25+ Best Productivity Tools for Agencies for Enhanced Productivity

Marketing agencies can be chaotic places. Between juggling multiple projects at once to servicing a range of clients with unique needs, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose track of essential tasks. But this often leads to mistakes that can tarnish your agency's reputation and hurt your bottom line. Streamlining operations and improving your processes can help you avoid these mistakes and keep your clients happy. In this guide, we'll explore how productivity tools for marketing agencies can help you create and grow your productized service efficiently.

Orchestra’s grow your productized service solution is one productivity tool that can help you with this. This tool enables you to build a strong foundation for your new service to launch quickly and scale with ease.

Use Cases of Productivity Tools for Agencies

Productivity tools provide agency teams with a centralized platform to organize complex projects and campaigns, coordinate workflow, and track progress. For example, a creative agency planning a multi-channel marketing campaign could use a project management tool to organize content creation, graphic design, and media buying tasks.

The agency can assign these tasks to specific team members, track progress on a centralized dashboard, and monitor deadlines and dependencies. This helps everyone stay on the same page, ensuring deliverables are timely.

Team Communication and Collaboration: Keeping Remote Teams Connected

Productivity tools can help agencies streamline communication and improve collaboration within remote or hybrid teams. For instance, a global marketing agency can use a communication platform to maintain constant communication with team members worldwide. The agency can create dedicated spaces for team discussions, client updates, and campaign brainstorming sessions. Video calls can be used for weekly status reviews. This enhances productivity and reduces the need for long email threads.

Time Tracking and Billing: Improving Transparency and Agency Profitability

Most agencies are paid for billable hours. Productivity tools can help agencies accurately monitor and invoice for these hours. For example, a design agency can track the time spent on each client project. Accurate logs can generate detailed invoices, ensuring clients are correctly billed for the work completed. This transparency in billing builds client trust and provides fair compensation for the agency's work.

Design Collaboration and Feedback: Streamlining the Creative Process

Productivity tools can help agency teams share and refine creative assets. For instance, a content team working on a marketing campaign can use a productivity tool to collaborate on visual designs. With this software, stakeholders can review the draft, leave comments, and suggest changes directly to the design. This process simplifies the feedback loop and reduces miscommunication.

Client Relationship Management: Enhancing Retention Rates

Productivity tools can help agencies manage client information and interactions. For example, a PR agency can use CRM software to track leads, schedule follow-ups, and log communication history to ensure no missed opportunities. Automated reminders can help the team stay on top of client renewals. This organized approach strengthens client relationships and enhances retention rates.

File Sharing and Storage: Keeping Documents Organized and Secure

Productivity tools allow agency teams to centralize and secure documents and files. For example, a video production team can upload scripts, drafts, and final edits to a shared platform for client review and team access. This allows easy access to files from anywhere, preventing workflow delays and data loss.

Social Media and Campaign Scheduling: Automating Time-Consuming Tasks

For agencies, productivity tools can help manage and automate content posting. For example, a marketing agency can use a social media scheduling tool to plan, schedule, and monitor posts for multiple clients. This ensures content goes live optimally and reduces the team's manual workload while maintaining consistency and engagement.

Workflow Automation: Saving Time and Reducing Repetitive Tasks

Productivity tools can help agencies reduce repetitive tasks through automation. For instance, an advertising agency can automate sending daily campaign reports to clients, integrate feedback forms into task management, and auto-publish content across platforms. This saves time and allows the team to focus on strategic and creative tasks.

Analytics and Reporting: Improving Campaign Performance with Data

Productivity tools can help agencies analyze performance data to improve strategies. For example, a performance marketing agency can generate campaign reports using ads, SEO, and social media data. Sharing these insights with clients helps optimize budgets and tactics for better results. Data-driven decisions enhance campaign success and client satisfaction.

Feedback and Approval Management: Streamlining Client Communication

Productivity tools can help agencies collect client feedback on deliverables. For example, a creative agency can share drafts of a website design with clients, who can leave comments directly on specific sections for precise feedback. This transparent communication accelerates the approval process and minimizes revisions.

Types of Productivity Tools for Agencies

1. Communication and Collaboration Tools

Remote work has proven to be not only feasible but also effective in boosting productivity levels. However, no amount of global talent can benefit an organization if its remote employees struggle to communicate. The problem with remote work is that it often places employees in different time zones, making email insufficient to facilitate communication.

When team members get buried under an avalanche of emails, they drop the balls on crucial tasks, miss deadlines, and wreak havoc on project timelines. Don’t expect email to be what it’s not. At best, email is an asynchronous way of getting in touch. However, email leaves much to be desired when engaging in real-time conversations.

2. Time Management and Task Tracking Tools

When looking at types of productivity software to help you manage tasks and time, you should opt for a tool that serves three primary needs.

First, it should easily integrate with various apps, such as calendars, email inboxes, file storage, etc. Secondly, your software should simplify tracking task completion and progress on several levels – individual employees, teams, and the enterprise. Thirdly, it should be easy to use regardless of the user’s level of expertise or department. So, coders, non-coders, beginners, and expert project managers should all be able to use it.

3. Documentation Tools

Whether looking for a great documentation tool to organize content or software development, it cannot be slow or clunky. In addition, it should carry out speedy and reliable searches and have a user-intuitive interface. You’d be more likely to use the tool if it doesn't make documenting your workflow or a process a frustrating and time-consuming chore.

4. Workflow and Automation Tools

This section combines two big productivity eaters, i.e., repetitive work and static, clunky workflows. The problem is how mind-numbing and slow repetitive work is. Imagine how much of your time and the will to keep living you might retain if you didn’t have to do data entry or calendar management.

As for the second, the clunkier they are, the more difficult they are to manage and the more time-consuming they will be. The solution for both is productivity software that automates and provides shortcuts for specific actions. They organize workspaces and workflows to locate and pull data, such as files, passwords, and even docs, from different tools and share it with other people quicker and simpler.

Use Orchestra for Effortless Operations Management

Launch your productized service effortlessly with Orchestra's all-in-one growth toolkit. Designed for creatives ready to scale, Orchestra provides a branded, white-labeled client portal, task management, and real-time analytics, with no coding needed—just your Stripe account.

Whether you’re a designer, developer, or copywriter, Orchestra streamlines your workflow, letting you collaborate with clients seamlessly while maintaining a private workspace with your team. Add integrations like Slack and webhooks to customize your setup and deliver a branded experience. Enhance your service with a platform built to grow alongside you. Try Orchestra for free and develop your productized service today!

25+ Best Productivity Tools for Agencies for Enhanced Productivity

1. Orchestra

Launching a productized service can be overwhelming. Orchestra eases the transition with its all-in-one growth toolkit. Built for creatives looking to scale, Orchestra helps you launch your productized service quickly with no coding required. The platform includes a white-labeled client portal, task management, and real-time analytics. Simply connect your Stripe account, and you’re ready to go.

Whether you’re a designer, developer, or copywriter, Orchestra streamlines your workflow, letting you collaborate with clients seamlessly while maintaining a private workspace with your team. Add integrations like Slack and webhooks to customize your setup and deliver a branded experience. Elevate your service with a platform built to grow alongside you. Try Orchestra for free to develop your productized service today.

2. Sprout Social

Sprout or Hootsuite, chances are you’ve had this discussion if you manage social media accounts. We’ve gone for Sprout as it’s what we and our clients are used to from a reporting perspective. The Chrome extension never lets me down; Smart Search is a valuable tool I use daily, and switching between accounts is painless. The new notification system took some time to get used to, but I wouldn’t have it any other way now.

Pros

Comprehensive social media management and analytics: Sprout Social offers a robust suite of tools for managing and analyzing social media accounts, making it a top choice compared to other platforms.
Comprehensive reporting: The platform offers detailed reporting for each social media platform, providing deeper insights into the performance of accounts and posts.
Exceptional customer support: Users have reported positive experiences with Sprout Social's customer service team, which is always ready to assist in maximizing the platform's features.
Advanced planning and scheduling features: Sprout Social provides a clear view of upcoming posts and the ability to schedule posts for specific days and times, simplifying the planning process and ensuring no gaps in content.

Cons

High cost: Sprout Social is considered more expensive than other platforms offering similar services.
Complex cancellation process: The platform does not allow in-platform cancellation. Users must email to request cancellation, and the company asks for a reason before taking action.

3. Epom

Epom is all about “intelligent ads,” allowing you to monetize ad campaigns across various platforms using insights from social habits, search data, and other “smart” guidance. It offers different levels of service depending on how much support you need. Use Epom to assess a campaign’s performance by generating analytical reports, configuring ad campaigns, optimizing existing campaigns, and setting up traffic options.

Pros

User-friendly: It provides various levels of service based on your needs.
Comprehensive: Epom helps you with all aspects of your ad campaigns.

Cons

Complexity: The breadth of features can be overwhelming.

4. monday.com

Have you ever lost track of your tasks? Or have you been unsure how far you have gotten in your product launch project? Have you had issues collaborating on construction projects between the field and the office? Solve your problems and boost your small business productivity with monday.com. Monday is a cloud-based project management software that powers your organization to outperform competitors faster by automating tasks, tracking timelines, integrating with software you already use, and so much more.

Pros

It’s easy to use.
It's cheaper than Asana (we’re talking about Asana next).
There’s a free package (Up to 2 seats).
You can pay yearly to receive an 18% discount.

Cons

If you need to use a lot of automations each month to boost your productivity, you may outgrow the Standard plan quickly.

5. Evernote

I used to have good memories as a kid, but I no longer have. I don’t know if my forgetful father’s genes finally express themselves or if I’ve spent too much time at the pub. Either way, I need all the help I can get when remembering things! Having Evernote is like having a second brain. It’s on my computer and smartphone, and I use it for everything. The search functionality is fantastic. I can find it in seconds whether I want to access a favorite recipe, an article clipped from the web, or a book recommendation from a friend.

Pros

Integration: Integrates with third-party apps like Google Drive, Slack, and Outlook.
Cross-device syncing: Notes sync across devices, including desktop, mobile, and web.
Sharing: Notes can be easily shared with others, either by exporting them as PDFs or using unlimited sharing permissions.
Collaboration: Real-time editing allows multiple people to work on a project simultaneously.

Cons

Pricing: Paid plans are expensive compared to competitors.
Learning curve: The learning curve might be too steep for casual users.

6. Hootsuite Ads

Hootsuite and Facebook worked together on Hootsuite Ads to create an automated Facebook ad generator. Use this tool to automatically identify their best posts and then find the best places to advertise them so you can get more from their promoted Facebook posts. Since Facebook is still pretty much the biggest game in town, you’re almost certainly on it with your clients, and this tool will help you ensure you’re making the most of that presence.

Pros

Streamlines planning, scheduling, and analytics: Hootsuite can help you stay on top of content.
Integrates with popular networks: Hootsuite integrates with many popular networks, including Instagram.
Helps you work together: Hootsuite can help you work together.

Cons

Expensive: Hootsuite can be costly, with prices starting at $99 per month.
Learning curve: Hootsuite can be tricky, especially for new users.

7. Asana

Asana is another great project management solution that Teal team members have used. It has a lot of the same offerings as monday.com (automations, integrations, collaboration, time tracking, etc.), but there’s a new feature that we’re excited about. Like many companies, this tool now has a new AI feature – Asana Intelligence. The feature promises to “drive greater clarity, impact, and scale for executives, departments, and entire organizations.”

Pros

They offer 50% off for nonprofits.
They’ve integrated AI to boost your business strategies.
Asana has robust security and privacy programs.

They have online training and resources.

Cons

If you need to use a lot of automations each month to boost your productivity, you may outgrow the Starter plan quickly.

8. Workflowy

WorkFlowy is a text-based nested list productivity tool where users can create bulleted lists with any number of hierarchies. It offers one of the most straightforward ways for your team to take notes, manage their projects, and track to-dos. Its minimalistic and distraction-free user interface (UI) makes it an excellent choice for small agencies without spending time on elaborate processes. Some features in WorkFlowy include bulleted lists, shareable non-login links, and comments. These make it easy for your teams to manage projects and collaborate on documents.

Pros

Manage your projects granularly by creating multiple subtasks with individual deadlines and stakeholders.
Ensure consistency in your document every time you copy and paste information because Workflowy replaces all instances of that information elsewhere.
Give clients access to your documents with a non-login link to review the work without creating a Workflowy account.

Cons

The Free plan comes with minimal features.
Workflowy doesn’t provide integrations with other tools.

9. Toggl

Toggl is the ultimate instrument of productivity. It’s a time-tracking tool that allows you to create projects for different clients and allocate time accordingly.

Warning

When you start using Toggl, you may feel a slight sense of urgency. However, this soon transforms into satisfaction when you know exactly where you spend your time.

You quickly become accustomed to hitting that start and stop button and will be less likely to get distracted. My favorite aspect of the app is the reports section, which gives you a color-coordinated, visualized report of how much time is spent on each client/project for a specified period. Toggl has become a daily work necessity for me.

Pros

Visual project timelines.
Regular updates.
Streamlined work plans.
User-friendly interface.

Cons

Onboarding complexity.
Occasional technical issues.

10. Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics analytics tools are among the best and will help you optimize your website and increase conversions. Use Kissmetrics to fine-tune your sales funnel, track visitors to your site at each point in their conversion journey, and generate reports on each aspect of the conversion process.

Pros

Powerful features: Kissmetrics offers a variety of features, including A/B testing, population analysis, and site search tracking.
Data visualization: Kissmetrics provides data discovery and visualization support.
User-friendly dashboard: Kissmetrics has a clean, streamlined dashboard that makes it easy for customers to synthesize information.

Cons

Expensive pricing: Kissmetrics may be more expensive than other platforms.
Dated UI: Some say the user interface is dated.

11. ClickUp

Like monday.com or Asana, ClickUp aims to be your all-in-one productivity platform. It works as a space for your team to generate ideas, brainstorm, plan, and work together on various tasks– from process documents to product designs. When it comes down to pricing, ClickUp is the cheapest of the three options, and its free version includes a lot of great features. If your team is looking for a project management solution, we recommend that they check out all the features, training, and prices of each to decide. We’ve had great success with all of them.

Pros

There’s a free package that includes lots of features.
They offer discounts for nonprofits, startups, students, and educators.
ClickUp has robust security and privacy programs.
They have online training and resources.

Cons

You must pay an additional $5 per member/month for AI compatibility.

12. Google Keep

Launched in 2013, Google Keep is a free note-taking app by Google. Its simple and uncomplicated UI makes it easy for users to jot down thoughts, organize to-do lists, and manage work without distractions. Agencies using Google Workspace can significantly benefit from the app as it syncs seamlessly with Google accounts. This makes it easy to keep track of ideas and manage all information in one place. Google Keep has a robust iOS and Android app, making it easy for you and your teams to take notes anytime, anywhere!

Pros

Capture ideas using Google Keep’s voice recording feature when you’re on the go.
Access your notes from any device by simply logging into your Google account.
Organize notes with colored labels to categorize them.
Share your notes with your colleagues and edit them together for a collaborative experience.

Cons

Google Keep comes with limited text formatting options.
There is no revision history.

13. Hola

Hola-Unblocker can be a massively helpful tool for those who have lived in another country or just like to view international content. We’ve all clicked through to a link before that comes up with the infamous message “Sorry this content is unavailable in your location.” Hola-Unblocker allows you to view this location-dependent content by effectively rerouting your IP address through a proxy server, but these details aren’t necessary. Let’s get to the setup.

You can either download Hola to your desktop and run it as an application or add it to your Chrome browser as a plugin. Once you’ve done this, the icon should appear in your Chrome browser's top right-hand corner. Click the Hola flame icon to use the plugin, and a list of countries will appear. Select the country you want to mimic my IP and the viola you browse from another location.

14. SEMrush

Although many people think SEMrush is just about SEO, it’s also excellent (and our pick) for pay-per-click insights. Use the tool’s intelligence suite to generate analytics reports that show you everything from keyword difficulty, competitor strategies, and domain strengths so you get the most out of your ads.

Pros

Extensive database Semrush has a large keyword database with over 21.1 billion keywords.
Extensive metrics: Semrush provides a variety of metrics for evaluating keywords and backlinks, including the Keyword Intent metric.
Link-building features Semrush can help identify new link-building opportunities and track outreach campaigns.

Cons

Keyword searching Some say that searching for keywords with Semrush isn't as effective as other tools because you can't break down keyword importance without using different tools.
Customer support: Free users can only get help through email and community forums, while paid subscribers can get help via live chat, email ticketing, or phone.

15. Vimeo

Is your organization trying to boost your reach with webinars? We’re big fans of Vimeo’s products. Vimeo lets you host live, pre-recorded, or hybrid webinars. You can create high-quality and engaging webinars to help you drive quality leads. Teal Marketing Manager Brittany Watson was impressed by the ease of use and features it provides. “Vimeo has a user-friendly interface that is reminiscent of some video editing software,” she said. “You can easily set up scenes with transitions and flow between prerecorded and live. They also have some pre-created content available to help you get started.”

Pros

They offer professionally designed templates.
The standard plan includes brand kits and an AI script generator.
All plans have 2FA, and they offer a variety of security controls as you move up in the plans.
Higher plan levels have integrations like HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Salesforce.

Cons

We’ve run into issues where Vimeo has crashed at the tail end of a virtual event.
We’ve also run into quality issues with prerecording events on Vimeo.

16. DeskTime

DeskTime is a time-tracking tool that enables companies to monitor employee activity, track time spent on tasks, and analyze productivity trends. It helps agencies optimize resource allocation, identify time-wasting activities, and improve project management processes. By implementing a time tracker like DeskTime, agencies can also increase accountability, foster transparency, and measure productivity. It can be helpful if you follow an hour-based payment schedule with contractors. However, tools like DeskTime, which constantly monitors employee time, might create a culture of micro-management, so it’s essential to set clear goals and expectations before making them a part of your workflow.

Pros

Automate time-tracking with the DeskTime desktop app. Get precise data on your employees’ work hours without the hassles of manual timesheets.
Get in-depth reports on team productivity with an overview of your team’s work hours and performance levels. You can also compare performance trends to check for a dip in your team’s productivity levels.
Set up break reminders to encourage your employees to recharge.
Take screenshots of your employees’ windows randomly to get proof of work and ensure company resources are not being misused.

Cons

The free plan supports only one user.
DeskTime doesn’t provide granular access levels.

17. DataFeedWatch

DataFeedWatch is a feed marketing solution available in over 60 countries and across 2000+ eCommerce channels. With DataFeedWatch, you can create fully optimized product feeds based on your existing data and send them to channels like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and more. It’s a perfect tool to manage the performance of thousands of products across multiple channels. The most helpful thing about the tool is that, as an agency, you can manage multiple clients from one account, adding unlimited users and customizing their access levels to ensure frictionless teamwork.

Pros

User-friendly interface: It stands out for its user-friendly interface and robust functionality.
Support team: The support team consistently helps improve feeds and guides data segmentation.
Functionalities: It's easy to use and has many functionalities.
Cost-effective: It's cost-effective and offers a lot of features.

Cons

Feed handling: Feeds can sometimes be a struggle to handle.
Bugs: There have been some bugs during feed processing.

18. Curata

Curata is especially useful because you can use it for content marketing and curation. The Curata content marketing tool lets you analyze your content to see what’s working most effectively and track leads. The content curation tool allows you to identify the best content using its “self-learning” search engine, curate the content you choose, and easily publish the content you eventually push through, either on my CMS or Curata’s optimized blog.

Pros

Some say Curata is modern, affordable, and easy to use.
Helps with content creation. Curata can help users find, create, and share relevant data across the web.
Automated content forwarding Curata can help automate the process of forwarding content to different places.
Performance tracking Curata can help with performance tracking and ROI analysis.

Cons

Some say Curata's biggest flaw is not allowing third-party integration.
More subscription plans: There could be more subscription plans.

19. GoTo

GoTo offers a variety of business productivity solutions you can use to boost business communications, such as:

GoTo Training (Virtual training platform)
GoTo Meeting (Video conferencing platform)
GoTo Connect (Unified phones, meetings, messaging)

GoTo Webinar (Virtual event platform) employs Zero Trust Security, touts a 99.999% uptime, and provides 24/7 customer support – all of which are exceptionally important when your job is to keep businesses connected. Today, we’re going to focus on GoTo Webinar.

Pros

You can create custom registration forms.
You can attach handouts for attendees.
It offers powerful marketing tools (audience engagement, polls, etc.).
You can integrate your CRM and apps like Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, etc.

Cons

It is not very user-friendly/requires a learning curve.
Small businesses are a bit pricey, especially if you don’t host many events.

20. Calendly

Calendly is a ‘scheduling automation platform’ that allows individuals and teams to create meeting scheduling links and assign meetings based on team member availability. Using a meeting scheduler like Calendly saves agencies time, reduces scheduling conflicts, and ensures that meetings (and client communication) are coordinated. This ultimately increases productivity by freeing up valuable time for more critical tasks.

Pros

Create a landing page with meeting slots and share it with your clients so they can easily book a time with you.
Create a meeting page for your team and assign meetings to available team members when someone books a slot.
Run meeting polls.
Connect Calendly with your CRM, project management tool, or calendar and keep track of your meetings.

Cons

Meeting scheduling pages come with minimal customization and branding options.
Locations can’t be changed or updated after a meeting is booked.

21. ChatGPT

The buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impossible to ignore. In the realm of business productivity solutions, tools like ChatGPT are transforming the way we work. It can help you generate creative content, provide customer support, or even draft code. The power of AI lies in its ability to process vast amounts of data, learn from interactions, and provide insights or solutions at neck-breaking speed. It’s quickly becoming an indispensable tool in the modern business toolkit. (We’ve already showcased how other brands in this list use it in their products).

Pros

They have a free version (GPT-4o mini with limited access to GPT-4o).
You can create your tailored assistant with GPTs.
It’s easy to create particular images.
You can quickly analyze data by uploading a document, image, or spreadsheet.

Cons

The security & privacy risks (staff members potentially leaking proprietary information, leaked private customer data, enhanced cyberattacks, etc.)
You need to verify that the data is accurate (if you pay for ChatGPT 4, you can get citations from web sources it pulled information from to confirm the legitimacy).

22. Zapier

Zapier is a market-leading automation platform enabling organizations to connect and integrate their various apps and tools without coding. Agencies can leverage Zapier to automate repetitive tasks, synchronize data between different platforms, and streamline workflows across their organization. It saves time, reduces manual errors, increases project management efficiency, improves client communication, and eases administrative tasks. Zapier comes with readymade triggers and actions that allow you to connect over 6000 apps and run multi-app workflows.

Pros

Set up no-code automations with Zapier’s drag-and-drop builder. Connect your apps to set up automated workflows.
Set up multi-action workflows across multiple apps or platforms to ensure smooth workflows and real-time data sync.
Build automation simply by giving text prompts to Zapier’s AI bot, making work easier for your non-tech employees.
Add approval forms to workflows.

Cons

Running automation with many zaps, tasks, or actions can be expensive.
Some workflows and integrations have limited triggers and actions.

23. Microsoft Copilot

Looking for a way to supercharge productivity across your team in a secure way? Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated into Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Teams, designed to help you streamline tasks, generate content, and uncover insights faster. Copilot uses advanced AI to assist with everything from drafting documents to analyzing complex data sets, making it easier for your team to focus on high-level work rather than repetitive tasks.

Pros

Helps draft content and generate reports quickly.
Automates data analysis and visualization in Excel.
Offers time-saving features for busy professionals.
It’s user-friendly and intuitive, even for those new to AI tools.

Cons

It may take time for teams to trust AI-generated outputs.

24. Slack

Slack is a popular internal communication app that facilitates real-time messaging and collaboration between team members. Slack is especially useful for agencies to onboard clients and contractors to their workspaces easily. Unlike email, Slack helps you create groups for your teams and clients, ensuring contextual conversations where no one’s left out of the loop. Slack also comes with various third-party extensions that make it easier to implement additional productivity hacks, like getting notifications for task statuses and tracking time on tasks and projects.

Pros

Add your clients to your Slack workspace for better collaboration and to keep all your conversations organized.
Encourage internal team communication with direct messages (DMs) and audio and video calls.
Integrate Slack with other tools and get notifications based on preset triggers, such as for essential client emails or task updates.
Organize conversations in dedicated channels for clients, teams, or projects, ensuring transparency among all group members.

Cons

The audio-visual quality of calls in Slack isn’t as good as other advanced video conferencing apps.
The Slack Navbar may feel overwhelming if you have many channels and DMs.

25. Copy.ai

Before ChatGPT took off, some staff at Teal used Copy.ai to help clarify messages. Its Google header reads, “Get great copy that sells.” You’re sold, right? With so many voices out there, everyone is fighting to be heard, but is Copy.ai worth it? It has changed quite a while since we last used it. Before, it was suitable for teams that didn’t have an experienced copywriter, but otherwise pretty “meh.” So, we opted for the free trial to see what’s new.

Pros

It offers efficiency-enhancing workflows (AI Sales OS, for example).
They have a free version (1 seat, 2,000 words).
You can create more on-brand content with Infobase.
They have security.

Cons

Content “brainstorming” activities in chat don’t yield the same quality of results as using ChatGPT (comparing both free versions).

26. HubSpot

Hubspot is an ‘all-in-one’ platform for marketing, sales, and customer success teams. It offers a range of productivity tools for agencies to help businesses engage customers at every stage of their journey. You can use Hubspot for lead generation, running marketing campaigns, and handling customer support tickets.

Pros

Manage all your sales, marketing, and customer support functions on this all-in-one platform.
Automate busywork. Set up automated workflows for your sales and marketing processes, such as sending emails and following up with leads.
Use Hubspot’s free tools like CRM and campaign assistant to increase your team’s efficiency and meet your productivity goals.
Onboard your team easily with Hubspot’s modern UI and elaborate onboarding sequences.

Cons

Hubspot may prove expensive for small and mid-sized teams as core features are available only in the Professional and other higher-tier plans.
Hubspot annual contracts lack flexibility.

How to Choose the Best Productivity Tool for Agencies

1. Define Your Agency’s Needs to Find the Best Productivity Tool for Agencies

Before you can narrow down a list of productivity tools for your agency, you first need to identify your specific needs. Start by defining clear goals. What are you hoping to achieve with a new productivity tool? Typical objectives include improving communication, project management, and time tracking. Next, list any pain points the agency currently faces. For example, you might struggle with disjointed collaboration, missed deadlines, or lacking resource visibility. This information will help you find a productivity tool that targets your agency’s unique challenges.

2. Assess Key Features of Productivity Tools for Agencies

Next, you’ll want to look closely at the features offered by each productivity tool on your shortlist. Focus on finding a tool that caters to your specific requirements. While every agency differs, the majority needs standard features to increase productivity. For example, look for tools with task management capabilities like Kanban boards, Gantt charts, or to-do lists. Collaboration tools are also essential for agencies. These include file sharing, real-time chat, and team communication platforms. Finally, each tool's integration, reporting capabilities, and scalability should be considered. Can it grow with your agency?

3. Usability: A Critical Factor in Choosing the Best Productivity Tool for Agencies

Once you’ve identified the features you need, you can start assessing the usability of the tools on your list. Productivity tools can be potent, but they won’t do your team much good if they’re too complex. Start by ensuring the tool is user-friendly for tech-savvy and non-technical team members. Next, look for customization options that allow your agency to tailor workflows and dashboards to fit your style. Finally, check for robust mobile apps for team members who may need to access the tool on the go.

4. Collaboration Features Are Essential for Agency Productivity

Agencies thrive on teamwork. The right productivity tool can help enhance collaboration across your teams and clients. As you assess the tools on your shortlist, ensure they support features like real-time updates, multi-user access, role-based permissions, and centralized communication channels.

5. Evaluate Cost-Effectiveness

Price is always a factor when choosing new software for your agency. Look for transparent pricing models (e.g., per user, per month). Calculate ROI by considering the time and efficiency gains. Also, check if the tool offers a free trial or tiered plans to fit your budget.

6. Read Reviews and Get Recommendations

Before committing to a productivity tool for your agency, do your homework. Start by asking industry colleagues about their experiences. User reviews on G2, Capterra, or Trustpilot can provide valuable feedback. Finally, look for articles or case studies specific to agency workflows for expert opinions.

7. Test Multiple Tools Before Making a Final Decision

No two agencies are alike, and the only way to find the right productivity tool for your team is to test out multiple options. Leverage free trials to test usability and features. Get feedback from team members who will use the tool daily. You might even pilot a small project to see how it fits your workflow.

8. Evaluate Support and Security

Before choosing a productivity tool for your agency, check for customer support and data security. Start by assessing the level of customer support offered by the provider. Check if they provide timely and comprehensive assistance. Next, ensure the tool complies with industry standards for data security (e.g., GDPR, ISO certifications).

9. Prioritize Integration with Existing Tools

Productivity tools should complement your current tech stack, not disrupt it. As you narrow down your options, look for software that integrates with your team's tools. For example, standard integrations include communication apps like Slack or Teams, project management tools like Asana or Trello, and marketing tools like HubSpot or MailChimp.

10. Think Long-Term

Finally, it’s essential to consider the long-term implications of your decision. Think about your agency’s growth trajectory. Will the tool still fit your agency’s needs as you scale? Opt for a tool with regular updates and a strong development roadmap.

Try Orchestra for Free to Grow Your Productized Service Today

Orchestra is, without a doubt, the best productivity tool for agencies launching productized services. This all-in-one growth toolkit for agencies, freelancers, and creatives helps you get your new productized service up and running as quickly as possible so you can start making money fast.

This white-label solution lets you create a customized client portal to help organize your new productized service, manage tasks, and analyze performance without coding. You can even personalize the experience with your branding to impress clients and create a seamless transition into working together. Try Orchestra for free and develop your productized service today!

25+ Best Productivity Tools for Agencies for Enhanced Productivity

Use Cases of Productivity Tools for Agencies

Team Communication and Collaboration: Keeping Remote Teams Connected

Time Tracking and Billing: Improving Transparency and Agency Profitability

Design Collaboration and Feedback: Streamlining the Creative Process

Client Relationship Management: Enhancing Retention Rates

File Sharing and Storage: Keeping Documents Organized and Secure

Social Media and Campaign Scheduling: Automating Time-Consuming Tasks

Workflow Automation: Saving Time and Reducing Repetitive Tasks

Analytics and Reporting: Improving Campaign Performance with Data

Feedback and Approval Management: Streamlining Client Communication

Related Reading

Types of Productivity Tools for Agencies

1. Communication and Collaboration Tools

2. Time Management and Task Tracking Tools

3. Documentation Tools

4. Workflow and Automation Tools

Use Orchestra for Effortless Operations Management

25+ Best Productivity Tools for Agencies for Enhanced Productivity

1. Orchestra

2. Sprout Social

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3. Epom

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4. monday.com

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5. Evernote

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6. Hootsuite Ads

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7. Asana

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8. Workflowy

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9. Toggl

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10. Kissmetrics

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11. ClickUp

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12. Google Keep

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13. Hola

14. SEMrush

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15. Vimeo

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16. DeskTime

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17. DataFeedWatch

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18. Curata

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19. GoTo

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20. Calendly

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21. ChatGPT

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22. Zapier