Last year was good, but what's next?
We all remember the uncertainty of 2020. Many of us spent that year fixing and fine-tuning how we worked—addressing challenges and rethinking our services. It's a good thing too! Because collectively we saw a 25% increase in revenue growth in 2021. To find out more about how responding shops did last year and how they expect to fair in 2022, read on!
Key Findings from the Digital Services Outlook Report
Special thanks to Promethean Research and the digital agencies that participated in this year's survey.
The objective of this report is to provide a high-level understanding of the digital services market in 2021 and gauge expectations for 2022. Here are some highlights.
Here we grow again
Digital shops grew 25% last year! Owners predicted a great 2021 and they delivered with exceptional revenue growth. The average shop served 41 clients and added 12 new clients last year.
Profit is a good thing
Revenue growth was profitable with the average shop delivering net margins of 17%. Longer client tenures correlated with higher profitability.
Better pricing = better growth
Average hourly rates shifted up last year with 40% raising prices. Those that did raise their rates grew 20% faster than those that didn’t.
Specialists vs Generalists
The specialist/generalist split remained even at about 50/50. Interestingly, specialists only grew slightly faster than generalists but reported lower margins.
Keep moving forward!
Owners are expecting another great year in ’22 with outlooks coming in just as optimistic as last year. One potential headwind lies in a challenging labor market with most owners expecting difficulty here.
Alrighty folks, that brings us to another round of research. Thanks again to Promethean and the nearly 100 shops that took the survey to make this possible.
If you’re already a member, log into your benefits page and you’ll find the report in the library. If you’re not a member, complete the form below to sign up for our newsletter and we’ll send you the report..