We analyzed 10,000 reviews on Clutch to understand exactly how enterprise clients discover and hire digital marketing agencies.
After applying our strict selection criteria, our final dataset comprised 4,000 verified reviews from 800 US-based marketing companies. We focused specifically on responses to the critical question: "How did you find this agency?"
We utilized AI models to categorize unstructured responses. We excluded reviews that didn't directly answer the acquisition channel question and discounted any reviews published prior to 2020 to ensure data relevancy for modern agencies.
Key Takeaways
- Referrals are unequivocally the top source for finding agencies, accounting for 34.20% of all accepted responses.
- Online search is the second highest method, capturing 20.55% of the market.
- Together, referrals and organic search account for over half (54.75%) of all agency discoveries.
- Competitive analysis / RFPs (7.03%), previous vendor relationships (6.04%), and review sites (5.78%) round out the top five.
Which Are the Most Popular Channels?
Exactly twenty-two distinct client acquisition channels were mentioned across the 4,000 reviews. Referrals continue to dominate the landscape, but the analysis proves the compounding value of a strong online presence—nearly a quarter (22.91%) of all agencies were located via online searches and direct search engines.
| Source | Number | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals | 1,478 | 34.20% | Recommended by friends or contacts. |
| Online Search | 888 | 20.55% | "Found them online"; likely SEO. |
| Competitive Analysis | 304 | 7.03% | Interviewed multiple agencies; RFPs. |
| Previous Relationships | 261 | 6.04% | Worked together previously. |
| Agency Comparison Sites | 250 | 5.78% | Primarily Clutch. |
| Other | 233 | 5.39% | Various other mentions. |
| Personal Connections | 116 | 2.68% | Personally know the owner. |
| Cold Outreach | 103 | 2.38% | Cold emails, calls, LinkedIn. |
| Search Engines | 102 | 2.36% | Specifically mentioned Google. |
| Portfolio & Case Studies | 98 | 2.27% | Liked industry-specific work. |
| Social Media | 77 | 1.78% | LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit. |
| Inherited Relationships | 71 | 1.64% | Inherited vendor when joining. |
| Freelance Platforms | 57 | 1.32% | Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr. |
| Online Reviews | 50 | 1.16% | Yelp, YouTube reviews. |
| Events & Engagements | 48 | 1.11% | Conferences, trade shows. |
| Local Presence | 42 | 0.97% | Local firm doing work in area. |
| Software Partnerships | 39 | 0.90% | Shopify Experts, Wix, HubSpot. |
| Partner Networks | 34 | 0.79% | Heard via partner orgs. |
| Professional Associations | 28 | 0.65% | Professional development groups. |
| Content Marketing | 26 | 0.60% | Founder’s book, blog, podcasts. |
| Advertising | 14 | 0.32% | Paid ads. |
| Alumni Connections | 3 | 0.07% | Met via alumni association. |
Differences by Company Size
Clients originating from larger companies navigate procurement differently than SMBs. As company size increases from SMB to Enterprise (501+ employees), reliance on standard referrals drops notably (35.01% down to 30.08%). Similarly, general online searches dip by a few percentage points, replaced instead by rigorous Competitive Analysis & RFPs and leveraging Previous Relationships.
| Channel | 1-10 Emp | 11-50 Emp | 51-200 Emp | 201-500 Emp | 501+ Emp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Companies | 1,751 | 1,218 | 687 | 249 | 359 |
| Referrals | 35.01% | 35.22% | 33.48% | 30.12% | 30.08% |
| Online Search | 20.39% | 21.02% | 22.71% | 20.08% | 17.55% |
| Comp. Analysis / RFP | 5.65% | 7.47% | 8.30% | 9.24% | 9.19% |
| Previous Rel. | 4.91% | 5.75% | 6.55% | 9.64% | 10.03% |
| Comparison Sites | 4.80% | 5.42% | 5.97% | 8.03% | 9.75% |
| Inherited Rel. | 0.51% | 1.40% | 2.33% | 2.81% | 5.29% |
Differences By Project Budget
Budget sizes heavily influence search methodology. The data indicates that massive projects ($1M+) rely heavily on either internal referrals or deep online search and competitive analysis, skipping lower-tier comparison platforms entirely. "Comparison Sites" peak in influence around the $200k mark before disappearing for million-dollar engagements.
| Channel | <$10k | $10k-$50k | $50k-$200k | $200k-$1M | $1M+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Projects | 1,035 | 1,468 | 642 | 180 | 31 |
| Referrals | 28.41% | 32.29% | 33.18% | 38.33% | 25.81% |
| Online Search | 18.45% | 20.78% | 18.85% | 15.56% | 29.03% |
| Comp. Analysis / RFP | 5.89% | 8.72% | 9.97% | 12.22% | 12.90% |
| Previous Rel. | 7.34% | 5.18% | 7.63% | 6.67% | 6.45% |
| Comparison Sites | 4.73% | 6.13% | 6.39% | 10.00% | — |
| Inherited Rel. | 0.58% | 1.50% | 2.18% | 2.22% | 6.45% |