How to diversify your agency’s services

They’re looking for quality and reliability, and that’s not something you can find overnight.

However, quality alone isn’t enough. Clients can find a top-notch freelancer in a heartbeat — so why do they need your agency?

Enter diversification.

Diversification refers to the strategic expansion of an agency’s range of services or offerings to cater to a broader client base. It involves broadening the scope of services and venturing into complementary areas.

Clients want a partner they can trust to deliver and bring a unique combination of skills and value. They don’t want to worry about hiring a handful of individuals to get a project done — they want to partner with an agency with all the talent and know-how they need to get the job done (and do it well).

Below, we’ll walk you through the different ways to diversify and expand your offerings, without affecting quality. 

Invest in your team’s expertise

Your team’s expertise isn’t just a metric to put on your website — it’s your brand’s promise. It’s what clients invest in, trust, and return for.

When competing with another agency for a client, and your offerings and cost estimates are nearly the same, clients will look at these two things: expertise and portfolio. Here’s some ways you can invest in your team, and subsequently, your business. 

Continuous training and upskilling

The digital landscape is in perpetual motion, with new tools, techniques, and trends emerging practically every day. To stay ahead, you’ll need to invest in continuous training and upskilling. This enhances service delivery and reinforces your agency’s commitment to excellence.

Here are some ways to keep your team sharp:

However, having expertise is just the first step. Next, you’ll need to market it.

Highlight expertise with case studies

One of the most compelling ways to showcase expertise is through tangible results. Curate a portfolio of case studies that spotlight your agency’s challenging projects.

Need some inspiration? Check out our collection of customer stories or browse through our responsive agency templates.

Detail the problem, the solution, and the impact while telling a narrative that emphasizes your team’s capabilities. These real-world examples demonstrate your agency’s potential, presenting to clients what they can expect.

Tip: You want clients to read your case studies and think, “I want them to do that for me.” Once you accomplish that, you’ve mastered the art of case studies.

How to innovate and differentiate services

It’s not just about offering services — it’s about providing services that stand out, resonate, and deliver unparalleled value. For example, many agencies might offer SEO or content marketing services, but what can your agency do to go above and beyond?

Can you use better tools? Can you streamline processes? Can you use emerging tactics and techniques? Can you get ahead of trends instead of helping businesses just keep up?

Here are some ideas for how your agency can keep its offerings innovative and differentiated:

Stay ahead of industry shifts

The digital realm is ever-evolving, with new trends, technologies, and consumer behaviors emerging at a rapid pace. What’s hot yesterday might be old and outdated tomorrow.

Your agency needs to be proactive (but never reactive) to stay relevant. Research trends, attend industry events, and engage with leaders to learn what might be coming over the horizon. Anticipate change, and offer that value to your clients.

Good resources for this include: 

Visual trends:

Intersection of business and design: 

Daily news sites and email newsletters

Daily inspiration

Innovate with your client in mind

Remember, all your client cares about in this situation is their business. How are you going to help them be more successful? You unlock true innovation when you understand your client’s needs (better than they do) and can offer tailor-made solutions.

Even when nothing immediately requires it, always take advantage of feedback sessions, client surveys, and open conversations to uncover insights into what your current roster of clients truly value. Once you know what your clients want, you can customize and develop your solutions to make the perfect match. An added benefit of this is being able to attract even more clients with similar needs. 

Explore new service avenues

Don’t wait for your client to ask you about a new service — offer emerging new tactics and best practices to them during regular follow-up calls. Talk to them about trends you’re seeing, and explain to them that you have the expertise and know-how to help them become early adopters.

That might mean experimenting with new formats or integrating technologies.

How to strategically diversify your offerings 

Diversifying might sound contrary to our introduction discussion around finding a niche, but they actually go hand in hand. While you want to target a specific niche and offer a refined list of services (rather than everything under the sun), it’s important to diversify your offerings to better align with your agency’s strengths and vision, as well as market demand.

First, you need to understand if the when, why, and how are right:

When, why, and how to diversify service offerings

Diversification takes time and intention. It requires introspection, market analysis, and a clear understanding of your agency’s long-term vision. Key indicators that it might be time to diversify include:

• A saturated market for current services
• Emerging trends or technologies that align with the agency’s expertise
• Client demand for additional or complementary services
• Opportunities to cross-sell or up-sell, enhancing client lifetime value

Diversification can be a lot of work, but it comes with a suite of benefits:

• Reaching new markets: Diversification can open doors to entirely new client segments, geographies, or industries, expanding your agency’s client base.
• Mitigating risks: By not putting all your eggs in one basket, your agency can weather industry downturns or shifts more effectively. If one service faces a slump, others can compensate.
• Enhancing revenue streams: New services can unlock additional revenue streams, boosting your bottom line. A broader service suite can increase client retention as they find more solutions under one roof.

When and why to diversify your agency might be obvious, but the how can be a bit more elusive. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Leverage your strengths

While exploring new avenues, it’s important to play to your agency’s existing strengths. For instance, a design-centric agency (like Barrel) might consider diversifying into UX consulting or interactive design, building on its foundational design expertise. And a content marketing agency might add email writing and copywriting services.

Launch pilot programs and betas

Before fully launching a new service, consider rolling out pilot programs or beta offerings. This allows you to test the waters, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments. It’s a risk-mitigated approach to diversification, ensuring that it’s optimized for success when the service is fully launched.

Make strategic acquisitions

Acquisitions involve purchasing another company to expand or diversify your service offerings. Strategic acquisitions can provide instant access to new markets, technologies, or expertise without building from scratch. It’s a fast-track approach to diversification, but it requires careful due diligence to maintain alignment regarding culture, values, and business goals.

Maintain quality assurance

In the pursuit of diversification and expansion, one element remains non-negotiable: quality. As your agency broadens its horizons, it’ll be a challenge to maintain the integrity of every service (old or new). Here are a few ways you can preserve your gold-star standard of excellence as you diversify and grow:

• Standardized processes: Implement consistent procedures across all services to guarantee every project meets high standards, minimizing errors and oversights.
• Regular training and skill upgrades: Invest in continuous training and certifications to keep the team updated with the latest best practices to deliver top-tier services.
• Feedback mechanisms: Establish robust feedback loops to gather internal and client feedback, allowing continuous service improvement.
• Quality checks and audits: Conduct periodic evaluations, such as design reviews or code audits, to confirm outputs align with your agency’s quality benchmarks.
• Peer reviews: Encourage team members to review each other’s work. A fresh pair of eyes can often catch errors or areas of improvement that the original creator might overlook.
• KPIs and metrics: Establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics for quality. Regularly measuring against these can provide insights into areas that need attention.
• Post-project analysis: After completing a project, conduct a retrospective analysis to identify what went well and areas of improvement. This can provide actionable insights for future projects.
• Dedicated QA team: Consider having a dedicated Quality Assurance team or personnel whose primary responsibility is to ensure the quality of deliverables across projects.

Scale and grow your agency 

Diversifying your agency services is just one step in the overall process of scaling and growing your agency effectively. To learn more, check our our recent articles on successful agency networking, how to find your agency’s niche, effective agency marketing, and how to build an agency that’s made to last.