Does your agency struggle with an identity crisis? Do you find it challenging to stay up-to-date with current trends? We're in a space that is constantly changing and agencies who adapt and use the tools around them are the ones who survive.

In today's episode, we discuss:

#1 Benefit of adapting to the market.
How your agency can stay up-to-date with market trends.
Finding the right tools to help your agency be more efficient.

Today I sat down with John Wolffe, owner of Jennco, a digital ad agency out of Pennsylvania. John has worn a lot of hats throughout his career, and like many of us fell into agency ownership. Though he initially started out as a consultant, he somehow found himself doing work in a field he knew nothing about — pay per click. John leveraged this new skill and launched a successful digital agency. Take a listen to find out what John learned and how he was able to find success by learning to adapt.

#1 Benefit of Adapting to the Market

We all start our agency with a certain vision in mind — where we see ourselves in the future. This is important and what I like to refer to as your True North — what guides you. But while it's important to have a direction, it's also important to be flexible. Adapting to the market will allow your agency to grow and help you find new opportunities.

The agency space is constantly changing. John recalled a story where he was at a conference and a speaker referred to a technology "Way back in 2017." Even now, 2017 doesn't seem too far away, but in the agency space, it can make all the difference. It's important to keep up with technology, pay attention to trends, and reinvent yourself if the circumstances call for it. For John, this took him into a realm he never thought he'd end up — PPC.

How Your Agency Can Stay Up-to-date with Market Trends

It's easy to say you need to be able to adapt and stay current with market trends, but how do you actually do it? John says a few things have helped him along the way:

Laser focus. You have to stay focused. Keep your ear to the ground. Pay attention and learn. If you're not paying attention, you're going to get left behind.
Go to conferences. How many conference invitations do you get every year? How many times do you actually go? Conferences are not only a great networking opportunity, but they are also a great way to stay up-to-date with what is going on in marketing trends, software, and technology.

Finding the Right Tools to Help Your Agency be More Efficient

When you run an agency, the best way to grow is finding ways to be efficient. The key is to find the right tools that work for you. John says the one tool that has worked really well for him is WordStream. There are two key functions John has really gotten a lot out of:

The 20-minute work week. The 20-minute work week is a function within WordStream which analyzes all the big tasks at your agency and hones in on the areas you need to focus on. Rather than spending hours mulling over data and strategies, WordStream does the majority of the work and sends you a report with actionable items you can easily digest in 20 minutes.
Keywords: Keywords are everything. But do you know which keywords are most effective? You can spend all day (or all month) tinkering with keywords and then leave out the most important one. WordStream scours through the data and makes sure you're covered on all bases.

It's important to leverage the technology that exists around you. John found that with WordStream, he could scale his agency and drive growth for his clients. A win-win!

The agency space is one of those worlds where if you're not always on your feet, you will get left behind. But when you focus in, stay up-to-day, and use the tools around you, you're only setting yourself up for success.

How the Right Tools Can Help Your Agency Adapt and Grow

Smart Agency Masterclass with Jason Swenk: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies