Owner-founders and leaders of design agencies:

For those that may be falling into the trap of narrowing your field of exploration to mostly sharing stories, thoughts and latest project news across Linkedin, Twitter, etc, in the hope a prospective new client will get in touch…

Having clearly defined client- and project-fit profiles will give you clarity, foundations, a benchmark and fresh impetus for understanding and then shaping your outbound communications, marketing collateral, talks, thought pieces, presentations, etc. Think carefully about what the criteria for your perfect client- and project-fit profiles look like….we can help here. Shaping these profiles for your agency will not only inform proactive outreach towards prospective new clients but it will support efficient handling of inbound enquiries and, potentially, it can further enable clear expression of company positioning.

In all your communications, focus explicitly on how and where you add value. Challenge your proposition-making. Be honest with yourself and critical of the thinking behind your outbound comms and marketing collateral. Is it authentic, compelling, etc? Above all, ensure your outreach is relevant to or, better still, about your audiences and prospective new clients. Familiarise yourself with their worlds and briefly share an observation, a thought or an idea early in your communications as this is absolutely key to gaining their attention.

Consider carefully and be clear about where you fit in, and communicate this before you say anything about your firm and how special it may be. Do this, and you give yourself the best chance of being rewarded.

Stretch and test your thinking. Seek reassurances from your close network. Make adjustments where necessary before you roll out a marketing campaign or new business initiative.

Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.