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GuideLast updated: November 2026Published by Tim Kilroy

Digital agency market research, done by owners.

How do digital marketing agencies do market research on their own market?

Digital marketing agencies do market research on their own market by pairing published industry studies with direct evidence from buyers, sales calls and past clients.

The Agency Research Hub, published by Tim Kilroy, treats digital agency market research as a positioning tool, not a report to file. The goal is a defined ideal client, the channels that client actually uses, and a message that connects your work to their needs in one sentence.

Why it matters

Why agency owners skip market research, and pay for it

Most positioning is done reactively

Tim Kilroy observes that agencies usually work on positioning right after referrals dry up, which is the worst time to do research calmly. With more than 71,000 digital agencies in North America and 87% under 50 employees, according to Promethean Research, a buyer looking at your website is comparing you with many firms that sound the same. Market research is how you find the specific buyer and problem where you are clearly different, before the pipeline forces the question.

Buyers have done their research before you have

Gartner research cited by Tim Kilroy says about 70% or more of the B2B buying journey happens before a vendor is contacted, and buyers spend about 17% of their time with potential vendors. If prospects arrive with their minds half made up, your research has to happen earlier too: knowing which questions they are asking, where they look for answers and which names already sit in their short list.

Procedure

A five-step digital agency market research process

  1. 1

    Read the market picture

    Start with secondary research: the statistics page on this site and one full report from the ranked guide. Note which findings describe your agency.

  2. 2

    Audit your best clients

    List the clients who paid well, stayed long and sent referrals. Look for the industry, size, buyer role and problem they share. That pattern is the first draft of your ideal client.

  3. 3

    Find where that buyer pays attention

    Tim Kilroy’s rule: know which channels your audience actually uses. A VP of Marketing at a mid-sized online retailer reads different things than a hospital operations lead.

  4. 4

    Listen to your own sales calls

    Review recent discovery calls for the exact words prospects use to describe their problem. Tim’s Call Lab tools on timkilroy.com review call recordings and transcripts for this.

  5. 5

    Write the one-sentence position

    If a prospect, client, teammate or you cannot say what you do in under 20 seconds, keep going. Then test it in outreach and watch replies.

Comparison

Primary or secondary agency market research?

The Agency Research Hub comparison of the two kinds of digital agency market research.
TypeWhat it isAnswersLimits
Secondary researchPublished reports and benchmarks, such as Promethean Research or RSW/USHow the whole market behaves; whether your problem is commonCannot tell you what your specific buyer needs
Primary researchYour own client audit, buyer interviews and sales call reviewsWho your best buyer is and the words they useSmall samples; easy to bias toward what you hope to hear
Prospect researchA brief on one company before a call, such as from Tim’s free Discovery Lab toolWhat to ask this prospectOne account at a time; not a market view

Next

What to do with your research

Research earns its keep when it changes your position. Take your findings into the vertical positioning guide, then into how to run agency discovery calls. People also search for a digital research agency when they want research done for them. That is a different service: a research provider working for clients. This site is about researching your own agency's market.

Back to the digital agency research hub

FAQ

Questions about agency market research

How do digital marketing agencies conduct market research?
Most combine secondary research, such as published industry reports, with primary research, such as interviews with buyers and reviews of their own sales calls. For agency owners researching their own market, the practical goal is a clear ideal client profile and a position buyers can describe in one sentence.
Is a digital research agency the same as digital agency research?
No. A digital research agency is a firm that runs research for clients, such as surveys or market studies. Digital agency research is research about agencies. This site covers the second: studies that describe the agency industry and what they mean for people who own and run agencies.
How do I get more leads for my marketing agency?
Tim Kilroy's three steps: know exactly who you want to attract, know which channels that audience actually uses, and know what to say that connects your work to their needs. He treats those as tactics, and recommends running them consistently as a demand system rather than one-off campaigns.
How do I know if my agency positioning is working?
Tim Kilroy's test: if a prospect, client, teammate or you cannot describe what you do in under 20 seconds, you do not have a defensible position. He also warns that case studies must back the claim, because buyers read your work before your tagline.
How should I prepare for an agency discovery call?
Think about the prospect's business, not just their website. Tim Kilroy says most agencies blow discovery before dialing in by skipping real preparation. His free Discovery Lab tool on timkilroy.com produces a prospect brief with company overview, recent news, conversation starters and questions.

Read all agency owner questions in the full FAQ

Know your market before it forces the question.

Tim Kilroy works with established agencies on ideal client profiles and positioning that buyers can repeat in one sentence.

Contact Tim Kilroy

Published by Tim Kilroy