A marketing agency with dissatisfied clients is like an expired carrot in a grocery store. Interested shoppers will opt to look elsewhere. 🤷
Agencies need to stay fresh. And, to stay ahead of the curve, every marketing agency worth its salt is investing in technology.
Having established processes in place is essential for ensuring the client experience is a positive one. As we enter 2024, agencies can choose from countless tools that promise to improve their operations.
Continue reading to check out some of the best tools for growing agencies that want smoother operations. They come recommended by experts and agencies in the field.
Define: ‘Operations’
Before we crack on, you must understand what ‘agency operations’ refers to.
Operations are the all-important fabric necessary for agencies to build great client relationships and provide sustained positive results. Done right, operations ensure that all types of tasks within an agency are running smoothly. They should be as efficient as possible throughout the organization to deliver better client outcomes.
Today, many of a company’s processes can be automated by employing various helpful tools.
Why Using the Right Operational Tools is Essential to Every Agency
Agency clients will be displeased if they’re subjected to delayed or sub-par advertising, marketing, or PR deliverables. And, with client expectations at an all-time high, an agency failing to meet them simply won’t last.
According to a PWC survey, 32% of customers would stop working with a brand they loved after one bad experience. Losing valuable business is painful enough. But offering a poor client experience can harm your reputation too, because dissatisfied clients may share their negative experiences with others.
Introducing modern, fit-for-purpose agency tools will help ensure projects run smoother. And smoother processes will result in happier clients.
The right tools will allow changes to be made with confidence and speed, thereby steering projects toward success. Marketing automation tools make operational processes more professional and more efficient. The precious time saved can be spent elsewhere.
Agencies should not be reactive. Intentional, proactive, and professional agency operations will ultimately bring in bigger profits.
Arming yourself with excellent tools is a fantastic way for agencies to get on the front foot. Without further ado, let’s take a look at 14 tools every marketing agency needs to be aware of.
1. Leadsie
Where better to begin than our very own Leadsie? Sure, we may not be 100% objective, but nothing speaks louder than the thousands of marketing agencies who are glad they gave our software a chance.
Leadsie allows agencies to get access to their client’s marketing and social media accounts in just a few clicks. Be done with time wasted on unnecessary video calls explaining access to clients. Instead, one Leadsie link can get an agency access to their client's Facebook and Google assets.
It’s perfect for making the onboarding process hassle-free and ensuring client partnerships continue to run smoothly. With Leadsie’s help, you can personalize your connect requests. Including your logo and brand colors is sure to impress your clients.
Leadsie saves agencies hundreds of hours each month. The easy-to-use marketing software ensures agencies can access their client’s digital assets without causing a fuss, improving operation efficiency and client satisfaction levels.
You can try Leadsie 14 days free, just pop in your email below.
2. Content Snare
It can be a massive headache to get information from clients. Often they won't respond to your requests for weeks, and when they finally do, they send a barrage of 14 emails with one attachment each, some messy Google docs and a logo that's 14px wide.
Content Snare makes this easy. Instead of wrangling content and marketing assets through email, Docs and other systems, collect it all in one place. Automatic reminders keep your clients accountable, and the clean UI provides an amazing & professional experience for your clients.
3. CommentGuard
If you’re managing Facebook or Instagram ads for clients, you’ll know that the social nature of the platform can be a double-edged sword. Comments can turn into social proof that boosts conversions, but comments can also destroy your ad performance and your clients brand reputation.
If not moderated properly, of course. CommentGuard is a software that protects Facebook & Instagram ads, by automatically hiding harmful comments and providing a clear dashboard to like, hide, delete and reply faster than ever before. It uses machine learning to detect toxic, offensive or inappropriate comments in 12 different languages and can filter out comments that contain images, GIFs, links or emojis.
As an agency you can use CommentGuard to view all comments from all the pages you manage in one list, so no more clicking back and forth between multiple inboxes.
4. AirTable
Every successful marketing agency has implemented a system to manage projects and stay organized. The operational side needs to run like a well-oiled machine, and that’s why a tool like AirTable is so valuable. It was launched in 2015 as an innovative reinvention of the archaic spreadsheet that was once revolutionary.
AirTable’s cloud-based platform allows users to customize all their workflows, no matter how many teams, tasks, projects, and goals are running at any one time. It’s a flexible, modern database that can help marketing agencies keep on top of client-project relationships. And what’s more AirTable is simple to use, and their customer service is excellent.
This powerful, user-friendly tool saves time through templates and workflow automation. It will improve company efficiency by helping marketing teams avoid organizational issues.
AirTable is the perfect project management software package for businesses that want to streamline their content marketing and campaign workflow.
Thanks to Kachi Marketing for this submission.
5. Notion
Notion is a comprehensive all-in-one workspace that fosters team collaboration for notes, projects, tasks, databases, and more. It can unify your agency’s work processes and streamline operations. Many agencies count on this popular tool as a hub, both for internal project management and all client-facing work.
Notion is flexible and adaptable, allowing you to create the exact structure you and your clients need. You can choose from countless free templates and allocate them to specific projects with one click. A digital marketing agency can manage all its processes and communications on one custom Notion dashboard.
It’s a brilliant tool to streamline project management and client communications. Put it to work, and it can transform the way your agency works for the better.
Thanks to Agata from Business Ahead for this suggestion!
6. Motion
Not to be confused with Notion, is Motion. This time management platform effortlessly pulls together tasks and meetings alongside routines and personal commitments.
Time is of utmost importance when managing several clients. And Motion is all about efficiency and ensuring you stay on top. Its built-in AI can automatically prioritize tasks, schedule meetings, and resolve calendar conflicts.
Motion’s interface is beautiful and easy to use. It seamlessly integrates with your favorite apps to sync meetings and tasks across all your calendars. And It has plenty of customization options so that you can implement it according to your needs.
Motion is an incredible tool for busy agencies who need to get more done in less time. It boasts many features that help you achieve just that.
7. ClickUp
ClickUp is a project management tool that is rapidly growing in popularity. Their tagline is ‘One app to replace them all,’ and this productivity platform does indeed bring teams, tasks, and tools together in one place.
On ClickUp’s single interface, you can create and organize tasks and to-do lists, assign work to team members, and visualize detailed project information in whatever style you prefer. It’s a fantastic tool for managing work across different clients.
Its broad functionality means you can use ClickUp as a CRM tool. And its excellent time-tracking features will ensure your agency operations are running punctually.
Compared to Asana, ClickUp’s pricing is inexpensive, and you can easily choose from more than 1000 popular integrations, such as Slack, Trello, and Gmail. You’ll struggle to find many better collaboration tools. For marketing agencies looking to improve their operations, ClickUp can help them accomplish their goals faster and more productively.
Thanks to Brendon of Robot Social for the suggestion.
8. CallTrackingMetrics
Are you searching for a consolidated tool for call tracking and analysis? Well, look no further than CallTrackingMetrics. This digital platform enables businesses to track telephone calls and attribute leads to the marketing campaigns that generated them.
By tracking and attributing leads in-depth across many platforms, CallTrackingMetrics gives you all the information you need to make confident, data-backed marketing decisions. No more stabs in the dark trying to get things right while relying on disjointed reporting metrics. Instead, agencies can be privy to real-time insights into campaign effectiveness, lead conversions, landing pages, and ROI.
Their reporting tool is agile and flexible, and they offer digital marketing agencies a vast array of solutions to fit their needs. It’s a great way to prove your worth to clients. With the help of CallTrackingMetrics, you’ll be better equipped to help them revolutionize their marketing campaigns, customer engagement, and communication strategies.
Kudos to StubGroup.com for the suggestion.
9. Zapier
Zapier is an online automation tool that permits end users to integrate all their favorite web applications.
It can be frustrating and time-consuming if you’re using many different apps day-to-day. But Zapier is on hand to effortlessly and seamlessly tie together two or more web apps. Thus ensuring you can take advantage of their different functionalities without wasting time.
Each connection between services is called a Zap. And this popular integrations tool empowers anyone to create automated workflows that send information from one app to another.
You can streamline lead management, client communication and automate repetitive CRM tasks. Zapier will help you save time and stay organized to ensure your processes run as smoothly as possible.
Thanks to digital marketing expert J.P. VanderLinden for the suggestion.
10. Metricool
Founded in 2016, Metricool is the perfect solution for marketing agencies that work on many clients' social media. It helps them to analyze, manage and measure all their digital content.
Its unique set of features can help agencies to unify all their social media and web analytics, improve their social media marketing strategy and plan their content. Metricool is fantastic for managing your many ad campaigns and growing your presence on social media. Marketing agencies can analyze all their social media campaigns in one place.
This analytics tool makes it easy for agencies to review and improve their strategy. Providing clients with exceptional results is essential to the longevity of any marketing agency. And Metricool’s impressive breadth of functions can help you achieve that.
Their predefined templates provide automated, customizable reports featuring valuable information for you and your clients. You can schedule posts in the future or measure your social media performance against your competitors to provide insights on what direction to take your digital strategy.
Marketing teams will not be disappointed by Metricool’s robust platform, and their customer support is second to none. Plus, it can work in tandem with Google Analytics.
Thanks to Kachi Marketing once again for the suggestion.
11. Toggl Track
Inspirational entrepreneur Jim Rohn once astutely said, ‘time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.’
That man spoke the truth, and wasting time because of outdated processes is almost criminal in 2024. That’s why tools like Toggl Track are so valuable. Built for agencies, it’s a time tracking app that frees your company from the administrative burdens that can arise when tracking time.
Toggl Track meticulously sorts your hours, projects, projections, and billables. Invoicing clients becomes much less complicated when you have a clear snapshot of the time spent on each task and project.
Offering a range of pricing plans, Toggl Track is flexible enough to slot into any workflow. And it’s sure to improve your business operations productivity and profitability.
Shout out to Schumachermarketing.com for the suggestion.
12. Storyy
Storyy is a social media marketing tool that can help agencies plan, create, and manage content across all the biggest social platforms.
Internet users aged 16 to 64 spend an average of two hours and 27 minutes on social media each day. Influencers, small businesses, and big brands all need to produce good content on these platforms. But social media management done right takes a lot of hard work and expertise.
That’s where Storyy comes in. Not only will they help you come up with content ideas, but their team is armed with fairy dust to transform raw videos into engaging social media posts. The content creation process becomes easier and less stressful if you call on Storyy. It will save your agency heaps of time that they can spend elsewhere.
In today’s day and age, you’ve got to be putting out high-quality content. And Storyy’s social media know-how will increase engagement and build authority to help drive sales and growth for your business.
13. Slack
Ineffective communication will have a grave impact on an agency’s operations. One study showed that companies with good communication processes are 3.5x more likely to outperform their competitors.
Slack is a workplace collaboration hub and communication tool which has exploded in popularity since its launch in 2009. It brings people and information closer together, whether they’re internal teammates or external clients.
Work flows faster thanks to Slack. It gathers the majority of communication that used to happen via email, text, phone, video calls, in-person chat, and team meetings into one central location. Email can’t compete with the social connection Slack provides. Agencies can add clients to existing channels or invite them and team members to a private dedicated channel.
Teamwork makes the dream work. Simply put, Slack is a tool you can’t ignore if you wish to improve the operational efficiency of your agency.
14. Calendly
Next up is Calendly, an automated scheduling tool that makes the process of finding meeting times easy and hassle-free.
When managing different clients and projects, a disorganized scheduling process will create delays and costly missed connections. And what a chore back-and-forth emails are, endlessly trying to pin down clients and arrange a meeting.
This is where Calendly comes to the rescue. It's able to synchronize many calendars and display your availability in a single location. And you’ll receive instant notifications with the booking details once someone books a meeting with you.
Calendly promises to optimize your schedule and increase productivity. All the while offering an exceptional user experience and inexpensive pricing plans.
15. Google Workspace
Once known as G Suite, Google Workspace is a cloud-based platform that offers effective collaboration and communication tools. It brings together Google’s array of familiar apps, such as Gmail and Google docs. And it adds premium services to create a comprehensive package for growing businesses.
Joining Google Workspace allows team members to optimize how they work and collaborate. It seeks to improve a team’s efficiency and productivity.
Offering safe file sharing strategies, this suite of tools is great if you have multiple people working on a project. And apps like Google Drive, Calendar, and Sites are perfect for managing all your digital marketing campaigns.
Sign up, and your marketing agency will have access to personalized email addresses, extra cloud storage, and video meetings that work on iOS, Android, and all types of devices. Google Workspace is user-friendly and easily integrated. It gives marketing teams a better way to connect, create and collaborate.
16. Instantly
Instantly is an outstanding cold email marketing tool that offers detailed analytics for each of your campaigns. This AI-powered platform will ensure you’re writing emails for clients that are readable and openable.
It’s only natural that you want your campaigns to avoid spam filters. And Instantly’s automated account warmup and smart sending features are designed to improve deliverability and lead response.
By calling upon Instantly, marketing agencies can send thousands of emails every day without damaging their sender reputation. And your team will save endless amounts of time thanks to Instantly’s templates and automation functions for email warmup and follow-up emails.
Their robust analytics tools will give valuable insights into send, open, and reply rates. The results will speak for themselves.
Final Thoughts
When running a marketing agency, you need to excel in many areas. Managing your team, improving your actionable strategic plan, tracking KPIs, juggling projects, driving meaningful outcomes, and creating great relationships with clients takes a whole lot of work.
These 14 tools will increase the efficiency of your agency operations. You'll create better workflows and save valuable time that can be spent elsewhere.
You don’t need to make any permanent decisions today. But we recommend giving these tools a chance to gauge which of them could serve your agency’s long-term goals.
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