Agency Profitability Benchmarks & Pricing Clinic

Quick community pulse for agency owners/managers: share a brief, anonymized data point so we can build practical benchmarks and spot what actually moves margins. Please include each line below (no identifying client names or URLs):

- Revenue band (annual): e.g., <$500k, $500k–$2M, $2M–$10M, $10M+
- Core services: e.g., performance ads, SEO, content, web dev, CRO
- Gross margin (%) and how you calculate it (revenue minus direct delivery costs / revenue)
- Net margin (%) and how you calculate it (profit after overhead, taxes, interest / revenue)
- Staff size or FTEs + utilization rate (avg billable %)
- Retainer vs project mix (percent retainer)
- Region (country or market type)
- One pricing or cost-control change that moved margins (brief: what changed, % impact if known)
- One ongoing profitability challenge you’re wrestling with
- Would you be willing to contribute this anonymously to a pooled benchmark dataset or try a simple margin-calculator template? (yes/no)

What the thread will produce (based on contributions): an anonymized benchmark dataset, a simple margin-calculator template, short case studies of pricing wins, and periodic AMAs with pricing/finance consultants. Please keep entries concise and factual — real numbers are most useful. Thanks for sharing.