Pinpoint Marketing Consultancy Ltd, a Buckinghamshire Business First Stakeholder member, is celebrating its 17th anniversary of being in business, something founder Nicole Martin (Chartered Marketer) is very proud of, having seen off more than one recession, a pandemic, the rise of AI (which they are embracing, not hiding from) and many other obstacles, all whilst raising a family. Busy times and not all plain sailing, of course.

Alongside this milestone, the business has seen decent growth (up 25% year-on-year) thanks to a new niche service offering that Nicole believes taps into a possible shift in how marketing agencies maintain, then grow and scale.

In this article, Nicole looks at how marketing agencies are considering turning to outsourced account and project management as a smart, flexible alternative to hiring permanent staff, also asking if this approach is on the rise in the current climate.

Are leaner agency models gaining ground?

By Nicole Martin, Pinpoint Marketing Consultancy Ltd

We recently ran a poll on LinkedIn asking if changes to Employer's National Insurance would impact the way marketing will run in their agency or SME business, with 75% saying they didn’t know, showing a level of natural uncertainty. And with clients, suppliers and businesses in general needing to do more with less, are capacity and cost pressures contributing to a possible shift to outsourcing and using freelancers over recruiting or in-house solutions?

Using a support agency

Support agencies, like Pinpoint Marketing with this AM/PM (account management and project management) niche, can provide senior level-based experience without the overheads of payroll, sick pay, NI and so on. Which in today’s economy, can look like an attractive offering.

As a small marketing agency owner, you will be working on and in all aspects of the agency, but spinning all the plates all of the time is not easy. But what can you do about this?

Another poll we ran on LinkedIn earlier in 2025 asked: 'When it comes to servicing your clients and managing your marketing business, what stresses do you think you need help with?' In total, 43% said 'more time in the day/week', and 57% said 'more hands-on support day to day'.

How can a marketer/agency owner benefit?

In today’s world, virtual or fractional support (hiring specialised experts on a part-time basis, rather than full-time employees) or help via a freelance account manager is an ideal solution to slot into your marketing business or agency, for you and for your clients. Such a solution is nimble and flexible and it can be used both proactively and reactively where needs and demands require. 

In another poll, we asked: 'What do you see as the biggest benefit of an account/project manager?' The most popular responses were 'client comms/satisfaction' (39%) and 'planning and organisation' (39%). One client of Pinpoint Marketing said we have saved him, as a founder of a successful marketing training/coaching business, 15% of his time! This time saving cannot be underestimated.

Marketing Week’s 2025 Career & Salary Survey revealed that 80% of marketers have experienced imposter syndrome, while 60% feel overwhelmed. There are of course many reasons for burnout, but surely capacity, too much work or too much pressure to deliver must be reasons for such stress and fatigue. And as our poll showed, marketers and agency owners are wanting more time in the day and more support with client delivery, which typically includes client comms and liaison, project management, admin, reporting, research and planning.

Account management

One definition of account management is: “The business representative with whom a client has the most one-on-one interaction within a company. Companies use account managers to ensure that customers feel that their needs are being met.”

What does an account manager do? The main aims of account management for marketers, the main roles of an account manager, are to bring a sense of calm, to be in control, organised, on top of things, and flexible to change.

An Account Manager epitomises the phrase: If you want something doing, give it to a busy person.

Project management

One definition of project management is: “A project manager is responsible for planning, executing, and overseeing a project to ensure it is completed on time, within budget, and to the required standards. They manage resources, people, tasks, and schedules throughout the project lifecycle.”

Account management tends to be more retainer/ongoing and project management tends to be one-off and more transactional. These are generalisms of course, and can be tweaked, according to the needs of the customer. Both are time saving and both can give back time, support and value to fellow agencies in an agile way, which is perfect in this up and down market and economy. And both are a lean way to operate a business when maintaining and when wanting to scale too.

To conclude…

Over the past 17 years, we have seen a lot of changes in the world of marketing and a lot of changes in the way marketers and agencies operate and are scaling their businesses. Freelancing or outsourcing really can be an efficient way to grow, using a support model as discussed in this article.

By Nicole Martin, Pinpoint Marketing Consultancy Ltd

Marketing workshop on June 26th

A free workshop from Pinpoint Marketing and Seeking Perfection covers managing your marketing depending on business size and measuring your sales pipelines to scale your business. ​Book your place here >​

Free consultation call for marketers

Nicole Martin is offering a free call to chat through your account management and project management needs for your marketing business/small marketing agency. Take up this offer here >