TL;DR

• ​We're presenting our latest research on how agencies can increase client lifetime value with Tucows OpenSRS on 11/20!​
• Last call for our Future of Web survey! Participate before it closes EOD Friday. (Delphi members, be sure to use your Delphi link from this morning's email)
• GatherUp hired us to do an independent study on the ROI potential of reputation management. We evaluated 91 digital agencies and benchmarked them against our industry standards to create a financial model that quantifies the impact of offering agency-managed reputation management. I'll be discussing our findings with Alexia on Thursday, 11/13.​
• We presented our Delphi 4Q25 Agency Pulse findings recently and shared five key takeaways for agency leaders.
• Volatility remains high. Keep operations flexible and pad your cash reserves to ride out any surprises.
• Double down on current clients. With new business still shaky, focus on retaining and expanding the accounts you have.
• Pipelines are thawing. Don’t ease off marketing, keep feeding your top and mid-funnel so your team gets enough late-stage deals to work with.
• Flexibility is a core strategy. Many shops now rely more on contractors, trading a bit of margin for agility.
• Reposition lagging services. If your core offerings (e.g., mobile dev or basic design) are slow, pivot toward faster-growing services or industries.

Maximizing Client Lifetime Value

Join us as we present our latest research on how agencies can increase their client lifetime value.

We're hosting a webinar with Tucows OpenSRS on 11/20 at 11a ET.

Last Call - Future of Web Survey

We’re digging into how agencies’ approach to web dev/design is changing, and we’d love your input. Participate before it closes EOD Friday. (Delphi members, be sure to use your Delphi link from this morning's email)

Independent ROI Study

GatherUp hired us to do an independent study on the ROI potential of reputation management. We evaluated 91 digital agencies and benchmarked them against our industry standards to create a financial model that quantifies the impact of offering agency-managed reputation management.

I'll be discussing our findings with Alexia on Thursday, 11/13.

Actionable Research

We presented our Delphi 4Q25 Agency Pulse findings recently and shared five key takeaways for agency leaders.

Usually, these are only available to Delphi members, but we wanted to share this first one with everyone.

There are a ton of moving pieces in the market and a fair bit of uncertainty.

This is making it difficult for agency leaders to confidently plan for 2026, and it’s leaving a significant portion of the market stagnant. In this environment, stagnant doesn’t do well.

So after learning more about what agency leaders are seeing out there, we put together five key takeaways to help leaders make more effective decisions about what to do in the coming year.

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Adapting to Volatility

After a rocky year, we’re finally seeing some cautious optimism in the agency world. Over 60% of agency leaders expect Q4 to outperform Q3, and some report business has “picked up quite a bit” compared to mid-year, as once-frozen pipelines have begun to thaw.

However, volatility isn’t over.

Many leaders remain tentative, wary of slow sales cycles and budget-conscious buyers, and they’re still bracing for more economic bumps ahead.

Overall, it’s a mixed bag: glimmers of improvement with plenty of caution.

The best way to deal with volatility is to avoid being boxed into any specific path. You really want to have several high-quality options and levers to pull.

Higher cash reserves typically enhance that optionality.

We saw this at the height of Covid when cash reserves at agencies ballooned to 12 months of OpEx, while they historically hold closer to 4 months of OpEx in cash. When you’re not worried about next month’s payroll, you can make better long-term decisions. Cash also acts as a shock absorber and makes experimenting possible.

In volatile conditions, liquidity = resilience.

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Retention & Expansion

When new deals are hard to come by, your current clients are gold. In Q4, agencies are finding that growth is coming primarily from existing accounts (upsells, cross-sells, and renewals) rather than new logos. After all, a satisfied client who already trusts you is far more likely to green-light extra work than a cold prospect.

Double down on keeping these relationships strong.

Practically, this means spending more time and attention on your clients.

Ensure your team delivers excellent results and communicates the value clearly. Proactively identify new challenges you can solve or additional services that will benefit them. Even a modest account expansion or project extension can help offset the drought in new business.

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Funnel Activity

Earlier in 2025, many agencies saw their pipelines dry up as deals stalled for months or failed to materialize.

By Q4, there are signs of a gradual thaw:

Leaders are hopeful for a stronger finish to the year. This is encouraging, but it’s no reason to hit the brakes on outreach. This is a spot that typically gets cut first but that’ll only hurt the optionality we talked about earlier.

Instead, double down on the revgen paths that have historically been most efficient, referrals.

We’ve seen shops succeed specifically by expanding their top and mid-funnel referral activity.

Top for awareness. Does the referrer know you exist?

Mid for engagement. Are you regularly engaging with referral sources?

This work can carry a shop through an uneven economic environment and prepare it to grow rapidly as things settle.

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Operational Flexibility

One of the biggest shifts has been how agencies manage their workforce. The blended team with a lean core staff plus a network of contractors has expanded beyond the big shops and is now a mainstream strategy.

Cultivating a roster of freelancers, or smaller specialist agencies, gives you on-demand capacity without a long-term payroll commitment.

This allows agencies to continue selling new work, especially major projects, without impacting cash flow.

Contractors used to cost much more per hour, but we’ve seen instances where this delta has shrunk significantly in recent years. The traditional margin tradeoff isn’t as much of a tradeoff these days.

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Repositioning

Finally, take a hard look at what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to.

Not all digital services (or client industries) are growing equally. For example, basic mobile app development or generalized design work has become commoditized. If a big chunk of your revenue is tied up in offerings that clients now consider lower priority, it’s time to reposition.

Many agencies are finding new opportunities by shifting into faster-growing tech niches or targeting different markets.

Our Delphi data shows robust demand in finance/real estate, healthcare, and tech/AI sectors, while retail/e-commerce, higher ed, and nonprofits are softer.

Those who expanded or shifted their services have historically enjoyed much better growth than those who stood still. So be honest about what’s lagging and be willing to place some new bets. It might require re-training, hiring, or partnering to build up new capabilities, but standing still is riskier.

In a dynamic market like this one, adaptable agencies win.

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Stay Proactive & Nimble

The common thread across these points is staying proactive and nimble. Most agencies are relatively small, use this to your advantage.

Agencies that remain flexible, focus on fundamentals, and adapt to clients’ evolving needs are the ones coming out ahead.

There’s a lot we can’t control (the economy, client budget panic, the next AI fad, etc.), but there are some key moves leaders can make to set themselves up for a solid 2026. The biggest thing is to act. I know now's the time when many leadership teams are putting the final touches on their 2026 plans, but shops must get these in motion quickly. It's too easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis and miss opportunities.

Until next time!

- Nick