Is Your Marketing a 3/10? If So, You're Not Alone, and You're Missing Out.
How would you rate your agency’s marketing? Go on - give it a score out of ten.
If you're like most digital agency owners, the number that popped into your head was low. Three out of ten, maybe. Maybe even lower. And you’re not alone. We’ve asked over 450 agencies the same question. Nearly all of them (443, to be precise) gave themselves a 3 or lower.
Only seven cracked a 7 or higher.
That’s not just bad - that’s a pandemic of underperformance. And here’s the kicker: most of these agencies know they should be doing marketing. They know it’s important. They even try it. Briefly. Then it doesn’t “work,” and they quit.
Which leads to the real question: if everyone’s failing at agency marketing, what would it take for you to win?
Let’s break this down with a practical model - because “try harder” isn’t a strategy.
The Real Problem: You’re Expecting Marketing to Work Like Referrals
Most agencies are addicted to referrals and inbound leads. It's not hard to see why. When a juicy opportunity lands in your inbox without lifting a finger, it's validating. It reinforces the (false) belief that good work markets itself.
But let’s be honest: that belief only works when business is coming in. When it slows - or stops - the panic sets in. And by then, it’s too late to build a marketing engine from scratch.
Why this happens:
Marketing feels like hard work with no short-term reward.
Agencies expect immediate ROI and lose steam when it doesn’t arrive.
Leaders prioritise client work over their own pipeline-building efforts.
There’s a perception that “good” agencies don’t need to self-promote.
The result? Most agencies are invisible until someone happens to refer them. That’s not strategy. That’s hope with a calendar.
The Competitive Advantage of Simply Showing Up
Here’s a radical idea: just by doing consistent marketing, you’re already in the top 1%.
No exaggeration. If 99% of your competitors aren’t doing it well - or at all - then being the one that shows up, repeatedly and professionally, gives you an edge. A big one.
I run this exercise at workshops. Ask a room of agency leaders to raise their hands if they’d score their marketing above a 7. Nothing. Silence.
Ask if they’re at a 4 or below? Every hand goes up.
That moment - when they realise they’re not alone in neglecting their own marketing - is powerful. But what’s more powerful is realising the opportunity: there’s open space at the top of the marketing ladder, just waiting for someone to climb it.
The Framework: Three Shifts to Fix Your Marketing (and Keep It Fixed)
This isn’t about tips and tactics. You don’t need another LinkedIn “growth hack.” What you need is a shift - in mindset, in behaviour, and in systems.
Here are the three shifts we see working again and again:
1. Shift from Campaigns to Commitment
Marketing isn’t a campaign. It’s a commitment. The agencies that win aren’t the ones who run one email series or one webinar - they’re the ones who show up again and again, even when no one’s clapping.
For example: One agency we work with - 150 staff, £200M in overall agency fees over the years - does all the things: outbound, inbound, awards, partnerships, email, events, account growth. But the magic isn’t in any one channel. It’s in their consistency.
They know that today’s leads are the result of marketing done 9 months ago. Not 9 days.
If you only remember one thing: short-term marketing = luck. Long-term marketing = results.
2. Shift from Perfection to Progress
The number one killer of agency marketing? Perfectionism. You want the perfect message, the perfect funnel, the perfect brand.
Meanwhile, the agencies getting traction are the ones who are out there - messy, evolving, human.
If you wait until it’s perfect, you’ll never launch. And even if you did, your audience would scroll past, thinking “meh, another polished agency saying polished things.”
What cuts through now is realness. Relevance. Resonance. Something that shows you're thinking and trying - not hiding behind case studies from 2019.
3. Shift from Selling to Serving
This one’s subtle but critical. Most agency marketing is thinly veiled sales content. That’s why it doesn’t work. Clients are too smart - too busy - to bite.
But when your marketing genuinely helps them solve a problem, or rethink a challenge, or ask better questions - suddenly you’re relevant.
The goal isn’t to talk about how great your agency is. The goal is to demonstrate how you think. That’s what earns trust.
The simple test: If your content was anonymous, would someone still want to read it?
But What If It Doesn’t Work?
You might be thinking, “We tried marketing before. It didn’t work.”
Let’s talk about that.
Short-term failure is not evidence of long-term futility. It’s often just a mismatch between message, medium, and momentum.
Also, timing matters. Only 3% of any market is ready to buy at any one time. That means your message - no matter how good - will fall flat with 97% of people if you only say it once.
But if you say it again, and again, and again? You’ll be the one they remember when they’re ready.
The Cost of Inaction
Doing no marketing feels safe - especially when you’ve got enough leads trickling in.
But it’s not safe. It’s risky. Because when the referral tap dries up - and it will - you’re left with no pipeline, no awareness, and no momentum.
Here’s what happens:
You take on work you shouldn’t.
You discount fees to “keep the lights on.”
You lose your positioning and start sounding like everyone else.
All because you didn’t build marketing muscle when times were good.
Final Thoughts: Show Up Like It Matters - Because It Does
Marketing is hard. It takes guts to put your ideas out there, especially when the payoff is months away. But that’s exactly why most agencies don’t do it - and why you should.
There’s no secret sauce. Just discipline, curiosity, and the willingness to look like a beginner for a while.
Start now. Stay consistent. Don’t expect applause right away. But trust that the effort will compound.
The agencies who win aren’t the ones with the slickest decks or the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who refuse to be invisible.
So - what’s your marketing score out of 10?
And more importantly: what are you doing this quarter to move it up by one?
Want to chat about it? Email me on Janusz@gyda.co
