When you initially decided to open your creative agency, did you approach your target market personally to understand the problems that need to be solved? Or did you rely on your own previous experiences or assumptions to get your offer off the ground faster?
No matter how confident you are about the value of your offer, making assumptions can be a costly mistake for any creative agency. If you fail to confirm if your service offering aligns with your target market’s current needs, you are risking time and money on a service that is difficult to sell.
Instead, taking the time to listen to what your prospective clients are saying is the key to curating a service that your dream clients can’t say no to. Introducing a simple outreach strategy is all you need to do to gain the insights you need to give your dream clients what they want.
5 warning signs your current offer is missing the mark
To understand if your service offerings aren’t hitting the mark, you need to be aware of warning signs that indicate things may not be going as smoothly as you thought.
Here are a few key indicators that it's time to re-strategize your offer:
- Despite making changes to your sales pitch and marketing efforts, your conversion rate remains hasn’t improved, indicating a lack of resonance with your target audience.
- You’re signing clients out of desperation who you know aren’t the best fit, but you’re strapped with no other leads in the pipeline.
- You are always stuck negotiating on price, indicating a mismatch between the value perceived by your target market and the pricing structure of your services.
- You’ve started to notice a decline in the quality of leads coming in, which indicates that your service offerings are not resonating with your desired clientele.
- A lack of repeat business or client referrals could mean that your current offerings fail to meet the expectations and needs of your clients.
Leveraging market research for creative agency success
If any of the above warning signs accurately describe the current state of your sales performance, it’s time to get back to basics. Research is a powerful tool you can use to curate an irresistible offer and propel your creative agency ahead of the competition, and there is no better source than the clients themselves.
Taking the time to perform market research interviews can allow you to:
- Gain valuable insights into the preferences, pain points, and needs of your target audience so you can tailor your service offerings to meet their specific demands.
- Identify emerging opportunities and stay ahead of the competition, positioning your agency as an industry leader.
- Validate and refine your ideas before investing significant resources to ensure your service offerings are aligned with market expectations, giving them a higher chance of success.
- Identify unique selling points, differentiators, and value propositions that resonate with your target audience to strengthen your position in the market and make it easier to close deals.
- Craft compelling messages, target the right channels, and refine your approach to maximize conversions and lead generation.
Performing market research is not just a valuable tool for a creative agency struggling to sign enough clients. Any business that wants to stay ahead of the game should make a consistent habit of getting in front of their target audience to understand what their needs are (and not let their biases lead them astray).
Generate valuable data with this #1 outreach strategy
Luckily, you don’t need to design complex surveys or focus groups to collect the insights you need. Instead, all you need is an effective outreach strategy.
First, generate a list of 20-30 contacts that represent the ideal business you want to work with. Then reach out to them using the following approach:
- Start with a Help-Oriented Tone: Begin your message by expressing that you're reaching out for their assistance (so they don’t assume you’re trying to sell them something). Reiterate that you appreciate the value of the expertise and insights they bring to the industry.
- Explain the Research Purpose: Explain that you're conducting research to refine your agency's service offerings and provide the best possible solutions for clients, and the industry as a whole.
- Request a Short Interview: Ask if they have 5-10 minutes to spare for a brief conversation or answer a few questions. Make it clear that their input is crucial and will be greatly appreciated.
Don’t forget - to gather a sufficient sampling of data, it's recommended to send at least 15-20 outreach messages to generate 3-4 informative conversations.
Creating your winning offer
Once you have collected this crucial information from your interviews, it's time to put them into practice. Here are a few suggestions for changes to consider making first:
- Refine Your Target Audience: Just because your offer isn’t right for your current target, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be perfect for someone else. Use your findings to further define and narrow down your target audience. Tailor your offerings to address their specific pain points and preferences.
- Enhance Service Features and Benefits: Maybe you have the right offer but are just spreading the wrong message. Use the feedback you received to improve and expand the features and benefits of your services. Highlight how your offerings directly address the needs and desires of your target market.
- Develop Specialized Offerings: Identify niche areas within your industry that are in high demand but underserved. Use the research insights to develop specialized offerings that cater to these specific market segments.
Gaining Momentum with client-centric insights
When you invest the time and effort to get inside the mind of your dream clients, your will naturally start to gain the momentum you were looking for. Because your client's needs and preferences will never stop changing, continuing to prioritize market research will keep your agency ahead of the competition and solidify your position as a trusted expert toward your dream clients.