The Digital Agency Growth Podcast From Chaos to Clarity: How Top Agencies Are Planning for Uncertainty
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May 20, 2025 Nick Petroski, from Promethean Research, specializes in helping digital agencies thrive amidst uncertainty. He discusses the decline of small agencies, the realistic role of AI, and the rise of contractors impacting profit margins. Petroski emphasizes the necessity of specialization and how GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic may disrupt adjacent markets. He shares insights on behavior changes in health and wellness, urging agency founders to adapt to these shifts and build resilience for future success.
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Challenges of Small Agencies
- Running a digital agency with fewer than 10 employees is extremely challenging because founders juggle delivery, sales, and operations simultaneously.
- Agencies often face a boom-bust cycle where intense sales periods are followed by production focus, leading to exhaustion and the need for growth or exit.
Agency Market Stabilizes After 2023
- 2023 was a difficult year for agencies with tightened budgets and uncertainty.
- 2024 brought stabilization in sales and some growth, but average employee numbers slightly declined as agencies right-sized.
AI Hype Overestimated Initially
- The initial AI hype among agencies has faded as tools proved less mature and harder to integrate.
- Many agencies scaled back AI efforts to avoid diverting energy from revenue generation and processes.