Paying for your Agency's expertise

The problem with targeting businesses that do under $1M:

Budget

Here's the thing...

Remarkable results are expensive to deliver.

And there are just some things you can't (or shouldn't) automate, like client intimacy.

An example:

Home service business "X" makes $200,000 per year.

They invest 10% in marketing.

The $1,666.67 per month needs to cover:

• Website

• PPC spend

• Social Media ads

• Content Marketing

• SEO

• Organic Social

• Reputation Management

• Listings

• Reporting

• Strategy

• Account Management

...and so on 

So, unless you run your agency like a Swiss watch, think twice before targeting a vertical that does < $1M on average.

Have a great weekend!

CQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does targeting businesses under $1M in revenue create budget problems for agencies?

Because remarkable results are expensive to deliver, and there are things, like client intimacy, that can't or shouldn't be automated. A small marketing budget struggles to cover everything needed to actually produce great results.

What does the math actually look like for a business making $200,000 a year?

Investing 10% in marketing gives about $1,666.67 a month, which needs to cover website, PPC spend, social media ads, content marketing, SEO, organic social, reputation management, listings, reporting, strategy, and account management.

Why is client intimacy specifically hard to deliver on a small budget?

Because it can't be fully automated. Genuine, high-touch relationship management requires real time and attention, which becomes harder to justify economically when the total available budget is this small.

What would it take to actually make sub-$1M clients work profitably?

Running the agency "like a Swiss watch," extremely efficient systems and processes, since the thin budget leaves little room for anything but tightly optimized delivery.

What's the practical takeaway before targeting a vertical averaging under $1M in revenue?

Think twice. Unless the agency's systems are efficient enough to deliver real results on a thin budget, this kind of vertical often creates more strain than it's worth.