Must Have Tools to Start a Marketing Agency

Kris -

Starting your marketing agency can be challenging, but with the right tools, you can streamline your work and make the process more manageable. The marketing world is constantly evolving, and as a marketer, you must keep up with the latest technologies and tools to remain competitive.

This article will discuss several must-have tools to help you start your marketing agency. I'll provide an overview of each tool and how it can benefit your marketing agency.

Slack for communication

The first tool on our list is Slack. Communication is key to delivering results to your clients as a marketing agency. Slack is the perfect tool to manage team communication, especially if your team is remote. 

The software allows for instant messaging, calls, video conferencing, and file sharing, all in one platform. By using Slack, you can reduce the number of internal emails and streamline communication.

Task Management Tool

Task management tools, such as Asana or Trello, are essential to keep track of client projects and internal tasks. These tools allow you to create projects, assign tasks, and track real-time progress. They also allow adding attachments, setting deadlines, and assigning different team members to different tasks. This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and nothing falls through the cracks.

Managing Agency Wide Knowledge and Playbooks

Notion is an all-in-one tool for managing playbooks and other agency-wide knowledge. You can create and share documents, to-do lists, and spreadsheets. It also allows you to link different pages together for easier navigation. Notion is a great way to keep all important information centralized and easy to find.

Google Workspace - Collection of Essential Software

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, is a set of tools that include Gmail, Google Drive, Google Meet, Google Calendar, and other Google apps. It is an essential tool for your marketing agency to manage email communication with clients, schedule meetings, store files, and collaborate on documents. Google Workspace also integrates with a range of other 3rd party tools.

Looker Studio Looker for Building Agency Dashboards

Looker Studio is an efficient data visualization tool that helps you make sense of large and complex data sets. Looker Studio enables you to create custom reports and dashboards and drill down into data for deeper insights. With Looker Studio, you can showcase your data to clients visually stunningly.

Other dashboard tools like Tableau, and Power BI are another option for building client facing dashboards.

Data Pipeline Tools To Manage and Integrate Agency Data

Data pipeline tools can help you easily gather and analyze data from multiple sources. Some popular data pipeline tools include Fivetran, Supermetrics, and Stitch. These tools allow you to pull data from different sources, such as ad platforms, Google Analytics, or Salesforce, into one centralized location. This helps you to more easily analyze data and identify trends.

Software to Enable Agency Website (CMS, Domain, Hosting) 

A successful marketing agency needs to have a professional-looking website. WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix are some of the most common content management systems (CMS) to enable your website. A custom domain name and a reliable hosting provider, such as Bluehost or WP Engine, can also help ensure your website is secure and performs well.

CRM to Manage Sales Pipelines and Client Relationships

A CRM (customer relationship management) tool, such as HubSpot or Salesforce, can help your agency improve sales efficiency and manage client relationships. With a CRM, you can track deals in your sales pipeline, store client contact information, log client interactions, and collaborate across teams. A CRM helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and that you have a consistent, data-driven approach to managing client relationships.

Gusto for HR and Payroll Needs

If you start hiring employees for your marketing agency, you need to handle payroll, benefits, and HR tasks effectively. Gusto helps you to automate payroll, manage employee benefits, and onboard new employees seamlessly. Gusto makes it easier for small businesses to manage their human resources effectively.

Google Voice for Managing Calls

Google Voice is a reliable, affordable phone service that works from any device. You can use Google Voice to make and receive calls and send and receive text messages. It is perfect for small businesses that need a phone service and want to avoid using their phones for business communication.

Because Google Voice supports text messaging, it is a good place to enable MFA or two-factor authentication. Sharing a common email and enabling two-factor authentication with text messages through Google Voice avoids bothering the account admin for code verification. 

Either way, it is a good phone call tool to use before upgrading to the more advanced solution.

Canva for Affordable Graphic Design Needs

Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design tool that makes designing graphics for social media, proposals, and presentations a breeze. It is perfect for small business owners who don't have a design background but still need to create compelling and professional designs.

It is a great tool to support an agency's graphic production needs for various collaterals, including presentation slides, website assets, building ads, logos, creative assets for reports, etc.

LastPass for Password Management

LastPass is a password manager that helps you to store and share passwords securely. With LastPass, you can save time by not having to remember different passwords, and you can secure passwords across your team.

It is a good practice not to manage passwords in spreadsheets. Manage your passwords in a common place before things get too complicated.

Generative AI Tools Like ChatGPT

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT use machine learning algorithms to create human-like responses and generate text. They are particularly useful for customer service, marketing, and content creation.

These tools can help businesses save time and resources by automating tasks such as responding to customer inquiries or generating social media posts. They can also assist with brainstorming ideas and creating unique content.

Marketing agencies would use ChatGPT to create compelling ad copy for their clients, while customer service teams can use it to provide efficient and personalized customer responses. Additionally, content creators can leverage these tools to develop new and fresh ideas for their blog posts or articles.

Starting a marketing agency can be thrilling and daunting, but it can be an exciting journey with the right tools. These tools allow you to streamline your work, manage your clients' projects more efficiently, and make data-driven decisions. You can succeed as a marketing agency owner with the right mindset and tools.

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