How Do Agencies Actually Grow When The Market Gets Tough?

Every January, the same question comes up in conversations with agency leaders.

How do we grow this year?

It’s a fair question. And a difficult one.

The last couple of years have been challenging for agencies of all shapes and sizes, and there’s little sign that the market is about to suddenly become easier.

Client budgets remain tight. Procurement is more involved. Decision-making takes longer. Competition for briefs is intense. Pricing pressure is constant. And pipeline visibility often feels uncertain at best.

In that environment, simply “doing more business development” rarely solves the problem. More outreach, more proposals, more pitches - without a change in approach - tends to create activity, not momentum.

When markets tighten, tactics matter less than fundamentals.

The agencies that continue to win work and build sustainable growth tend to share a common characteristic: clarity.

They are clear about who they serve, what they solve, and why a client should choose them over anyone else. That clarity shows up everywhere - in how they talk about themselves, how they qualify opportunities, how they price, and how they sell.

By contrast, many agencies drift into a broad, generalist positioning. They target too many sectors, try to appeal to too many buyer types, and describe their offer in terms of services rather than outcomes. The result is messaging that sounds similar to everyone else’s, sales conversations that default to capability lists, and pitches that struggle to stand out.

Target Client

This is usually the first thing to unlock.

Agencies that perform well in tougher markets are deliberate about who they pursue. They understand the industries they want to work in, the types of businesses they can genuinely help, and the specific problems they are best equipped to solve.

That focus allows them to build relevance, credibility and repeatability, rather than constantly reinventing their pitch for every new opportunity.

Proposition and Messaging

Once you know your ICP, your proposition and messaging can become much sharper.

Strong agencies talk less about deliverables and more about outcomes. They connect what they do to commercial impact - growth, efficiency, differentiation, risk reduction - not just campaigns, websites or content.

This reframes conversations away from cost and towards value, which is essential when budgets are under pressure.

Marketing and New Business Process

This is another differentiator.

High-performing agencies tend to treat sales and marketing as a jointly-managed system, not an ad hoc effort. They have defined stages from first conversation through to close. They understand where deals stall. They track win rates as closely as lead volumes.

And they invest in consultative selling capability so that conversations are led with insight and challenge, not just response to a brief.

Over time, these elements create something most agencies aspire to but few achieve: a repeatable sales and marketing engine. Not dependent on one rainmaker or campaign. Not reliant on last-minute pitching. But built on focus, structure, and consistent execution.

Standing Out In The Market

None of this is easy. It often requires stepping back, questioning long-held assumptions, and changing how leadership teams think about growth. And a Fractional CMO with agency experience can help.

But in a market that isn’t going to suddenly become more generous, evolving your approach is the only real lever available.

Sustainable agency growth rarely comes from working harder. It comes from getting clearer, more focused, and more commercially disciplined.

And that work usually starts with one honest question:

From a client's perspective, are we genuinely easy to choose?