Written By Danielle Fauteaux
Ft. Ryan Masuga, founder of Masuga Design & Shopmode Digital
At the start of his agency, Ryan Masuga had new clients come in the door continuously through referrals and luck. Now, 16 years later, it’s not as easy to find new clients. Marketing and sales have not always been easy for him as an introvert. Tune in to hear how Ryan overcame these challenges and launched a new brand alongside his existing agency.
In this episode of RecalibrAgency, Ryan and I discuss:
- Marketing and sales strategies for introverted agency owners.
- How to deal with failures and pivots.
- Advice for agencies who are positioning themselves on top of a tool.
In This Episode
[00:22] Meet Ryan Masuga.
[01:31] Ryan shares the most significant challenge he had when getting into web design, marketing, and agency life in general.
[02:37] The key to effective marketing and sales for introverts is….
[03:59] Ryan’s approach to consistently getting marketing and sales done for his agency.
[06:42] Pivots in the journey of Masuga Design.
[09:11] Does failing make you a failure?
[12:59] What elements from 16 years in agency life Ryan is taking into his new business.
[15:00] Advice for agencies who are positioning themselves on top of a tool, SaaS, or platform.
[16:56] The value of interviewing your clients.
[22:35] What it looks like for digital agencies to compete for new clients in 2006 vs. in 2022 and beyond.
[25:34] Tips for when you don’t have a lot of content marketing for your agency.
[26:57] Final advice: never take your foot off the marketing gas.
Key Takeaways
I want to call out a couple of things to keep in mind as you move forward today.
First, sell yourself, not the tools that you build on. It’s easy to position yourself as a solutions provider for a specific platform, but you need to be careful because platforms change, tools change, and people’s preferences change.
You want to focus on building up an audience that you’re an expert for so that you can adapt your offerings to serve your customers as businesses, and you can continue to change as the times call for.
The second key takeaway is to make sure that you are identifying marketing expenses versus marketing investments and making sure that you’re actually taking steps to move your marketing forward instead of procrastinating.
Ryan brought up a great point that it’s easy to buy a course, to feel like you’re doing something to move your business forward. In reality, you’re just procrastinating. Instead, try to find the time to move forward, overcome that imposter syndrome, overcome the battles that are raging inside you about what you should and shouldn’t do, and just do something. Done is better than perfect, and you’ll have more outcomes once you start moving forward than if you stay where you are right now.
Building a successful marketing agency takes grit, a focus on your value, and sometimes a *loving* kick in the pants.
Needing an ally as you achieve your long-term goals?
I’d be happy to help.
