of other tactics that you can put into place to make sure that client’s don’t get to that point.

Grow Your Marketing Agency Now: 3 Final Steps

Ten years ago, I launched a marketing agency and grew it to more 300 employees, tens of thousands of customers, and over a billion dollars of ad spend.

When I sold the agency for $150 million, I started a new marketing agency and delusionally set my growth goals more than twice as high as my first agency’s delusional goals.

These client retention tactics work.

Now, it’s your turn.

You have seven powerful client retention tactics, and with this knowledge, your agency is poised for massive growth.

Here are three final actions that you can take as you improve your agency’s client retention.

• Request to join the Faceboook group, Customers.ai Island. With more than 21,000 marketers and entrepreneurs, it’s the perfect place to learn advanced hacks, network, and share your own advice.
• Sign up for Customers.ai now to gain first mover’s advantage with Facebook Messenger marketing.
• Watch this video, Top 5 Marketing Agency Hacks of All Time, to get additional details on growing your agency.

The post 7 Client Retention Tactics That are Guaranteed to Grow Your Agency appeared first on Customers.ai.

• You’ll discover the exact mindset required for how to scale a marketing agency
• You’ll learn the tactic designed to attract the exact partners, employees, and investors needed to scale a marketing agency
• And you’ll gain access to the tactic that agencies need in order to scale fast.

How to Scale a Marketing Agency Fast: Don’t Believe The Hype

The reality is, much of the inspirational hype you read online about agency growth is bovine excrement.

Look, I’m as jazzed as anybody when I read stuff like “Retire at age 28!” “Do what you love!” “Work thirty minutes a week from a Tahitian beach while sipping a lightly alcoholic beverage from a cup that has an umbrella toothpick thing in it!”

Reality is a bit harsher.

After more than a decade of work in the marketing industry, I’ve witnessed many solopreneur and startup marketing agencies do the following:

• Hobble along with little to no growth
• Fold after a few months or years
• Experience zero satisfaction in the work
• Quickly lose touch with the needs and realities of clients

It helps little when an inspirational writer with a knack for hyperbole tells these entrepreneurs that scaling their agency is a dreamy adventure in joy and ease.

I have enormous respect for all entrepreneurs. It takes guts and hustle to quit a steady job, go out on your own, and start a business.

But, inspirational bro writers notwithstanding, the entrepreneurial life is not all Lambos and keynote speeches.

So, for your daily dose of Debbie Downer: scaling your agency is not easy.

Question: Should You Scale a Marketing Agency?

So, let’s bring up the question, do you want to scale your marketing agency? Should you do it?

Cue the excuses! Often, I hear something along the lines of “Oh, Larry, I don’t want to be a big agency.”

When I peer beyond the glibness of that excuse, what I hear is a plea — “My agency is stuck! I don’t know how to grow! Please tell me how!”

Some people’s excuses sound all awshucks-not-me, but this actually hides a mindset deficit — the unwillingness to take on the difficulty, the risk, the potential disappointment, and even the probable huge success.

Many agency owners have mental hangups that prevent them from every shouting a convincing heck, yeah!

My goal in this section is to give you permission to shout heck, yeah.

Let me share a few of the motivations for scaling your agency:

• Money – building a business empire, earning a high income, purchasing nice things and experiences
• Recognition – speak at conferences, get featured in publications, become Internet famous
• Challenge – pursuing a major goal, scaling with efficiency and speed
• Purpose – helping others, providing employment, mentoring people, giving back

Inspiration for scaling a marketing agency may range from the avaricious to the altruistic, but this truth underlies the issue — you can scale your marketing agency.

For some agency owners, the very thought can be surprising — you mean it’s possible to grow? I have a choice?

Of course, you can.

But how?

How to Scale a Marketing Agency: Delusional Thinking

Full disclosure: I have five agency growth hacks (dispensed with largesse in this video), but there’s a major one that constitutes a fundamental mindset shift.

This one point is what I will now proceed to pound on for the remainder of this article.

You want to scale your marketing agency?

Okay, scaling your marketing agency requires being somewhat delusional.

Wait, delusional?

Yes, absolutely.

Delusional thinking is the practice of thinking bigger and farther than you’re used to thinking.

Delusional thinking is Red Bull for your motivation. Drink a can of delusional thinking and your motivational powers begin to quiver and expand with an unstoppable force.

Delusional thinking gives you inspiration, helps you see a way forward, and pushes you to achieve things that are not on the mental horizon of ordinary mortals.

Using the power of delusional thinking you can scale your agency like you wouldn’t believe.

How to Scale a Marketing Agency: Delusion with Intention

Being delusional isn’t merely getting high off your aspirations.

After all, I’m pointing you to a specific goal — scaling your marketing agency — not hyping you up to walk over hot coals or something.

This is where we pair intention with delusional thinking.

Intention is all about making the mental decision that you will scale your business. You’re going to grow. You’re done with the ho-hum of your snail’s pace existence. You assert a bold and compelling vision of your future.

But what about all the details?! I can hear the wails of protest now.

There are legion technical details involved in scaling an agency — from ordering paper clips to adhering to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Yes, it can be tedious and complicated.

But the important thing happens at the very outset — in your mind, with your intention.

You possess intention. You will grow your agency.

How I Scaled My Marketing Agency

In 2008, I started an agency called WordStream.

I didn’t have a whole lot going for me other than free WiFi at Panera and a cheapo laptop with Microsoft Excel.

Before anything else, I did something really simple — I made a delusional growth plan for my not-yet-existing agency.

Here’s the screenshot of my business plan:

Look at those two red arrows. They indicate the delusional growth plan that I had for how to scale a marketing agency.

I projected to go from zero to $240,951.80 in revenue for year 1. And then on up to $26 million in total revenue four years later.

Delusional? You decide.

• I had no startup experience.
• It was 2008, which meant that we were smack dab in the middle of a mammoth global economic recession.
• I had no existing revenue.
• I had no customers
• I had no team.

(Panera doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages, by the way.)

At that point, I had absolutely no idea that my agency would eventually employ over a thousand people, that I would become one of the top ten Medium contributors in the world, and that my agency would be acquired by Gannett in 2018 for $150,000,000.

Fast forward ten years.

My delusional plan worked.

In fact, it didn’t just “work.” We exceeded my delusional projection by a significant margin!

But how?

How to Scale a Marketing Agency: Use the Unicorn Filter Effect

You’ve heard the phrase “rose colored glasses” right?

Basically, it suggests that you’re looking at things in an overly optimistic way — often a vision that doesn’t square with reality.

I upped the ante. I invented the Unicorn Filter Effect.

The Unicorn Filter is my totally-not-patented method of eliminating anything that doesn’t fit in my delusional plan.

It works like magic.

I say, “Hey, look, I have this delusional plan that involves scaling a marketing agency by 10,733% in four years. Wanna join me?”

• 50% of people will grab their shirt and pretend to cough because they’re actually laughing at me.
• 45% will politely smile and tell me how to dial 911 if I feel ill.
• 4% will use an expletive to describe their pejorative viewpoint regarding my intelligence

And 1% will say “Sure, Larry. I’m quitting my C-level position, corner office, and 12 weeks of paid vacation because I think this is brilliant. Wait for me in the hall while I go turn in my resignation, effective immediately.”

Unicorn filter level: unlocked.

The unicorn filter has a powerful effect. By holding to your untenable vision, you effectively exclude anything and everything that does not help you on your path to scaling your marketing agency.

The filter allows you to get the right employees, the right business partners, and the right investors that will join you in the pursuit to scale your marketing agency fast.

The cool thing about the unicorn filter is that the people who filter through aren’t just accepting an opportunity. They are kicking and screaming to get in on the opportunity. They want this. They are on fire. They’ve chugged the delusional thinking Red Bull with you and want to secure their seat on the rocket ship.

Folks, delusional thinking works.

Notice I haven’t used the word “easy,” “simple,” “a breeze,” or variations on the theme of a beachside pina colada.

For example, the unicorn filter doesn’t work on its own. In order to find that 1% of frothing-at-the-mouth co-founders, employees, or investors, you have to cycle through the 99% of people who are scoffers, apathetic, or profane.

Delusional thinking coupled with fierce intention using the unicorn filter is how you scale your marketing agency.

But it doesn’t work on its own.

How to Scale a Marketing Agency Again: Redux

After my delusional thinking had reached its fruition in WordStream, I was ready for the second act.

WordStream was in really good hands, and I was ready to leap wholeheartedly into the most influential marketing technology to emerge in years.

Chatbot marketing.

It was ten years after the founding of WordStream, and by this time I was no longer hogging Panera bandwidth.

I did, however, dust off my business plan and fired up my practice of delusional thinking.

This time, my goal is twice the revenue in half the time.

Customers.ai is swimming in a universe of potential right now.

Chatbot technology is enormously powerful, but chatbot marketing is criminally underused by marketers.

Whether due to fear of change or whatever, a fraction of marketers are utilizing Facebook Messenger marketing with chatbots.

What does this mean?First-mover’s advantage.

Right now, marketers have the opportunity to unleash a Messenger marketing strategy ahead of thousands of competitors.

How to Scale a Marketing Agency: Use Facebook Messenger Marketing

One of the most powerful ways to scale a marketing agency is by using Facebook Messenger marketing.

Let’s strip away the complexity and boil it down to these points:

Keep in mind that Customers.ai has a version that is specifically geared towards agencies that want to scale. The agency plan provides features and functionalities to streamline the path towards more profits in less time.

To check out my full (and free) webinar on the Top 5 Marketing Agency Hacks of All Time, then please check out this video.

The post How to Scale a Marketing Agency Fast: The Power of Delusional Thinking appeared first on Customers.ai.

And you need a marketing proposal template.

Sorry, we don’t have it. Because here’s the thing. The only perfect marketing proposal is the one that works for your specific agency in your specific situation with your specific clients. And that’s a lot of variables.

But, thankfully, there is such a thing as marketing proposal templates. And that’s what we’ve assembled for you here.

You can hop and skip over the meaty section below and just grab the template. But, be warned, the solution to a winning proposal isn’t the template itself. It’s what goes inside the template — where the magic of top marketing solutions and stellar client retention meet. If you follow the instructions below, you’ll increase your proposal accept rate dramatically.

Marketing Proposal for Marketing Agencies — What are you selling?

First, it’s important to ask a crucial question. 

What are you selling? 

This marketing proposal template is for marketing agencies of any kind.

However, Customers.ai is a Facebook Messenger chatbot builder. If you are selling chatbot services, make sure you’re using a robust, powerful, and cost-effective platform to create and deploy hyper-effective Messenger chatbots. 

Customers.ai is particularly powerful for marketing agencies with a unique pricing tier and an expanded suite of features and benefits specifically for marketing agencies. Please check it out. 

The Perfect Marketing Proposal Template: This is the Goal

The simple unvarnished goal of a marketing proposal is to win the client, get the yes, earn the revenue, etc.

Marketers like to bring up a lot of other stuff when talking about marketing proposals:

• The perfect font for a marketing proposal
• The ideal way for the client to sign the marketing proposal
• How long, exactly, the proposal needs to be
• What colors are the right ones for a marketing proposal
• How to send the marketing proposal to a client — Word, PDF, paper, smoke signals, something different?
• The winning design template for an irresistible marketing proposal

Are all of those things important?

Yes. Sort of. Maybe.

And each of those features serves a single goal — to win the client.

However, there are other more important features than the perfect font and just the right color.

What are those important features that will compel the prospective client to say yes? There are two primary ones.

• The client’s negative psychological motivation. What pain are they feeling that your marketing agency can solve? They want you to take away their pain.
• The client’s positive feelings that working with you will provide. What value and rewards will they earn as a result of saying yes to your proposal and working together? How will this make them feel?

Let’s use an example:

CEO Sally is stressed because her local staffing agency is wasting money on Facebook ads. It’s causing her to skip breakfast, gym days, and yell at her kids. Sally doesn’t like this. Sally feels sad. Sally feels unhealthy. Sally feels like a bad mom. Sally believes that by contracting with you, a kickass Facebook marketing agency selling chatbot services, she will eat healthy foods, go to her weekly Zumba, and speak kindly to her daughter after picking her up from school each day. She believes that her company’s revenue will increase. This makes Sally feel happy.

Notice that I haven’t even touched on cost at this point. Heck, I hardly even discussed the nature of Sally’s business, ad spend, or marketing approach.

Sally is feeling bummed and your marketing agency can help her feel non-bummed.

The point is this. Even if you choose to use comic sans as your font and send a fax (what’s a fax?) as your delivery method, a client very well might say yes as long as the psychological motivation and potential ROI are high.

So, to summarize:

• A yes is the goal.
• The way to get the yes is by assuring them that you will do two things:
  • Erase their pain
  • Deliver positive feelings

I’m not trying to go all Freud on you, but I do think it’s important to acknowledge a simple fact of human psychology: deep psychological motivation will win the day faster than fonts.

That’s why the marketing proposal template below includes features that will help to deliver on that front.

Okay, let’s dive in. You can use this handy Google doc as a template. It contains a simple outline of the proposal to keep you on track. Sorry, no sweet vectors, flashy fonts, or drag-and-drop templates for you here. Try Visme, Canva, or Word Templates for that.

Summary Section

One page or less

Your summary statement is one of the most important components of the marketing proposal because it’s at the beginning and because most major stakeholders will at least glance at it. You’re basically telling the client that you want to get married and you hope they say “I do.”

[Prospect name],

One to three paragraphs that address the following points

• The reason why your client originally reached out to you. You want to tie it back to the pain they felt when they submitted the contact form on your website or picked up the phone and gave you a call. Poke at that.
• The problem they are facing. Reference that pain again by describing how they are losing money or time, how they are missing out on something important, and how that won’t change unless they work with you.
• The solution that you are proposing. Teasing them with the solution is fine. Don’t throw platitudes or cliches in here, but reference the work that you do and the identical (and successful) work you’ve done in the past for clients like them.
• The outcome that you will deliver. Don’t just focus on numbers. Focus on feelings. Obviously, you probably don’t want to promise a better night of sleep, but you can suggest that your solution will be “100% outsourced,” “easy,” straightforward” and “seamless,” which is almost the same thing.

Marketing Proposal Power Tips

• Keep this section brief. You want your client to be able to capture the gist of the marketing proposal template in one to three minutes.
• Stay casual. This is a personal note. Keep the tone light. Marketing proposals often contain stiff, awkward, and formal language. Look, you’re probably not a lawyer and neither is your client. Just act natural. And write like it, too.

Marketing Solution

1-2 pages of how you’re going to solve the client’s problem.

Follow a four-point outline to describe your marketing solution:

1. Problem Statement – what is the client dealing with that you can solve? One paragraph/
2. Strategy Solution – what will you do that will solve this problem? 5-15 bullet points.
3. Deliverables – what are the specific things you will give or do. E.g., 12 chatbot sequences, ongoing support for 6 months, etc.
4. Results – the kind of success and joy that the client will experience as a result of working with your marketing agency

Marketing Proposal Power Tips

Three tips. Here they are.

1. Explain your specific strategy with the client in concrete terms.

Some agencies might think “we don’t want to give away our secrets! Especially if they haven’t paid us yet!”

I’m here to say give away your secrets. A client will be more compelled by a clear strategy than she will with a vague promise.

Explain exactly how you’re going to achieve the client’s goals. You don’t want the client to hand back your proposal saying, “Can you explain how you’re going to solve our problem?”

Tell them. Upfront.

2. Drive quickly towards solutions.

The “solution” should be just that — solutions.

Too often, this section goes off the rails with the following mistakes:

• Vague promises. The language gets salesy. The clarity wafts away. And the client is thinking “But will they?”
• Getting stuck in the weeds of methodology. Most clients could care less about your Ahrefs wizardry or your Customers.ai skills. As important as those are, spend less time talking about how you’re going to solve the problem and more time describing what the solution will be.
• It’s too long. In most cases, the client’s problem can be solved in one page of a proposal (so to speak). If it takes more than that, eyes will glaze and minds will wander and…adios client.

3.  Use quick, bite-sized bullet points for this section.

This is pure tactic.

Use bullet points.

Client brains will praise you. I’m just as eager as the next guy to read Atlas Shrugged, but paragraphs consisting of 81 lines don’t fly with a marketing proposal.

Summarize your solution into a few succinct bullet points, and you have a higher likelihood of the client 1) reading your proposal, 2) understanding your proposal, and 3) accepting your proposal.

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Investment

One page listing the price and payment terms.

“Investment” is code for “give us money.” This is the money section in which you will explain exactly how much it costs and how you expect your fee to be paid.

All you need here are two sections:

• Price – how much it costs. Keep it simple. A number is all you need.
• Payment terms – when and how they need to pay your fee.

Marketing Proposal Power Tips

• Place this section on its own page (or slide, if you’re using slides). Clients will be rabid about seeing this section. Most of the time, this is all they care about.
• Don’t pretend that you’re giving them discounts. Often, I see the pricing section reveal all kinds of false discounts — a few subtraction problems followed by wow! a lower number than they were expecting! Leave that for negotiation. Stand by your price and leave the subtraction problems for third-grade math class.

Timeline

One page describing when the client can expect to receive deliverables and see results.

This section outlines — again using bullets — the dates (and times if applicable) by which they can expect two things:

• The deliverables
• The results

Trace these out with as much bullet-point simplicity as possible.

Marketing Proposal Power Tips

• Tell them exactly when can they expect results. Every client wants to know the answer to this question, when will we see results? Be as straightforward as possible in answering this question, but by all means, answer the question!
• Commit to your timeline. This power tip gets a bit ahead of the game, but I plead with you to stick to your dates. All the talk about projects missing deadlines? It’s abnormal for a company to actually delivery by expected dates. Be that company.

Team (optional)

One or more pages (depending on the size of your team) with headshots, titles, and descriptions of each team member.

This section is extra. It can help, especially if you have some heavy-hitting luminaries on your team — names and reputations that are recognized and admired in your local market or niche.

Marketing Proposal Power Tips

• Headshots are a must-have in this section. Cognitive neuroscience has demonstrated that humans have an emotional and visceral response to seeing faces. The presence of headshot photos — especially smiling ones — in a marketing proposal can help to add a touch of humanity and emotional depth to an otherwise bland marketing proposal.
• Keep the descriptions casual and brief. While you may be tempted to spill the entire bowl of alphabet soup over this section — John Smith, ACSA, BS, MS, Ph.D., accredited by AWEG, certification by HHR and BRE, member of AFS and RJTY. Forget it. You’re better off talking about Smith’s affection for Dinmont Terriers and weekend proclivity for disc golf.

Case Study (optional)

One or more pages describing a similar situation and solution in the past.

Again, this is extra. If you have case studies, trot them out. If you don’t, no sweat.

Marketing Proposal Power Tips

• The best case studies consist of 1) similar problems and 2) similar clients. Some agencies tend to think that the bigger the brand they’ve worked with, the more compelling the case study will be. Doesn’t always work that way, though. Even if you did work with Coca-Cola, the mom and pop store you’re working with right now wants to know if you’ve successfully solved a problem for a similar mom and pop establishment.
• Brief and simple. I’m beginning to sound like the summer’s hit song in literally every mall and boutique teen clothing shop across America. Simple. Brief. Simple. Brief. Yes, it matters. Keep your case studies…you guessed it…simple and brief.

Agreement and Terms

One or more pages with your standard legal agreement and terms.

This is the “boring section.” But it’s also really important.

I’m going to leave the language of this to your lawyers or whatever copy/paste job you’ve done in the past. However, it is important to have a clear description of the recitals, operative provisions, confidentiality agreements, and all the other legal necessaries to protect yourself and your client.

Signature Section

And finally, it’s signing time.

You know how this goes down — a couple of lines and a couple of dates, and you’re set.

Marketing Proposal Template Bonus Tip for Massive Success

Let’s be honest. Getting a marketing proposal template right is just the first step.

The second step is having the client sign it.

And the true unicorn land begins when you deliver awesome work, rinsing, and repeating. 

Now that you have a killer marketing proposal template, I also have a bonus tip that will make your marketing proposal all but irresistible. 

One of the greatest ways to significantly improve the chances of acceptance is to offer something new, differentiating, and appealing to your client. 

That something is chatbots. Chatbots are a fascinating and emerging component of digital marketing. All trends indicate their massive rise in the coming years, and so far, there are only a few agencies that offer chatbot marketing services. 

My recommendation? Offer chatbot marketing services to your clients. Here are a few get-rich-quick links for using chatbot marketing as part of your proposal and your agency’s growth:

• Learn how to grow an agency business with chatbot marketing services, free webinar.
• If you offer chatbot marketing services already, get discovered by clients by submitting your agency to the Certified Agency Directory.
• Take advantage of the exclusive Customers.ai plan for marketing agencies.

Marketing Proposal for Marketing Agencies – Simple and Brief

Having worked in the marketing agency industry for over ten years, I’ve seen torrents of marketing proposals.

After a while, they blend together in a cyclone of hackneyed promises and commonplace language.

The marketing proposals that have succeeded have done so as a result of three things:

• They sooth the psychological pain point
• They anticipate positive feelings that the client will experience
• They are simple and brief

Ready to get started. Here’s the template.

And before you go…three quick things:

• If you haven’t yet, sign up for Customers.ai. It’s free. It’s powerful. It will make your clients love you.
• Join Customers.ai Island, a free and exclusive Facebook group designed to get you the help you need and support you crave for your marketing life.
• Get focused and tactical marketing tips (only the good stuff) that will help to give you unicorn marketing powers.

The post [Free Template] The Perfect Marketing Proposal Template for Marketing Agencies appeared first on Customers.ai.

Agency marketers face a challenge beyond creating and executing monster marketing campaigns for clients — running and growing their agency business. 

There’s lots of resources marketers turn to when they want to: 

• Learn effective marketing and advertising strategies.
• Hear the latest tactics that generate leads and sales performance.
• And get to know the tools to do the tactical work of marketing.

Transparent, trust-worthy, experience-backed resources are harder to find on:

• How to create your first six-figure or seven-figure revenue month.
• How to sign clients with the budget and project scope for $5k/mo retainer fees.
• The pricing and packaging models that marketing agencies are using to build in bonuses and upsell opportunities.

That is what marketing agency owners and managers and freelance marketing consultants looking to scale their business will get at Customers.ai’s Marketing Agency Growth Accelerator Summit on May 16. Get your free ticket here.

We’re kicking things off here and now with 7 agency growth tips from 7 of the summit presenters. 

The agency growth summit line-up is packed with agency growth coaches, agency founders, and business strategists from the marketing world’s fastest-growing brands. Customers.ai has partnered with the biggest names in marketing to bring you this free, virtual summit: SEMrush, WordStream, Unbounce, Agorapulse, and Growth Marketing Conference.

Get your free ticket to the Marketing Agency Growth Accelerator Summit here and we’ll see you live on May 16. 

7 Strategies to Accelerate Marketing Agency Growth You Should Start Doing Today

While scaling an agency to six and seven figures of revenue a month can’t be distilled into a single sound bite, see what these golden nuggets hold, and then tune in live on May 16.

Larry Kim, CEO & Founder of Customers.ai

WordStream is one of the world’s largest online advertising agencies and one key way we were able to do this was by offering something new and differentiated.

We were really early to offer support for Google Ads, and this was back when nobody was doing this. Then we jumped on the Facebook ad train early on.

If you’re selling Google Ads or Facebook Ads in 2019, chances are your prospective new clients already have an agency handling this, and you’re probably not going to get the client.

What you can do is offer something new and differentiated such as chat marketing in your services mix. Do a really great job at killing it in that little opportunity that they’ve afforded you, and then land and expand.

You can take over the rest of the client’s agency marketing business because you’ve done such a killer job at optimizing the chat campaigns. They’ll think you’re a magician with the kind of results you can drive with Messenger marketing compared to conventional Facebook advertising.

My #1 tip for an agency looking to accelerate business growth is to specialize!

Specialize in a type of client (such as a specific industry) and a core service offering. 

Diversify. While temptation to focus on one thing you know best might be hard to resist, marketing evolves every day.

And evolution might be very unforgiving. In marketing you always have to learn and try new channels and strategies.

When Facebook changed algorithm in 2018 many businesses were hit. Many pure SMM agencies lost customers. 

But agencies that also offer SEO and Content Marketing services usually didn’t have such issues.

SEMrush has over 10000 agency customers and we see that the most successful agencies provide multiple different services to their clients.

It helps to increase ACVs, better retain customers and in general help to build more sustainable business.

My advice before you get tactical is to really understand your agency’s positioning in the marketplace and the customer segments you’re going after.

 With these set, it’s so much easier to go-to-market and gain traction with your growth initiatives, building the word-of-mouth referrals vital to any agency’s success.

Zachary Rego, Director of Agency Business at WordStream

One of the most important tactics for a marketing agency to grow is to identify a vertical in which they have been successful and tailor their marketing strategy to emphasize that success.

Creating a recipe to continually deliver positive results to clients within a new vertical is crucial.

Virginia Nussey, Director of Marketing at Customers.ai

It’s easy to fall into the old “cobbler’s child” mentality as a marketing agency, so have concrete goals, accountability and the team in place to run and manage your own marketing and advertising.

That might mean creating a parallel structure for project managers and dedicated channel managers that work on your own business’s marketing campaigns.

Devote the same committed resources to marketing and advertising your business as you do for your clients. Treat your own business like your most valuable client. 

Isaac Rudansky, AdVenture Media Group CEO & Founder of Agency Overdrive

So a lot of our best clients now come through referrals and as you start getting a little bit of a good track record. When you have a good handful of clients, you should be forthright in asking for a referral because you’ll never get a referral unless you ask. Really be forthright with asking for a referral and potentially asking multiple times. 

And also content (is how you can attract new clients). I publish courses, webinars, blog posts — content works.

People will be exposed to your content, they’ll develop a sense that you know what you’re talking about, and you’ve got to specialize in a niche. This is advice that most people probably have heard already, but most people haven’t done it because it’s so unbelievably difficult to create good content and it takes long, it takes a long time.

Creating content itself is difficult but you have to do it consistently with no results for a year. Who wants to do that? But when you’re very content heavy, it really drives a huge amount of emotional validity when a customer calls you.

Think about it like this, if you call a business say, “Hey, can I manage your Facebook Messenger marketing for you?” like goodbye.

Or you write a really good insightful post about five Facebook messenger techniques with specific results with case studies with a financial analysis and some people see that, that will go so far for you in terms of getting people to think about who you are, who your company is, they’ll want to follow your posts, they’ll want to follow your information.

[Editor’s note: Isaac’s tip is an excerpt from an incredibly insight-rich conversation on agency growth strategies that you can view and read the transcript below. You’ll hear Isaac’s personal experiences of how he got his first clients, the keys to getting new clients, and his practical formulas for pricing models with bonus structures – it’s fantastic.]

The post 7 Strategies for Growing a Marketing Agency to a Million a Month: Tips from the Marketing Agency Growth Accelerator Summit Speakers appeared first on Customers.ai.

Today, every marketing agency needs to sell Messenger chatbot services

Here’s what to expect from reading this article.

1. You’ll be 100% persuaded that your marketing agency needs to sell Messenger chatbot services.
2. Find out if your marketing agency has one of the four characteristics required to successfully sell Messenger chatbot services.
3. Get the five-step plan for selling Messenger chatbot services immediately.

Let’s go. Q&A time.

Sell Messenger chatbot services? What exactly are you suggesting?

Simple: Digital marketing agencies should sell Messenger chatbot services to their clients.

It looks like this.

1. You create custom Messenger chatbots for your clients.
2. You set a price for the creation of the Messenger bots.
3. You charge a monthly ongoing retainer for the continued use of the Messenger bots.

Let’s say that one of your marketing clients is a personal trainer. You’ve been running some Facebook ads for her. She’s had some marginal success.

So far, so good.

But what if your client was using a Messenger chatbot?

She could save time, seamlessly onboard clients, segment her audience, filter out weak leads, scale her business, schedule complimentary consultations, and increase her revenue. All without having to lift a finger.

Who wouldn’t want that?

You, as an agency, can offer this service. Your client sees the benefits, purchases chatbot services, and gets major results.

That’s what I’m suggesting. Your agency sells Facebook Messenger chatbot services.

You win. Your clients win. We all win.

Why should marketing agencies start selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services?

I’m always reluctant to tell people “you must,” “you should,” and “you need.” Every situation is different.

But this is really important.

Facebook Messenger chatbots have the biggest reach, the highest level of engagement, the greatest amount of power, and the least amount of cost and effort of any marketing channel anywhere.

(Whew. That’s a lot of superlatives in one sentence.)

Right now, there are more users of the top four messaging apps than the top four social networks combined.

(And honestly, that was like two years ago, so the disparity is probably even higher today.)

People use messaging apps all the time. Think back on your day. Have you used Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, or Instagram messages today? It’s only 11:15a and I’ve received or sent over 71 messages on iMessage, Instagram, and Messenger already. (I work in the chatbot marketing field, so there’s that.) 

Posting on social media is no longer the optimal method for high customer engagement. The stratospheric ad spend required to compete on Facebook advertising is getting out of hand.

Messaging apps are the present and the future of digital marketing. And integrating chatbots with these messaging apps is the ticket to high-success marketing.

The reasons why agencies should start selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services are legion, but there are three overarching upsides:

1. Facebook Messenger chatbots are the most effective marketing tactic available today.
2. Digital marketing agencies are in the best position to profit by selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services.
3. Clients stand to benefit enormously from purchasing chatbot services from marketing agencies.

Let me throw out a final observation on this point. 

Very few agencies are doing this right now. You’ll find the occasional freelancer who may offer to create up a bot sequence for a thousand bucks, or an agency that vaguely discusses their NLP customer service chatbot.

But not many agencies are doing the thing I’m suggesting here — adding Facebook Messenger chatbot services and selling it to their clients.

What does this mean for you?

You have the potential to get in early, profit big, and dominate the marketplace.

That’s why you should sell Messenger chatbots now.

How will my agency benefit if we sell Facebook Messenger chatbot services?

A marketing agency benefits when they earn more revenue, attract more customers, increase ROI, improve client satisfaction, reduce client churn, and scale.

If your agency exists to earn revenue and serve customers, then adding Facebook Messenger chatbot services is basically a no-brainer.

Digital marketing agencies today are in an ideal position to sell chatbot services. Customers already recognize you as an authority on digital marketing trends. Customers know that you do Facebook marketing. Based on this rationale, launching Messenger bot services as a product makes logical sense.

It’s likely that some of your clients expect your agency to sell chatbot services. Digital marketing agencies are “supposed” to do certain things — SEO, PPC, local search, etc. Chatbot services are on their way to becoming de rigueur for today’s digital marketing agencies.

A simple way to answer the question “how will my agency benefit” is to respond “because your clients benefit.”

When they win, you win.

The majority of businesses admit that “generating traffic and leads” is a top challenge.

As a marketing agency, this is a problem that you can solve for your clients.

Regardless of your client’s industry, demographic target, product, or service, Messenger chatbots can help to solve the problem of generating traffic and leads. 

So, should my agency sell Facebook Messenger chatbots? How do we know? 

I’ll be honest. Selling chatbot services is not for every marketing agency.

Some agencies are focused, say, on Squarespace websites, billboard design, or magazine layouts. They probably don’t need to sell Messenger chatbots. 

Broadly speaking, there are six main types of digital marketing agencies.

Each of these agency types is in a position to sell Messenger chatbot services without distracting from their service focus or clientele.

Does your agency qualify for selling Facebook Messenger chatbots? (Keep in mind that an “agency” can be a solopreneur or independent contractor, too.)

Agencies that are ideally positioned to sell chatbot services have at least one of the following characteristics:

1. The agency offers a broad array of digital marketing services (SEO, PPC, CRO, etc.).
2. The agency offers website design or creation, especially WordPress. (The free WP-Chatbot is a must-have).
3. The agency deals with any customer-service related solutions for clients.
4. The agency deals with any type of Facebook-related service (paid search, social posting, etc.).

If your agency performs any one of these four broad activities, then your agency is a perfect candidate for selling Facebook Messenger chatbot services.

Here are nine more qualifying questions that will allow you to determine if selling chatbot services is the right move for your marketing agency.

1. Does your agency want to make more money?
2. Does your agency want more high-dollar retainer clients?
3. Do you want to scale back on the number of hours you work for clients, but get higher returns?
4. Do you want your clients to succeed?
5. Do you want to beat the competition by staying ahead of the curve in marketing trends?
6. Do you want to improve client retention?
7. Do you want more word-of-mouth referrals for your agency?
8. Do you want to scale easily?

(I hope we got some yesses up in there.)

If you’re not sure what exactly you do as a marketing agency, that’s okay, too. You can position yourself by selling chatbots and be able to quickly gain clients.

Our marketing agency already sells some services really well. Why add chatbot services?

I get it.

You do one thing well. You sell it with streamlined precision and excellent markup. Your clients are giddy. Your retainers are kicking ass. Your marketers are unicorns. Your rate card is so pretty. Why mess it up by selling Messenger chatbot services?

And, sheesh, who wants to be a “chatbot agency?”

I do get it.

But you also want to evolve as an agency. You want to stay ahead of the proverbial marketing curve.

Clients expect chatbot marketing services. And if they don’t now, then they will soon.

Adding an additional service will not dilute the services you already offer. Instead, it will complement them.

Chatbot services are stellar upsells. If you’re already servicing clients with your legendary paid search services, then integrating chatbots makes enormous sense. It enhances the paid search efforts, giving them greater reach and success than paid search can achieve alone. Besides, with techniques like click-to-Messenger Facebook ads and Facebook post autoresponders, you can lower their ad spend and boost conversions.

Let’s talk about niches for a minute. Niching yourself as a marketing agency is obviously a smart move. You get hyperfocused on a certain type of client, gain a reputation within that vertical and make bank.

You can do the same thing with Messenger chatbots.

Let’s say your marketing agency is just fantastic at servicing East Coast, kid-friendly, dental offices with their marketing needs.

Now, you can be the go-to marketing agency for customers in the happy-kid-dental niche who will benefit from Messenger chatbots.

Wait. Isn’t there a learning curve for building Messenger chatbots? I’ve heard these things are complicated.

Yes, there is a learning curve.

But, no, it isn’t complicated.

You don’t need to raise capital, hire more people, buy expensive stuff, and have month-long, offsite training sessions. Building Messenger chatbots is so easy! 

Here’s a peek into the Customers.ai app. There’s absolutely no coding required anywhere in the app.

It’s simply click, drag, tap, point, type, deploy. The WYSIWYG editor and logical sequencing of chatbot dialogues means that you’ll be up and running with a fully-functioning Messenger chatbot within minutes of creating a Customers.ai account. 

You can make full dialogue sequences, create lead magnets, send chat blasts, and perform other Messenger hacks simply, quickly, and easily.

Based on our internal data, most users are spending an average of 14 minutes per session in the app creating chatbots. They can create a whole sequence or send a chat blast to thousands of users in those fourteen minutes.

Customers are deploying these chatbots at a rate of hundreds per day. User data and satisfaction studies have proven that for Customers.ai customers, creating chatbots isn’t just easy. It’s fun! Maybe even addicting. [Cue evil laugh.]

So, no, the learning curve is not steep. In fact, for most types of businesses, we’ve already created Facebook Messenger chatbot templates for you. All you need to do is tweak a few things and launch.

For example, that dentist office you’re servicing would benefit from a chatbot like this one (pre-made).

You can test the chatbot here.

Look, if you’re already offering Facebook services — ads, posting, whatever — then you possess the requisite understanding for creating Messenger chatbots.

Even if you’ve never touched Facebook Ads Manager, creating Messenger chatbots is not hard at all.

What price should we set for selling Messenger bot services?

This is a big question with lots of contingencies, factors, and disclaimers, but I’ll try to shoot straight.

First, you’ll need to pick what kind of pricing structure you want

1. Hourly rate. Simply charge the client at your customary hourly fee. Be careful with this method, since the time required to create chatbots is extremely low, but the payoff for clients is extremely high. 
2. Value-based pricing. Your client pays according to how much estimated value the addition of a chatbot will bring to your client. It can be a tough sell, especially if payment is required upfront, but it’s a lucrative payoff for both agency and client.
3. Point-based pricing. The point-based model adds charges based on additional functionalities, drips, blasts, and integrations. The more the client wants, the more it costs.

If you manage your client’s chatbot after you create it (recommended), then you’ll also want to charge an ongoing monthly fee or retainer. Managing the bot takes time and usually requires a monthly payment for the chatbot tool and/or the number of contacts on the list.

What is an average point-based pricing model? Here’s an example:

As you can see, selling Messenger chatbots can deliver an enormous ROI to your agency. Equally as thrilling is the fact that chatbot services are just as lucrative for your clients.

Okay, selling Messenger chatbot services sounds good. So how do we do this? [Free Five-Part Framework]

Ah, we’re at my favorite question. Implementation.

How does an agency start offering Messenger chatbot services to their clients?

I suggest this five-part framework.

1. Select a chatbot building platform like Customers.ai. It’s free.
2. Learn how to use it. Creating chatbots for your own agency is the perfect starting point.
3. Set a price point for chatbot creation, which could be as simple as your hourly rate.
4. Set an ongoing retainer fee for chatbot service. The ongoing chatbot service may include optimization, reporting, etc.
5. Offer this shiny chatbot service product to existing clients.

This is only a framework. It provides guidance, but the exact process you follow to start offering chatbot services will differ according to how your agency operates.

Um. I have questions. Lots of questions.

That’s fine. Offering a new marketing service, especially an emerging tactic like chatbot technology, can be intimidating. Plus, it requires some careful consideration.

There are five things I suggest for getting your questions answered. Pick one or pick them all. Chances are, you’ll find what you need.

1. VERY IMPORTANT: Sign up for the Agency Growth Accelerator. This is a full-day summit that tells agencies how to scale big time using a medley of tactics, chatbots included. Free tickets available here.
2. Start using Customers.ai. It’s free, so you have nothing to lose. Getting into the product will answer a lot of questions.
3. Learn about the Customers.ai agency plan. We’ve created an exclusive price point for agencies to unleash the full power of Customers.ai for as many clients and Business Pages as they want. Check it out.
4. Purchase a Customers.ai Pro Plan that includes one-on-one consulting sessions with a dedicated account manager. With this plan, you’ll receive as many coaching sessions you want (additional charges may apply) to get bot building support, and answers to all your chatbot questions.
5. Join the Customers.ai Facebook group. Apply to join this closed group, and get deep intel on all the agency chatbot information you’ve been missing out on.

Please, do this now.

Reggie Bradford, the late VP of Oracle delivered a keynote in Prague in 2016. In that keynote, he predicted that the biggest technological innovations in the next few years would be messaging apps and chatbots.

In Bradford’s words, “This wave is about to hit you hard. It’ll knock you back into the sand and force water up your nose. But, if you’re ready, this could be an incredible opportunity.”

A bit dramatic, but yeah, the time is here. The wave has come. (Not sure about the water up your nose, but still.)

Marketing agencies that survive and thrive in the new era of digital innovation are agencies that sell Messenger chatbot services. Marketing agencies that don’t sell Messenger chatbot services may not stand a chance.

Now is the perfect time to get started.

Selling Chatbot Services: Next Steps

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The post Every marketing agency needs to stop everything and sell Messenger chatbot services right now. appeared first on Customers.ai.

Recently, we had a chance to hear from Cat Howell, an expert at agency marketing who’s scaled her own Facebook advertising agency, Eight Loop Social, to a six-figure per month operation.

Cat shared her secrets to scaling using Facebook Messenger ads with lead qualifying bots during the Customers.ai Facebook Ads Virtual Summit in January.

If you read this article, you’re going to learn exactly how Cat gets more qualified leads to her marketing agency, and how you can too:

1. How to create a custom funnel for your agency.
2. How to use messenger marketing to get more agency clients.
3. The actual funnels and Customers.ai bot template that Cat Howell created to grow her own business!

Cat lays it out in a step-by-step way, and even provides the actual Facebook bot template that she uses. Just read on.

There’s 7 more actionable Facebook marketing sessions coming to a screen near you next week at the next Customers.ai marketing summit.

Be sure to sign up to join us live for the free Customers.ai Facebook Messenger Marketing Summit on March 27!

The Marketing Agency Conundrum: How to Generate and Convert High-Quality Leads

First, who is this information for?

In a word, agencies. A more nuanced definition is marketing agencies in the service sector.

Here are a few real-life examples:

• A solopreneur selling SEO services to chiropractors.
• A ten-person business that provides full-service PPC for SaaS accounting businesses.
• Someone who builds Messenger bots for small businesses that are already advertising on Facebook.

What Cat came to realize, she said, is that a lot — a lot — of agencies have two big painful questions— 1) how can I generate clients, and 2) how can I convert those clients?

In other words, “I WANT MORE BUSINESS!”

What if you knew the solution to that problem? You’d probably be excited.

At Cat Howell’s agency, Eight Loop Social, she has solved this problem.

Ready for show and tell?

This is a screenshot of a typical campaign that Eight Loop Social ran recently:

Here’s a closeup on that bottom-line number:

$122 per action is good. Because we’re not talking about flimsy, unqualified, untargeted leads here. We’re talking about clients who will bring in potentially $2-5k.

This achievement didn’t come without some serious hard work and years (yes, years) of testing, imposter syndrome feels, and some lean times.

So, here’s what we’re going to show you:

1. The funnel Cat’s agency uses to generate clients
2. The sales process for converting those clients

Each of these two points is essential, because unless you’re successfully converting those leads into customers, you’re wasting a lot of money.

Facebook advertising is essential.

If you’re not already using Facebook advertising to generate leads you’re missing out on a big opportunity.

Cat says she stumbled across this about two and a half years ago. At the time, there was no one that was really using direct funnels to generate business for their Facebook advertising agencies.

Before she designed this solution for lead gen through Facebook Ads, Cat says she felt like such an imposter.

“I was thinking to myself, I’m supposed to be a Facebook marketer and I’m selling services to clients where I’m going to get them clients. I’m going to get them customers and leads and yet, I can’t do it for my own agency.”

That’s when she put her head down to try to figure out how to make ads work for agency lead generation.

As she worked on it, these points occurred to her regarding Facebook advertising. She shared them for all of our benefit.

1. There is a huge variety of Facebook funnels that can bring leads into an agency.
2. For most businesses, the ideal customer is already on Facebook. (Yes, even you, agency-who-thinks-you’re-in-a-freaky-weird-off-the-charts niche.)
3. Facebook offers the lowest CPM (cost per thousand impressions) out of any advertising platform.

So, here’s the deal. Facebook advertising is the starting point.

Now, let’s take a look at the exact funnel Eight Loop Social uses to slash their cost per lead, increase their conversion rate, and successfully qualify a lead through to a paying customer.

Facebook Advertising Funnel Overview

Before you rush off to whip up some creative or ad copy, you must possess 100% clarity on these two points:

1. What is your niche?
2. Who is your ideal customer?

Marketing basics, yeah, but marketing essentials, especially if you’re going to start printing money by attracting high-paying clients like you want to do.

In order for the examples below to make sense, understand who is Cat’s niche and ideal customer:

1. Niche: High-ticket in-person business events. Think mastermind events and high-level networking meetings.
2. Ideal customer: Stressed-out event planners with huge overhead costs and who need to quickly sell all those very expensive tickets without losing their minds. (Rather specific, no?)

So, once you have clarity on the essentials, it’s time to create your Facebook ad.

They started off with a Facebook Messenger ad that looked like this:

And they used long-form direct response-style ad copy for the ad.

Why? Three reasons:

• First, she wanted to create an emotional connection with her target customer,
• Second, she wanted to identify with her target customer’s pain.
• Third, she wanted to make sure that only my target customers were clicking through. (Save on ad spend, duh.)

Through a long and storied history of creating Facebook ads, nearly all of Cat’s best clients have come to Eight Loop Social as a result of long-form ad copy.

Here is an overview of the funnel Cat uses:

Four basic phases. One beautiful conclusion.

Facebook Messenger Bot Overview

While the first phase in the funnel is the Facebook ad, the second phase in that funnel is the Facebook Messenger bot.

The Messenger bot sequence is one of the most critical phases in the entire funnel. A lead cannot get to the call-booking phase (money!) unless she has successfully qualified herself in the bot.

Here’s the Facebook Messenger marketing bot flow:

This funnel looks pretty sterile and boring, but the real magic of bots happens with the conversational flow.

When you actually experience it in Messenger (and you can give Cat’s agency lead bot a spin here) it feels a lot more graceful and humanlike.

You can use Facebook Messenger bots for all kinds of reasons. And one of the major reasons she uses them is to qualify superb quality leads.

Cat is targeting high-potential leads only — people who are desperate, and can easily be closed and onboarded.

Messenger bots are perfect for doing this.

Here are some of the qualifying questions she asks through the bot:

• Have you run Facebook ads before? “We’ll work with anyone, regardless of the experience with Facebook ads, but we do want to have a sense of what we’re dealing with,” Cat said.
• How much revenue per month are you looking to generate? “This is the most important qualifying question. I want to make sure that my clients want to generate enough money to pay my agency’s management fee and plenty of ad spend,” Cat said.
• Can you clarify if you have a working funnel in place? “Once again, answering no to this question won’t disqualify the lead. It’s simply important that our agency understand what kind of education or resources we will need to leverage on behalf of the client,” Cat said.
• Are you ready to invest? “We’ll accept the ‘YAAAASS’ leads and the ‘Depends’ leads, but we won’t waste our time on people who are unable invest at the moment,” she adds.

All these squeaky-clean qualified leads pass the segmenting questions in the bot, and then Cat presents them with my calendar to schedule a time.

Boom.

Let the leads come pouring forth.

How to Create the Lead Funnel Bot in Customers.ai

Want to create this very same funnel?

Cat already made it for you!

To use it, follow these four steps.

Step 1

From the dashboard, expand the “More Chatbots (Advanced)” section and click the button to Create New Chatbot.

Step 2

Name your bot and click the option to start a bot from a template. Pick “Cat Howell’s Agency Bot” from the drop-down of templates.

Step 3

From the bot builder, customize your bot welcome page with some text and any other content widgets you might want (you might use your logo, photo or a GIF). The welcome dialogue is the first thing a new user sees when they message your bot from your Facebook pages.

Review the rest of the dialogues to see where you might personalize and customize other messages of the bot.

Step 4

From Settings, toggle the chatbot status to Active to turn on your bot.

That’s it. You’re ready to roll.

What about decent leads that don’t ultimately qualify?

Pro tip: Cat’s insistent that only high-quality leads make it to her calendar.

But what about all the others that fall off along the way? She cares about them, too.

Early on, though, she says she had no idea what to do with them. She would show them a page that would say, “Hey, thanks. I’ll be in touch with you soon if it’s a good fit.”

She was too busy to deal, and she wanted her business to make a buck.

But she figured out that there’s a better way than just booting them into oblivion.

Facebook groups, baby.

You can monetize even leads who don’t qualify (yet).

At the end of the qualifying questions, instead of directing the lead to a calendar scheduling page, she sends them a nice message like this:

Hey, thank you so much. It looks like at this stage, we might not be quite a great fit, but I share regular resources, tips and training on how to make your ads successful, etc.

And then she gets them into her Facebook Ad Hacks community (or adds them to a list or an audience).

Maybe in six months they’ll be your perfect customer.

She’s intent on nurturing all leads that come through her pipeline, because you never know what kind of awesome potential can come from them. Perhaps you have an audience that will eventually buy an online course, purchase a resource, or in time, become a conventional client.

What about crappy leads?

So, someone may follow this funnel template and tips, but you’re still getting crappy leads. It happens.

So what do you do?

Keep in mind that Facebook is a data machine. Machines don’t necessarily know a good lead from a bad lead. They have to be taught.

Most of the time, marketers blindly use demographic data as the criteria creation.

Facebook’s data machine learns by understanding who’s triggering the event or objective that you’re optimizing for in the funnel. The more it does this, the better it gets. It’s like the machine is saying, “Ah, this is the type of person that’s triggering this event. Let me go and target and find more of this.”

What if all those leads are crap? You might change the targeting or test different variations.

But none of these fix the issue.

Why? Because you’re optimizing for the same event. Facebook is finding targets predicated on the event you’re optimizing for.

So what do you do to change the influx of worthless leads?

You change the objective of your campaign.

It’s like retraining Facebook all over again. Essentially, you’re saying, “No, I don’t want any more of these people that have triggered this lead event. I’m going to use a new event in my funnel and I’m going to start from scratch.”

This takes a bit more work, but it’s the only real way that Cat says will keep Facebook from shoveling over all those bad leads. It starts by changing the event.

3 Tips: Making Your Facebook Ads Even Better

Facebook is a data machine. Once you begin experimenting with different ads, creatives, and targeting, you’ll begin to sense the absolute power of this data and be able to leverage it in your advertising.

Here are Cat Howell’s three tips for making your Facebook ads better than ever.

• Dynamic creative. Dynamic creative is Facebook’s solution to find high-performing ad combinations and placements. You can select up to ten images (or videos) and five copy variations (body, text, title, description, and CTA). Dynamic creative is an outstanding way to learn what works best with your particular audience.
• Rapid fire testing. Whenever she’s testing a new funnel or working with a client who’s a newbie to Facebook advertising, she implements rapid fire testing. Testing things sequentially and quickly allows her to validate concepts and funnels. Before you waste a lot of money on a dud funnel, test as quickly as possible. She can typically perform this process with as little as $100 in as few as 3 days. The best way to employ rapid fire testing is to do so with dynamic creative.
• Retargeting. Anyone who makes it to the middle or bottom of your funnel without converting should be retargeted. They’ve shown promise, but they haven’t pulled the trigger. Retarget them using a different funnel, and again, test different concepts using dynamic creative.

Most agencies aren’t interested in stagnant growth. Then again, most agencies have a problem with finding ideal clients.

By implementing Facebook ads with click-to-Messenger ad campaigns, and qualifying leads through a Messenger bot, finding these clients is far easier than ever before.

Important Next Steps

Cat Howell dropped crazy actionable Facebook Messenger marketing ad hacks in her Customers.ai summit session.

The next Customers.ai virtual summit is Wed., March 27, and we’re anticipating another action-rich educational event teaching step-by-step playbooks to grow your business with Facebook Messenger and chat marketing – all actionable, all proven.

We’ve invited 7 of the best Facebook Messenger marketers to teach how they do it through sessions like:

• Larry Kim’s 7 Essential Facebook Messenger Marketing Fundamentals
• Psychological Principles of Persuasion: Designing Your Bots for Human Beings & Conversions with Isaac Rudansky, best-selling Udemy instructor
• 5 Real-World Case Studies of Facebook Messenger Ads & Bots + BONUS Advanced Reporting Deep Dive! with Samir ElKamouny of Fetch & Funnel Agency
• Facebook Advertisers’ Field Guide to Messenger Marketing: 15 Recipes You Can Use Today with Virginia Nussey
• Advanced Facebook Messenger Integration Made Easy with Daniel Golder
• Baby Got Bot: How to Nail Lovable Brand Personality in a Bot with Kelly Noble Mirabella
• How to Scale Your Agency Business with Bot Building Services with Andrew Warner of Bot Academy

View the live summit agenda here and reserve your free ticket. Limited spots are available and admission is FREE for a limited time.

Join the +3,000 Facebook marketers who are fueling up to launch their clients and businesses into the next communication era.

Get your free ticket for the Customers.ai Facebook Messenger Marketing Virtual Summit here today. 

Important Next Steps

• Sign up for Customers.ai and build your first Facebook Messenger chatbot today — for free!
• Sign up for occasional Facebook Messenger Marketing tips via Facebook Messenger.
• Get your free ticket to the Facebook Messenger Marketing Virtual Summit live on March 27 to learn the chat marketing strategies, tactics and tools for the most engaging new marketing channel.

The post How to Scale Your Agency with a Lead-Qualifying Facebook Messenger Bot — A Tactical How-to & Bot Template from Cat Howell appeared first on Customers.ai.

Watch the replay of the webinar “How to Turn Your Agency into a Unicorn with Chat Marketing” hosted by Customers.ai in partnership with Fetch & Funnel, social ad agency HQed in Boston.

Larry Kim and Samir ElKamouny present actionable strategies and case studies on how to get more clients, grow your monthly retainer and increase client retention by offering chatbot marketing services! ???

Get the slides from the webinar here. Don’t forget to:

• Sign up for your Customers.ai Team plan before Friday to save big on your first three months.
• Enter the contest to win a free custom chatbot built by Samir’s team at Fetch & Funnel. Enter by messaging “Customers.ai” here.
• Check out Customers.ai Affiliates and earn revenue share for new customers you refer!

This article sums up the presentation including 3 real-world strategies to get more customers through Facebook Ads and Messenger bots.

You’ll see:

• How to use Facebook ads that send to Messenger — a Facebook ad type that accelerates purchases and create a funnel to drive future sales at a fraction of the cost of other traditional Facebook ad objectives.
• How to get more leads with contact list growth tools like the Facebook post autoresponder.
• And how to close more sales faster with a product recommendation bot on a website.

These tactics work for all kinds of businesses.

Chapter 1: Grow Your Messenger List

• Step 1: Develop a click-to-Messenger ad campaign
• Step 2: Build your lead capture bot
• Step 3: Chat blast your list at the right time

Chapter 2: Fix Ecommerce Ads with Messenger Bots

• Step 4: Eliminate purchase roadblocks with chatbots
• Step 5: Reduce cart abandonment with coupon bots

Chapter 3: Build a 3-Step Messenger Funnel

• Step 6: Capture interest with a Facebook post autoresponder
• Step 7: Keep leads engaged with drip campaigns
• Step 8: Segment your list with attributes

This guide will help you understand three easy, real-world strategies to get more customers for your clients using a free chatbot or upgraded Facebook Ads with Messenger bots.

Chapter 1: Cultivate a Massive Facebook Messenger List That You Can Leverage at the Right Time for Unicorn Sales

In this chapter, we’ll walk through a three-step process of building a massive Messenger contact list, a lead capture bot, and then how to leverage it at the right time for big sales.

Using this strategy, bot agency Fetch & Funnel generated 20,000 Messenger contact opt-ins in a single month. The cost was only $0.80 per lead!

Here is how to do it yourself.

Step 1. Develop a click-to-Messenger ad campaign

Click-to-Messenger ads work because there’s less friction than traditional traffic to landing page ads.

People can simply type their email quickly in a chatbot instead of filling out an entire form that takes them off the platform.

Chatbots are also interactive, so you’re able to leverage that initial connection to then easily guide them through your funnel.

Here is what a send-to-messenger ad looks like in action:

Displaying on your News Feed, instead of clicking to go to a website, you get directed instantly into Messenger conversations with the brand.

From here, they can start a detailed conversation with your chatbot based on how you customize it for the ad:

To create a Messenger ad like this, head to the Facebook Business Manager and create a new ad based on the Messages goal:

For your audience, target a custom audience, like users who have recently engaged with your business:

This will ensure the highest conversion rates possible by targeting people who are more aware of your brand.

Lastly, make sure that your call to action for the Messenger ad is selected on “Send Message”:

Once you’ve hit this step, it’s time to build your lead capture bot on Customers.ai so that you can utilize it within this Messenger ad!

Say goodbye to donkey Facebook Ads and hello to that lovely unicorn! ?

Step 2. Build your lead capture bot to generate leads