On today’s episode, Cory Botti talks to Shannon, Penji’s Partnership Coordinator, about his journey from big-agency burnout to founding Lockern Digital, a performance-driven agency built on empathy and adaptability. He shares advice on client retention, forecasting for uncertainty, and how staying proactive with account optimizations leads to better results and stronger client relationships.
Here are three things you’ll learn in this episode:
1. Starting an Agency with a Client-First Mentality: Corey founded Lockern Digital in 2019 after experiencing frustration with large agencies that lacked empathy and transparency. His vision was to create an agency focused on integrity, client performance, and avoiding bureaucracy, which he believes has led to sustained success over five years.
2. Navigating Uncontrollable Market Factors: Corey emphasizes the importance of understanding and preparing for external factors outside an agency’s control—such as economic downturns or client business issues—by forecasting attrition and focusing on what can be controlled, like client communication and internal team dynamics.
3. Marketing Requires Adaptability and Expertise: Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint—it's constantly evolving, and agencies need to keep up with platform changes, tools, and strategies (like Google Ads updates, PMax, etc.). Sticking with outdated methods (e.g., using expanded text ads years after deprecation) shows a lack of diligence and hurts client performance.
About Cory Botti and Lockhern Digital:
- Website: http://www.lockherndigital.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corybotti/
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