Mumbai: WWW changed how we communicate and share information and laid the groundwork for many new business sectors, including online marketing. Indian companies have transitioned from traditional methods to modern digital tactics to connect and engage with prospective and current customers innovatively. And, digital marketing agencies help businesses navigate the evolving digital landscape and achieve their marketing goals.

Many digital marketing agencies have been founded in recent years to tap the potential of India being the second-largest online market globally. The digital market industry of India was valued at USD 3.93 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 19.27 billion by 2028 (Source: Express Market Research-Indian Digital Marketing Market Share, Size, Growth, Analysis). As per Crunchbase, around 4000 digital marketing agencies are operating in India and have cumulatively gained a total funding of $838.8M (Source: Crunchbase–India Digital Marketing Companies 2023.

But with increased opportunity comes increased competition and complexity, and starting up a new marketing agency demands immense effort and time--more than just the excitement of anticipating a market share. Many marketing enthusiasts start out excited but eventually give up in the face of  challenging obstacles.

Many challenges crop up when creating a new digital marketing agency in a highly saturated market.

The biggest challenge is stirring visibility and reputation in the market. Clients often want to see the work of digital marketing agencies to understand the agency’s expertise, creativity, and ability to deliver results before deciding to work with them. With zero reputation in the market, it is pretty challenging to onboard clients. Not to forget, it is not only about acquiring clients but winning and retaining them, too.  

While founders might have strong networks and relationships with business professionals, clients would want to zero in on what the agency can offer instead of the founder’s reputation.

Additionally, limited funds, lack of talent , and other resources aggravate this challenge as they are pressured to deliver measurable results with limited resources.

When it comes to mainstream problems, consistently working hard is frequently not the answer.

Nevertheless, agencies can embark on the right path to success with a correct strategic approach.

Every agency claims to deliver tangible results–more customers and sales. How can a new digital marketing agency stand out? Here, the agency should dig into what its competitors are not offering. Since customers always want something fresh and unique, they should focus on value-added tasks that give customers beyond link building and sales, increasing client satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals.

Having said that, agencies can encourage value addition by looping together people and technology.

People: Digital marketing is incomplete with data. With abundant data availability, hiring professionals with strong data analytical skills who can quickly interpret complex data sets, churn insights, and create actionable recommendations have a competitive advantage. Additionally, they should be able to communicate these insights effectively to clients, making excellent communications skills and adopting a personalized client management approach necessary.

Technology: Along with these skills, deploying a reliable performance marketing tracking partner can be the difference between success and failure for digital marketing agencies. By automating repetitive tasks, marketing agencies can free up their teams to focus on more strategic and creative work, reduce the time and effort required to execute campaigns, and save costs while delivering better client results.

Agencies that invest in talent and technology can differentiate themselves from their competitors, build stronger relationships with clients, and ultimately, deliver more value to them.  

With plenty of tools available to choose from, marketing agencies should give serious consideration when selecting the right performance marketing platform.

First and most important should be automation. Automation of campaign optimization and data driven insights  automates repetitive tasks, fostering productivity, quality consistency, and transparent processes. For example, gaining greater accessibility to performance metrics, which allow marketers and partners to see tracking and revenue numbers in real-time..

Besides price and value for money, a strong support team that works proactively can help digital marketing agencies get the most out of the platform and ensure that any issues are resolved quickly and effectively.  

An easy-to-use platform that is accessible to all members can improve collaboration and help ensure that everyone is on the same page, leading to more effective campaigns and better results.

Plus, the team should not have to spend much time learning how to use the platform. An easy onboarding process is critical to ensure that users can quickly and efficiently get started with the platform, providing quick wins that demonstrate the platform’s value. With the easy-to-use interface, users can quickly access the key performance metrics and data that are most important to them. A well-designed and intuitive dashboard gives users  the insights to make data-driven decisions and optimize marketing campaigns and automation sequences for better results.

But real-time analytics and reporting are essential for new digital marketing agencies to beat the competition. For instance, the innovative analytics and reporting tools in the market provide easy drag-and-drop action to get all the data users need, sort and filter combinations, managing billions of events within seconds. With faster access and analysis of data available in intuitive reports,  marketers no longer have to go through huge excel sheets of data, saving time and fostering precision. Agencies can send the reports directly through the platform to customers and partners hassle-free and efficiently.

While new marketing agencies may have limited resources, choosing an innovative tracking partner as well as focusing on a highly skilled talent pool, and being flexible and adaptable are all crucial factors for success. By staying ahead of the curve and embracing innovation, digital marketing agencies in India can augment the impact of their work and help businesses achieve their marketing goals in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

The author of this article is Swaarm CEO & co-founder Yogeeta Chainani.