The Wow Company launches annual agency benchmarking research
Creative industries accountancy firm, The Wow Company, has launched the latest round of its annual agency benchmarking research and is now inviting agency owners and directors to get involved by completing their simple online questionnaire.
The Wow Company has been compiling the Benchmarking Report annually for the last four years and the findings of the research highlight key performance indicators in terms of agency profit, cash flow and growth, along with many more insights into how agencies are performing overall.
Last year's results showed a buoyant industry, with 96% of agencies planning on increasing revenues, with 15% of these planning on growing by more than 50%. Profitability continued to be harder to come by, with only 12% of small to medium sized independent agencies making a net profit margin of more than 31%. 2015 was also a big year for recruitment, with 68% of agencies hiring in the year, which made an already competitive talent pool even more highly sought after.
The Wow research also showed that the average hourly agency charge-out rate was £86 in 2015. That figure is expected to rise once the results from this year’s survey are revealed, particularly as last year’s research showed that 51% of agencies were planning on increasing their rates during the year.
Another area that The Wow Company’s research explored was how good, or bad, agencies were at charging clients for ‘extras’. The findings showed that agencies were split almost 50/50 on whether agencies should actually bill clients for the extra services that they often supply in addition to delivering on their brief. What was interesting though was that those that did charge for extras made, on average, 10% more net profit than those that didn't charge for extras.
Speaking of this year’s research, Peter Czapp of The Wow Company said: “We're really excited to see this year's results, as we take a look at how quickly agencies are growing, how much they get paid (and how quickly), what agencies really think about pitching, as well as exploring topics such as technology, pricing and some of the biggest challenges & opportunities facing agencies today."
You can see the full findings from last year’s research here, or you can view The Wow Company's webinar commentary.
To take part in this year’s research, which means you will be in line to receive advance notification of this year’s findings, simply click here.