Case study
How this small business 4x-ed their prices in a competitive market with rising AI
Industry
Digital Marketing
Size
Nationwide team of 10
Pricing
$1,500- 8,000 per project
Growth
Avg project price grew from $2K to $8K in 2 months
“Rahib helped us package our services into a unique offer. It turned out wonderfully!.”
– Juan | CEO | Kobe Digital
The Challenge
Clients didn’t understand why his agency deserves to charge more than other agencies
- High competition and difficulty standing out
- High market skepticism and long sales cycles
- Rising cost of customer acquisition
After five years of running his marketing agency, Juan felt stuck.
The digital marketing world is crowded and noisy. Services have become commoditized, and prices are very competitive.
Meanwhile, rising ad prices are wiping away his profit margins.
Juan has been burning 2-3K/month on FB ads and cold email over the last 3 months. But this only got him a few cheap clients. And a lot of regret over time wasted.
We kept getting no shows or small companies with no money. And a lot of them come in with an idea of …’I can run ads myself, why does it cost so much?
Juan felt he needed to optimize his ads so he could lower his cost of acquisition.
In the meantime the margins are slim and so he needs more clients fast. With rising costs, he must sometimes accept work he wouldn’t otherwise want.
Juan felt invisible.
There’s nothing worse than a marketing firm that can’t find clients. How can clients trust you to find them customers if you can’t find your own? It’s a matter of professional pride.
Juan’s goal is to get to $1M revenue. He knows he’s as good a marketer as any other. He deserves to work with international brands, household names. He deserves to charge higher margins for his work.
Juan has good reviews, and even some media mentions. But his agency was simply not getting the level of recognition he wanted.
Common Misconceptions
Common Misconceptions
1. Our USP is we are a one-stop-shop
We need to add more services and offer everything the client needs to maximize CLV. Services are competitive so we can’t let the clients go anywhere else.
2. We need to lower costs to grow
We need cheaper people to do the work, and lower CPC so we can reach more people with our budget
3. We need 10x more clients to make 10x more revenue
Margins are trending down in the industry, but the economy is growing. So we just need to do more volume.
The Solution
The Solution
Use what you do differently to charge your worth
- Position as a solution to a critical problem
- Stand out (and raise prices) with your unique process
- Speak your client’s language
The real challenge was marketing services are commoditized. This caps the prices agencies can charge.
But ambitious business owners know they need above average marketing. After all, only 3 in 10 startups survive past 5 years, and only 1 in 10 of those get to 6 figures.
So we needed to differentiate Juan from all the other agencies, and prove their chances of success were higher with Kobe Digital.
With that in mind…
Step 1 - Stand Out To The Right Clients
We first analyzed Juan’s best clients and results from the last 5 years.
We then refocused Juan’s message to focus on achieving a specific outcome (7 figure revenue).
And we narrowed it to a specific kind of business (ecommerce) facing specific challenges (rising costs and competition).
This is still quite generic, as lots of agencies could make a similar claim. So next, we focused on standing out with the “how”.
We helped Juan craft an ethos that immediately sets him apart from competitors. And it helps potential clients visualize a better future – the promise land that no other agency (of this type) is talking about.
Step 2 - Reframe Beliefs Through Process
Standing out only helps you get more attention. So the next step was to increase perceived value.
We dug deeper into Juan’s process and reframed his deliverables. Instead of tacticals like SEO and FB ads, we helped him focus on the bigger picture – sustainable brand growth.
We then helped him break down how each part works, the real value each brings, and why ecommerce brands need all three to succeed.
Doing so positioned Juan as a long term partner in the client’s mind (not just another vendor). This raises the client’s commitment level.
They start viewing the relationship on a longer tenure, with a higher value than they would with other digital marketing agencies.
Luckily, Juan already had great case studies to share. By tailoring case studies to specific parts of his process, Juan was able to overcome client skepticism faster.
And just like that, the client’s idea of what this service should cost skyrockets. Charging 3-5x higher becomes that much easier, because the client is expecting it.
In fact, if you charge any less at this point, most reasonable people would question your ability to deliver. A higher price is more believable.
Step 3 - Be Empathetic, Stay Relatable
The final step is getting the sale, and getting it fast.
We wanted potential clients to feel Juan’s solution was tailor made for them. So we analyzed his best clients to find common beliefs and aspirations.
This let Juan speak directly to his clients and cut through the noise. They felt Juan truly SAW them.
This reassured them further. Clearly Juan knows how to overcome their current challenges and avoid the situations they’re afraid of.
RESULTS
Average project price grew to $8K
Juan re-positioned as an expert in B2C ecommerce, and started attracting better clients.
Average project price grew from $2K to $8K in only 2 months.
He’s making significantly higher margins on every contract, even though the market is still just as ‘commoditized’.
Juan succeeded because he differentiated, and created the conditions for ideal clients to find him.
And you? Are you happy to keep selling a commoditized service at competitive prices? Or are you ready to take the next step like Juan?
Juan Galvan
CEO
Kobe Digital
Kobe Digital
“This is the guy you pick when you need RESULTS”
I needed help with a B2B funnel, so I turned to Rahib. He helped us package our services into a unique offer. It turned out wonderfully! If you are a B2B business and want to make your sales pitch and or offer stand out from the crowd, then he is your guy
Want to DOUBLE your Bottom line?
You have 2 choices…
The “Hustle” Way
- Work twice the hours …
- Spend twice as much on ads …
- Cross both your fingers …
With the "Get Better Clients Program"
- Stand out to high-ticket clients…
- (... and earn 3-5x more on every sale)
For B2B Service and Consulting Companies who are tired of see-sawing between “swamped” and “starving”
