TL;DR

• We're live with a new agency pulse check survey.​
• We just published our latest (free) Digital Agency Industry Report, which serves as our primer on the industry.
• The key takeaway is that the industry has matured, and this changes how leaders need to approach it.
• A new episode of Agency Mythbusters is out!
• ​Register for my session at AmpUp where I'll run through the top trends reshaping digital agencies.

New Survey: How's everyone feeling?

We’re running a quick 11-question pulse-check survey to learn how digital agency leaders feel about their business going into summer.

We'll share insights like:

• Which services and industries are seeing the strongest demand.
• How confident other agency leaders are about their growth prospects.
• The biggest opportunities agencies are focused on right now.

Take the quick survey and help us paint a clearer picture of where the industry is heading.

New Report: 2025 Digital Agency Industry Report

We’re excited to share the latest version of our industry report, designed to help agency teams create even better growth strategies!

Here's the executive summary:

The digital agency industry in 2025 is a crowded, maturing sector where macro forces play as much of a role as strategic or operational excellence in determining the winners and losers.

Agencies that adapt their offerings, sharpen their positioning, and build repeatable revenue engines are pulling ahead, while those standing still fall behind.

The overwhelming majority of agencies now identify as specialists (84%), signaling that broad-based generalist positioning is no longer viable. Even among the specialists, those that fail to articulate how their specialization delivers superior value will struggle to maintain pricing power or customer loyalty.

The firms growing fastest are those that make strategic shifts. Agencies that expanded services grew 9.7% in 2024, and those that repositioned their offerings grew 8%. In contrast, agencies that made no changes grew just 1.1%.

Services like mobile app development, UX/UI, and even standard web design are declining, while newer or resurgent categories like AI integration, SEO, and content marketing are on the rise. Agencies that haven’t realigned their services risk commoditization.

Most agencies still depend on referrals, which are high-trust but low-control. The average firm spends just 7% of revenue on marketing and sales. Passive referrals aren’t a growth strategy. Agencies seeking sustained growth must build structured go-to-market systems that attract, qualify, and convert demand, especially as competition intensifies and differentiation blurs.

Growth now depends less on being capable and more on being valuably different. Agencies that clarify their positioning, adjust their offerings in response to structural market shifts, and invest in scalable growth engines will outperform. Those that continue to conflate execution with strategy will be stuck fighting over shrinking margins and increasingly undifferentiated work.

New Episode of Agency Mythbusters: Mo Clients = Mo Money?

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Join me at AmpUp 2025 in May

I’ve spent the last year analyzing where digital agencies are headed and, more importantly, why some are thriving while others are stalling out. Join me at AmpUp 2025 hosted by GatherUp, where I’ll share the biggest trends reshaping agency models, margins, and mindset.