Productivity tools for digital agencies

Digital agencies have unique needs and need efficient tools. This post highlights top software like Teamwork.com & Asana, emphasizes communication platforms, and underscores AI's potential.

Introduction

Digital agencies are constantly juggling multiple projects and clients which can make it difficult to stay organized and productive. However, there are a number of productivity software solutions that can help digital agencies streamline their workflows and improve their efficiency.

In this blog post, we discuss some of the best productivity software for digital agencies and basic tips on improving your existing workflows.

Productivity Software for Digital Agencies

Here are some of the best productivity software for digital agencies:

Teamwork is an incredible product made exclusively for agencies. It helps agencies see everything so they can effortlessly manage their team, projects, clients and freelancers. Furthermore, you can get all the advanced features such as time-tracking and budgeting to resource allocation. If you run an agency, we recommend checking this out.

Product shot of Teamwork.com's product.

Asana can help digital agencies by providing a centralized platform to track projects, communicate with team members and clients, and track time and expenses. Asana is a powerful tool that can help digital agencies improve their productivity and efficiency.

Asana board product-shot.

Wrike is another popular project management tool that offers a variety of features for teams of all sizes. Wrike offers a variety of features that can help digital agencies address pain points such as managing multiple projects, communicating with team members and clients, and tracking time and expenses.

Wrike swimlanes product-shot.

Monday.com is a cloud-based project management platform that offers a variety of features for teams to track their work. Monday.com allows users to visualize their work in a variety of ways, such as Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and timelines amongst many other things. This can help teams to stay organized and on track.

Monday.com's kanban board for client projects

ClickUp is another such project management tool that offers a variety of features for teams to track their work. ClickUp is known for its flexibility and customization, and it offers a free plan that is suitable for small teams.

ClickUp product-shot

The Verdict on Productivity Software for Digital Agencies

Our choice, when it comes to a product which is built for agencies and not added as an afterthought is Teamwork.com — the other products are also incredibly powerful and popular. They all offer their very own set of customization and features which are important, but here's why we picked Teamwork.com

Teamwork.com offers a number of features that are not available on the other platforms mentioned above. These include:

  • Client portal: Teamwork.com offers a client portal that allows clients to view projects, tasks, and files. This can be helpful for agencies that need to collaborate with clients on projects.
  • Timesheets: Teamwork.com offers timesheets that allow users to track their time spent on tasks. This can be helpful for agencies that need to track their billable hours.
  • Collaboration: Teamwork.com offers a product that allows users to store documentation and knowledge. This can be helpful for agencies that need to share information with team members and clients.
  • CRM: Teamwork.com offers a simple CRM that allows users to track leads, contacts, and opportunities. This can be helpful for agencies that need to manage their sales process.
  • Integrations: Teamwork.com offers many integrations to help augment your current workflow. These integrations range from sales to filestorage to accounting and time-tracking amongst many.

If you are looking for a project management platform, built for your agency, look no further.

Other Productivity Tools for Digital Agencies

In addition to project management software, there are a number of other productivity tools that can help digital agencies improve their efficiency. These tools include:

Time tracking software for agencies

Time tracking software (many of the products above have a version of time-tracking built-in) can help agencies track how they are spending their time, so they can identify areas where they can improve their productivity.

In reality, it always seems like such a pain to do which is why one such tool which we are big fans of is timeular.com which helps you stay on budget and make time-tracking absolutely painless.

Timeular makes time-tracking painless.

Communication tools for digital agencies

Communication tools such as Slack, Google Meet and Zoom can help agencies collaborate more effectively with their team members and clients. I think almost everyone knows of those by now, but for those who don’t, products like Slack allow you and your team stay connected regardless of the circumstances, whether it’s in a synchronous or asynchronous manner.

Here are a few more tools which can be considered communication tools depending on how you use them.

Notion: Notion is a workspace app that allows users to create and organize notes, tasks, and projects. It offers a variety of features, such as Kanban boards, databases, and templates. Notion is a good option for digital agencies that are looking for a flexible and customizable tool.

Figma: Figma is a collaborative design tool that allows teams to create and edit designs in real time. It offers a variety of features, such as vector graphics, prototyping, and animation. Figma is a good option for digital agencies that are looking for a tool to streamline their design process. This is one we use extensively for collaborating and communicating during the design cycles (Which for us is all the time). We like FigJam for online white board collaboration.

Airtable: Airtable is a no-code platform that allows users to create databases and applications. It offers a variety of features, such as spreadsheets, forms, and automation. Airtable is a good option for digital agencies that are looking for a tool to build custom solutions for their needs.

Trello: Trello is a Kanban board tool that allows teams to track tasks and progress. It offers a variety of features, such as drag-and-drop functionality, due dates, and checklists. Trello is a good option for digital agencies that are looking for a simple and easy-to-use tool to track their work. We find Trello excellent for smaller projects and internal communication. It has the added benefit of being part of the Atlassian family which gives you access to a strong support team and many other products.

These are just a few of the many up and coming tools that are available to digital agencies. The best tool for your agency will depend on your specific needs and requirements.

Meeting-Productivity tools for digital agencies

Meetings and conversations hold the key to so much more information that we've been able to harness, until now.

When it comes to understanding agencies and how critical every client conversation is to the bottom line, we get it. Clearword can help agencies organise client calls in shared workspaces so all relevant client conversations are always accessible, automatically turn extract important information from your online meetings for the type of call agencies have: Whether it’s an initial call, discovery call all the way to deliverables and launch meetings all the while extracting the relevant crucial pieces of information for each meeting type to make those conversations actionable so that you always deliver the right thing, on time and save tons of time with post-meeting admin tasks.

How Clearword helps digital agencies turn their conversations into actions and shareable through client workspaces.
How Clearword helps digital agencies turn their conversations into actions and shareable through client workspaces.

Tips for improving productivity in a digital agency

Here are some basic tips for improving productivity in a digital agency but we’ve also written a wildly popular post before about 5 things product teams should address in weekly meetings which can be relevant to digital agencies and consultancies alike.

  • Set clear goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve with your agency? Once you know your goals, you can create a plan to achieve them.
  • Delegate tasks. Don't try to do everything yourself. Delegate tasks to your team members so they can contribute to the success of your agency.
  • Take breaks. It's important to take breaks throughout the day to stay refreshed and focused. Get up and move around, or step outside for some fresh air.
  • Avoid distractions. When you're working on a task, try to avoid distractions as much as possible. This means turning off your phone, closing your email, and finding a quiet place to work.
  • Take care of yourself. Make sure you're getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and exercising regularly. Taking care of your physical and mental health will help you stay productive.

AI-Powered productivity tools for digital agencies

If you are unsure of the how AI can be applied to your agency or your own workflow to improve client communication, we’d recommend reading this post on AI for Digital Agencies which provides insights into different AI tools throughout the client lifecycle stages.