Rachel Jacobs 🇺🇦’s Post

I posted recently about a worrying trend I've noticed with agencies and less than a week later and I'm seeing further signs of trouble ahead... I'm in the process of contracting and onboarding agencies for 2025, and despite accounting for churn I've noticed a significant drop off with a specific profile of agency who are uncomfortable committing just $2k for an annual community membership fee. Almost all of these agencies are between $1.5-3m annual revenue. Interestingly agencies below $1.5m are growing 20-30% YoY with an average 15-20% profit margin, and agencies above $3m are more motivated than ever to invest in growth - with an increasing focus on M&A (which is great for me!) Ironically these agencies are all saying the same thing: we're ending the year soft, we don't have a strong pipeline going into 2025 and need to pull back on non-essential costs to manage cash flow until we're financially stable. But, what does that say about the agencies in that $1.5-3m range? It tells me they didn’t hit the growth they expected in 2024, likely as a result of being too reliant on referrals/word-of-mouth and it’s very probable we’ll start seeing layoffs in the coming months. So, what’s the solution? It’s not all cutting costs - that’s only a short-term fix. Instead, agencies in this position need to refocus their efforts and double down on well thought out growth strategies. If you're an agency in a similar position, here’s what I'd recommend you focus on in the 1st half of the year to ensure a stronger 2nd half: ➣ Build sales channels Instead of pulling back, it's time to refine your sales processes and actually build consistent pipelines. Diversify your lead generation channels by combining inbound marketing, targeted outbound efforts and an intentional partnerships strategy that is reciprocal for both parties. ➣ Find your niche If I've said this one, I've said it a million times - now is the time to niches! As the expression goes, the riches are in the niches! Trying to serve everyone is not an effective strategy. Instead, focus on key industries where your agency has proven expertise so you can be the go-to partner for a specific audience. ➣ Account based marketing (ABM) When done correctly, ABM is responsible for some of the biggest wins for many agencies. Build tailored campaigns for high-value prospects, by aligning marketing and sales to create personalised strategies to win larger accounts. Now isn’t the time to retreat; it’s the time to reposition, refocus, and be intentional about the growth of your agency. Be smart about where you invest your resources, both internally (team and time) and externally (budgets). And for the love of God - work with people who have a proven track record of solving these problems and please stop wasting money on outbound teams who promise wildly unrealistic results with zero industry experience! Any other advice you'd give to agencies in this position? #ecommerce #agency #agencygrowth #business