Developing an agency of any type is always challenging. Dealing with a weak economy and the rise of AI means that business owners have to think more laterally to expand or even stand still in a difficult landscape.
What are the challenges?
The last few months have been the quietest in several years. I’m putting that down to a combination of economic uncertainty combined with increasing use of AI. Many businesses seem to need a little more convincing that marketing is a valuable investment, particularly when their own markets are less buoyant. When they do come to invest in marketing, I’m finding that budgets are smaller and there’s less demand for ongoing work. I’m hearing similar things from other agency owners and freelancers.
There is also the ongoing challenge of clients delaying payment. It’s tiresome, particularly when you’re running a small business and managing cash flow carefully. One thing that’s helped is invoicing either in part or in full before a project starts. It felt awkward at first, but I’ve never had a client object and it means I’m not left out of pocket.
Does being a woman entrepreneur help or hinder your business?
If I’m honest, I found it harder to be an employee! I worried more about raising my hand and standing up for myself in case I lost my job. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m a woman, but I do know that I was once referred to as ‘a difficult woman’ by an employer because I challenged leadership on several issues, notably gender pay equity, which cemented my decision to resign.
Conversely, as a business owner, I’m better at standing up for myself and challenging clients. Ultimately, they’re paying for my expertise and skills. If I go along with whatever they want, they won’t benefit from my experience or get the best results.
Of course, I do think some business owners expect women to charge less, be more accommodating and take on tasks outside their remit. I have had instances where I’ve been treated like a PA, where I’m expected to organise things or take minutes in a room full of men – none of which are marketing tasks. Those people often find that I’m too busy to take on a second project with them though!
How are you dealing with AI?
On the positive side, it’s helping me to be more efficient and it’s great for interrogating concepts and ideas.
However, as I mentioned before, things have been a bit quieter recently. I can’t prove that it’s because of AI, but I do suspect that many businesses are experimenting with it because it’s cheaper to use in-house than commissioning an agency.
And that’s fine – just be aware of the limitations. AI will do what you ask it to. But if you don’t know anything about marketing, how will you brief the AI? Can you tell whether it’s doing a good job? Does the article it produced sound just like your competitors’ articles?
I recently had a client send me some blogs for editing and they were clearly AI generated. They needed to be completely rewritten because they added nothing to the conversation and failed to show why my client was the go-to choice in their market. So, in some respects, I suppose I am getting work because of AI!
The benefits of a human touch
But I’m also seeing more clients approach me for work they don’t trust AI to handle – conducting interviews that drill into a business’s expertise, writing case studies about their services and technical content that needs precision. Those are the sorts of clients I want to work with – people who value originality, creativity and skill and are prepared to invest in it. As a result, I have faith that more and more businesses will start to see that and return to human marketers in the months and years ahead.
I suppose what I’m saying is that AI is a tool, and a useful one, but it still needs human judgement. It doesn’t know your business, your customers or the experiences and expertise that make you different. For me, that’s where the value of a good marketer still lies: asking the right questions, spotting what matters and turning it into something worth reading.
