What is a Growth Agency? Here’s How to Choose the Right One

Sydney | May 15, 2024

In recent years, the term “growth agency” is gaining prominence—and it’s only going to continue. But what exactly is a growth agency and what does one do? Let’s break it down.

What is a Growth Agency?

A growth agency provides digital marketing services with the primary goal of helping your company grow.

Unlike digital marketing agencies of the past that would specialize in one aspect of digital marketing — such as paid and social advertising or content marketing — digital growth agencies are emerging as jacks of all trades that function at a higher, more holistic level. The best ones specialize in one or two industries that they consistently achieve results for. At Evenbound, that includes industrial manufacturing and construction.

What Does a Growth Agency Do?

Growth agencies take an integrated approach to growing your business. This includes — but is not limited to — support in these areas:

Sales enablement
Marketing and sales alignment (here's a guide to get sales and marketing teams started)
Outbound marketing strategy (including optimized PPC and social media advertising)
Inbound marketing strategy (here's a rundown of inbound marketing basics)
Website design and optimization (which can help you generate more leads)
Account-based management
CRM support (HubSpot is our favorite)

In a nutshell, it's a digital growth agency's job to partner with your sales and marketing teams to generate more qualified leads, nurture those leads effectively, and help you close on the leads you want for strategic, targeted, and holistic company growth.

5 Tips to Choose the Right Digital Growth Agency

An agency that's totally dedicated to your growth sounds pretty great, right? If you're considering hiring a digital growth agency to boost your marketing and sales efforts for company growth, there are a few things to keep in mind during your search.

#1. Industry Experience

A growth agency's job is pretty big. They're focused on growing an entire company that's not their own. There's a lot to remember and to track. To reduce onboarding time and achieve quick results, you should seek a partner that already understands your industry, your target buyers, and the most effective tactics to reach them. The highest-quality growth agencies, including Evenbound, specialize in specific industries so they can offer the best service possible.

#2. Data-driven Approach

Growth agencies should rely on numbers to track progress. First, they should seek data to understand where your company currently stands on its goals. Then, they can collaborate with you to examine those goals, identify new or revised goals if needed, and regularly monitor efforts to achieve them.

Examples of these goals include:

How many leads to achieve in a specific time period
How many of these leads will convert from MQLs to SQLs
And how many of those SQLs will close as customers.

For example, a goal to "grow your business" is not a SMART goal.

#3. Sets Clear Goals

Be wary of general statements like, “We’ll help you grow your company this year.” If this isn’t followed by specific strategy discussions, you might want to keep looking. The best growth agencies offer SMART goals that provide tangible, measurable results.

What does SMART stand for in “SMART goals”?

Specific: It identifies specific metrics (i.e. new leads).
Measurable: It identifies how you’ll track progress (i.e. 30 new leads).
Attainable: It’s realistic in the context of your business (i.e. reference your previous metrics and consider how new efforts can boost them).
Relevant: It aligns with your company’s growth goals.
Timely: It has a specific timeline (i.e. two months).

For example, this could be a SMART goal: Generate 30 new qualified leads in the next two months. As long as it supports the company’s vision, is realistic to achieve, and can be effectively tracked on a CRM or other analytics platform, then it’s good to go!

#4. Proven Strategy

Every growth agency will say their recommended strategy is the best — it just comes with the territory. You have to do the work of making sure their claims are true. If they're not implementing all of the strategies they say they're experts in (website design, content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, case studies, etc.), you might want to keep looking.

How do you vet their claims? First, make sure the agencies you're considering have actual, specific strategies that drive growth. Second, you should look for statistics that prove those results. A growth agency should be able to provide case studies, testimonials, or references from previous clients in your industry. In other words, look for proof that they “walk the walk.”

#5. Partnership Potential

In other words, do your teams jive? A growth agency is more a partner than a contractor. You'll be working closely with them to develop content, strategize ad campaigns, or deploy other tactics that align with your company and its goals. It’ll make your life easier if you like them — or at the very least, feel like you can work with them on a regular basis.

It's not uncommon for companies to talk to two or three growth agencies before settling on the best fit. If you're having trouble choosing between agencies, an initial meeting with each team might help you make the decision. Consider asking who you’ll be working with, the expected meeting cadence, how you’ll communicate with the agency, and what their values are.

Ready to Explore Hiring a Growth Agency?

If you've been considering hiring a growth agency, let's talk. Evenbound delivers specific, measurable growth to clients in industrial manufacturing, construction, and other industries. We’re ready to help your company grow.