Women-owned creative agencies have bubbled up to the top of the digital marketing world. Although there is still a gender pay gap and low representation, women are increasingly taking the reins by starting their creative businesses. To tilt the scales, the marketing industry has promoted the value of women-owned creative agencies by recognizing their successes and what they bring to the table.
Ladybugz Interactive agency in Boston MA is the perfect example of recognized excellence in women-owned creative agencies. The company shot up to the top of Clutch and the Manifest List as the #1 woman-owned creative agency through a combination of innovative business strategies, creative expertise, and a unique leadership vision. With a long string of creative agency accolades, this atypical marketing firm proves that women entrepreneurs can pave the way for new ways of doing business.
How does this women-owned creative agency measure its success?
The standard way to measure success is by the numbers. The average Ladybugz client has annual revenues in the $10-200M revenue base range, with about half the roster being early-growth biotechnology companies, with other specialties including B2B companies, non-profits, healthcare, and education. Key services of our digital agency include creative services such as branding and messaging, web design and development, and digital marketing services such as SEO, Social Media, and content marketing.
“We make a 20% exception for smaller, startup, and mission-based projects that are under our price points because we want to,” Lysa explains. “We started in 2020, so we are still small. In our first two years, our clients doubled and we continue to grow our Boston-based creative agency.”
While financial success matters, Lysa also measures success by factors other than dollar signs. She leads her web design company according to core values, including lifestyle flexibility for her employees, creating new processes that create value for clients, and supporting other women-owned and led companies.
What does it take to be the #1 women-owned creative agency in 2024?
Ladybugz consistently ranks among the best marketing and web design agencies for Boston, New England, and the US. The highly versatile Ladybugz team has the necessary tools and skills for working closely with companies of all kinds to achieve and exceed their growth goals.
What are the secrets to Ladybugz’s industry recognition and agency growth? Below are some critical factors leading to the agency’s success.
A creative agency that adopted a life-first philosophy
Founder/CEO Lysa Miller is a people-first leader, and she has served the team of digital experts well.
“We adopted a life-first philosophy. When our kids are sick or we are needed at home, we don’t pile on work stress. Each of us contributes to the team with flexibility, juggles as needed, and embraces lifestyle issues positively. Some team members are full-time, others are part-time, and still others are freelance colleagues who make Ladybugz their primary home base. Lysa adds, “We want people to do their best work, and we believe that happens when they live their best lives.”
The balance of women’s voices in male-dominated spaces
As a woman digital agency owner, it may be a bit surprising that the Boston-based firm is a leading digital marketing company in male-dominated fields, like biotech and healthcare. Instead, having women in leadership positions can bring a unique and valuable perspective, and having strong teams combining men and women provides balance.
The primary inspiration and direction come from founder, Lysa Miller. Her second in command, leading sales operations and customer success is Billie Kenyon, an honoree in Worcester Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Awards for her role in our growth and contributions to the Worcester Community. Other women experts at the company lead the way in digital marketing and content strategy, creative direction, project management, SEO management, public relations, and other marketing specialties. Find out more about the creative team that leads clients to success.
An agile process that leads visionaries to success
Described as a “do it with you” company, not a “do it for you” company has become a mantra during the process of partnering with new clients. Part of the agency’s success stems from its unique agile approach to design and development projects. The key is getting input and buy-in from client decision-makers, the overall client team, and the Ladybugz web team, starting at the initial discovery and concept stage.
Deep collaboration with an extended discovery process allows all voices to be heard, maximizes transparency, and fosters a common understanding of the project’s vision, goals, process, content, and design elements. With these pieces in place, the total time to completion is shorter, with an average of 8-12 weeks.
A long-standing history of top rankings of women-owned creative agencies
Certified as a women-owned business by Clutch, Ladybugz represents women-owned companies that have built a business based on creative problem-solving, dedicated customer service, and a determination to offer the best solutions for their clients.
In recent years, the web design firm has been recognized for its success as a digital marketing agency, specifically as a women-owned agency.
Here’s a look at industry recognitions received by our woman-owned creative agency.
Clutch: #1, Top 60 Women-owned Creative Agencies (2023)
Clutch, an online B2B review platform, has also ranked Ladybugz interactive #1 in its list of Top 60 Women-owned Creative Agencies, with a 5-star rating and “Gold Verified” status, backed by 44 reviews and criteria including the number, quality, and recency of client reviews, work experience, market presence, industry recognition, and services offered. Other rankings from Clutch include high rankings in the categories of Top Web Design Company (US), Top Design Company (MA), Top WordPress Designers (2023), Top Digital Marketing Company (MA), and Top Web Design Company (Medical).
The Manifest: #1, Top 60 Women-owned Creative Design Agencies (2023)
The Manifest business guide ranked Ladybugz as the #1 spot in its Top 60 Women-owned Creative Design Agencies, based on scheduling, quality, cost, and willingness to refer.
Influencer Marketing Hub: #8, Top Women-Owned Marketing Agencies (2023)
Influencer Marketing Hub is a resource directory for all things digital marketing. It ranked the firm #8 on the top-ten list of women-owned marketing agencies, along with naming Ladybugz Interactive Agency#14 of 30 Best Web Design Agencies To Partner with in 2024.
Cloudways: 11 Most Successful Women Agency in the Digital Agency Space (July 12, 2023)
This 2023 Cloudways article “11 Most Successful Women Agencies Earning their Mettle in the Digital Space, “highlights 11 women who have overcome challenges in their journey, closed the gender gap in tech, and made it a more inclusive and diverse space. The article recognizes Ladybugz’s ability to help companies grow sales and revenues through its creative consulting services.
AgencyVista:#4, Women-Owned Marketing Agencies to Watch for in 2021 (May 28, 2021)
Agency Vista is a digital search network of 49,155 reliable marketing agencies, with rankings derived from its proprietary ranking algorithm. The firm ranked #4 on Women-Owned Agencies to Watch in 2021, the ranking was based, in part, on its 79 reviews with 5-star ratings.
SEOblog: #18, Best Boston SEO Company (2020 and 2022)
SEOblog.com, a leading Boston SEO directory, judged the best Boston SEO companies on factors including their website, client list, portfolio, market presence, verified Google reviews, industry experience, expert certifications, authorship, and more. In 2022, LadyBugz ranked #18, with a 5-star rating based on 28 reviews.
Agency Spotter#14, Top 50 Boston Marketing Agencies Report (2021 – 2023)
Agency Spotter is a digital search platform of more than 17,000 marketing agencies worldwide. The ranking list of top Boston area digital marketing agencies is derived from customer reviews, competitive portfolios, project completion, user engagement, expert inputs, and more. The creative digital agency consistently ranks at the top of Agency Ranking lists, including #1: Most Reviewed Digital and Web Design Agency in Boston and Mass (Feb. 2022)
#11: Top 50 Boston Marketing Agencies (Aug. 2022)
#14: Top Web Design Agencies (May 2023)
Boston Business Journal (2020)
With a reputation for entrepreneurship and success as a women-owned company, Lysa Miller was featured on the cover of Boston Business Journal’s 2020 Book of Lists
The company was named a top social media agency for 2020 in Worcester and Boston by Expertise.com and a Top Boston Digital Marketing Agency in 2021 by Designrush.com. Read more news about our Boston digital agency’s web design services.
A Women-Owned Creative Agency that Inspires and Provides Leadership and Insight Via. Podcasts
As a respected expert in digital service, successful entrepreneur, and vocal supporter of women business leaders, Lysa Miller is a frequent podcast guest,. A few of her popular podcast interviews are:
- Building Biotechs: Marketing From Stealth to Startup
- Look for the Good Podcast: From Stuck to Stellar
- The Anti-Agency Podcast: How To Build A Thriving Business With Freelancers
- The People Star Podcast: Change as the Way to Success
- From the Ground Up Podcast: Clutch.co’s pilot episode features the leaders of top-ranked women-owned agencies.
Standing with Other Women Business Owners
Women must be the first ones supporting other women in business. One way is to partner with like-minded women, taking on clients that share similar values as women entrepreneurs seeking change in the industry and business community.
Ladybugz Interactive Agency has sought out and attracted women-owned businesses as clients. Women tend to communicate, share process preferences, and form business relationships differently than men. These commonalities can build a foundation of trust between the client and the agency.
A creative agency that takes on many women and minority-owned businesses as clients with successful results:
Women in America: A new membership website for a growing women’s executive leadership organization
Through new messaging and website design, our team reflected the growing sophistication and prominence of this New York-based mentorship organization that empowers businesswomen to achieve positions of influence across industries. Learn more about this women’s leadership organization’s project.
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania: A new website for a women’s health initiative
Our agency built an inspiring, easily accessible, and action-oriented website to introduce the client’s vision of women’s healthcare worldwide, focusing on bridging the critical gap in care during early pregnancy. Learn more about this healthcare web design project.
Aeon Muse Marketing: A new website for a product marketing firm
An early-growth product marketing agency that provides integrative go-to-market solutions, Aeon Muse helps companies execute their vision to achieve their growth goals. Having outgrown their DIY drag-and-drop web builder (Wix), they were ready for a modern website to scale their digital presence. Learn more about this marketing agency’s project.
Pear Associates: A new website for a growing women-owned consulting company
This mission-driven consulting company serves non-profit and government entities within the health, education, and human services sectors. In its fifth year, the organization wanted to re-envision and modernize its website to highlight its profound impact on non-profit consulting. Learn more about this non-profit consulting company’s project.
Golden Group Roofing: A new website and digital growth for a minority and women-owned construction company
This women-owned roofing company wanted to partner with a women-owned digital marketing agency to help expand its business and attract ideal clients. They selected our team to develop a cohesive digital marketing and content strategy utilizing website content, web and video SEO, and other digital marketing strategies. Learn more about this construction company project.
Advice for other female entrepreneurs and women-owned creative agencies
Women starting their agencies need to listen to their voices and support other women entrepreneurs. This women-owned creative agency’s success demonstrates that, even in male-dominated fields, women can find a seat at the table through talent and determination. The founder and CEO advises women leaders to, “find yourself a community, always give back, do work you are passionate about, and never lose who you are.” As an innovator, Lysa also recommends that women entrepreneurs “disrupt always and not settle for the status quo.”
Is it time for you to join the movement and hire a women-owned creative agency?
If it’s time for a different perspective for your digital marketing needs, consider women-owned creative agencies with proven success. For other women-owned businesses, Ladybugz is a natural fit. For early-growth biotech and healthcare companies, Ladybugz has proven experience and looks at your industry through a unique creative lens. For any business, Ladybugz provides an innovative approach to achieving company goals through digital marketing excellence.
Ladybugz Interactive, a top-ranked, full-service interactive agency, focuses on web design and digital marketing services in B2B and B2C industries, including biotech, non-profit, education, construction, professional services, and manufacturing.
