Case study: more clients for a marketing company

Every business owner will face and overcome different hurdles on their journey, but it doesn’t matter how we get there, we all want to achieve the same thing: we want our businesses to grow, make a profit, and give us a better lifestyle.

However, as the years go by, often the reality of working harder for less money sets in, among other issues like having less time to spend with family.

As a business coach, I have helped countless business owners realise their ambitions. Here is one such story and how I helped a marketing company find their sweet spot as well as more clients.

1. The business

Husband and wife team, Andrew and Sarah, had been running their marketing agency for around ten years, focusing on marketing campaigns and graphic design for their clients. They were doing well but just like any other business they were always looking for more clients and new projects.

They had worked with a business coach previously whose advice included telling them they needed to rent office space if they were to appear truly professional and attend lots of networking events in order to get more business.

2. The problem

• They were paying a lot of money for the office for just the two of them.
• Both of them were introverts and didn’t like the networking side of business; they felt uncomfortable (which meant they didn’t shine) and it took up a lot of their time as well.
• They weren’t getting any results from networking.
• The combination of high office costs and not enough clients put them under a lot of pressure.

Overall, they had numerous financial worries that were putting a strain on their business and they had lost some of their love for it as a result.

3. The ideal position

After talking to Andrew and Sarah, I quickly realised they worked well together as a team and produced fantastic work as a partnership. They also had an extremely loyal client base which is something every business owner aspires to, but they were exhausted from attending networking events they didn’t enjoy. 

Together we explored what they really wanted, which included: 

• Working from home, where they already had enough space
• Reaching potential new clients without networking

4. The solution

Firstly, it’s important to remember that it’s not for business coaches to tell people what they should do. With Andrew and Sarah, I listened to what they wanted to achieve before offering a solution. 

I always advise people to look at what is working, or has worked best for them in the past. That’s why the first aspect of their business we explored was where their best customers came from. 

They quickly realised it was from referrals; either from people they had done business with before or people they had worked with in previous jobs. 

I suggested they could get back in touch with those people, perhaps taking them out for lunch and catching up about what they were now doing for current clients and life in general, send a thank you gift or set up a meeting. 

The second aspect we looked at was why they needed to pay for office space. As you can imagine, the solution was already clear in their minds without me even needing to suggest it.

5. The results

Within four weeks, Andrew and Sarah had picked up five new clients just by reaching out to people they had worked with before. Some of these clients engaged in new projects while others made referrals, just as we had hoped. 

Andrew and Sarah also ditched their office, where they never saw their own customers anyway, and set up a home office space. Not only did this serve them well when Covid-19 struck, it saved them money, made them happy and allowed them to be at home with their beloved dogs too.  

Now they were happier in their work environment and had the comfort of new clients, they could also attend business networking once a month. Because they were more relaxed, they had the energy to shine and make a great first impression. 

If you like Andrew and Sarah feel like you are doing things you are not enjoying and need to create a consistent working practice to help you get results, having sessions with a non-prescriptive business coach like me can give you clarity and confidence to make changes to help lead you towards a happy and successful business life. 

Disclaimer: Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.