Case Study 1 · Greaux Digital · Marketing Agency Operations

Building the operating system that let a founder-led agency scale beyond its founder.

Greaux Digital was a boutique full-service fractional marketing agency. As the founder's operations and delivery counterpart, I built the operational systems that allowed a founder-led business to scale beyond its founder: standardizing onboarding, delivery, hiring, knowledge transfer, and day-to-day execution.

At the same time, I led strategy and execution spanning SEO, growth strategy, website content, product marketing, brand positioning, social, launch planning, and marketing operations delivery across more than 20 client accounts.

This case study focuses on the operating system behind the agency itself: the foundation that made client delivery scalable and supported Greaux Digital's growth from a freelance business into a seven-figure agency in just 18 months.

Director of Operations & Digital Marketer Remote
My role
Agency Operations · Marketing Strategy · Process Design · Growth · Cross-functional Leadership
Scope
21+ client accounts · 12-person distributed team · SaaS · eCommerce · Professional Services
Tech stack
Trello · Google Workspace · WordPress · Google Analytics · Canva · SEO & Marketing Technology
01 · Context

One role. Many functions.

Greaux Digital was a HubSpot, Hootsuite, and Google Partner agency providing fractional marketing leadership and execution to small and mid-sized businesses. In the early stages, every engagement was custom. Packages were built from scratch, onboarding evolved client by client, and new requests often arrived only when they needed immediate execution. Dedicated ownership for operations, project management, recruiting, SEO, web, copywriting, social media, and content didn't exist yet. The work still had to happen, so the founder and I absorbed those responsibilities while simultaneously building the systems that would eventually support a growing agency.

Much of the work was reactive. Client requests, operational decisions, and delivery priorities surfaced in real time, often requiring processes to be designed while the work was already underway. Initially, I was hired to help absorb delivery work. As the agency grew, my role evolved into building the operational systems that allowed the agency itself to scale, and I focused on turning those recurring fire drills into repeatable operating systems that made delivery more consistent, scalable, and less dependent on constant improvisation.

Operations

Process design · Project management · Business growth

Marketing

Strategy · Client delivery · Brand & content

People

Hiring · Training · Knowledge transfer

Month 0 Few Clients No Standardized Systems Month 18 7-Figure Agency 21+ Clients 12-Person Team

the operational system being built in parallel with revenue, not after it.

The bottleneck wasn't workload, it was operational dependency.

The problem underneath the problem

G.D. wasn't constrained by demand or sales, it was constrained by delivery capacity and the founders' bandwidth. The agency had more opportunities than it could realistically support, but every new engagement increased the founder's workload because delivery, project management, and client communication all flowed through one person. In my working notes, when I asked where her time was going, the answer was simple: "Doing the client deliverables, meeting with clients, project management." The bottleneck wasn't acquiring clients, it was building the operational capacity to serve them consistently at scale.

Root cause: no operating system

The challenge wasn't fixing broken operations, it was creating them where none formally existed. The agency had already proven there was demand, but there was no repeatable operating model behind the work. Every new client introduced new decisions because services, pricing, onboarding, delivery, and ownership were all created on the fly. As the business grew, reactive execution became the bottleneck, making growth increasingly dependent on coordination instead of systems. Scaling required replacing improvisation with repeatable operating systems.

Systems I designed

Client systems

  • Sales proposals
  • Discovery framework
  • Client onboarding
  • Delivery pipeline

Operations

  • SOPs
  • QA standards
  • Workflow design
  • Documentation

People

  • Hiring
  • Training
  • Performance cadence
  • Knowledge transfer

Business

  • Financial tracking
  • Resource planning
  • Agency reporting
  • Process improvements
02 · Strategy

Building the agency's operating system.

As demand increased, the challenge shifted from delivering marketing work to building the operating systems that allowed the agency to deliver consistently. Rather than solving each problem independently, I focused on creating reusable infrastructure that improved execution across clients, teams, and internal operations.

No standardized onboarding→ Inconsistent project delivery→ Knowledge trapped with individuals

1 · Instrument the business

One workbook as the source of truth: cashflow, payroll with hours and account assignments per role, a 15+-tool software registry with per-tool cost and owners, a package registry per client, and a KPI shell for campaign tracking. Visibility first since you can't fix what you can't see.

2 · Productize the offer

Convert bespoke deals into tiered packages: a one time $3k audit consultant session where a client can choose to DIY or present to their internal marketing team, or done-for-you packages in tiers based on needs, ranging from $4.5k to $15k per month, sold in 3-month contracts across eCommerce, SaaS, and service verticals. Plus a designed expansion path for existing accounts to either add à la carte services or upgrade to a bigger package.

3 · Systematize acquisition & onboarding

One proposal template reused across prospect pitches (41- and 43-page decks with tailored hour-tier economics), then an eight-stage onboarding pipeline from pitch acceptance to kick-off, with a timed follow-up cadence and email automation copy for every stage.

4 · Standardize delivery

Delivery standards the team could self-police: self-audit QA forms before work goes to review, onboarding team member training per task and per client specifics, standard posts scheduled two months ahead, reviewer-tagged board workflow, folder-per-client structure with branding, logins and goals on the front page.

"All STANDARD social posts for all clients needs to be scheduled for 2 month ahead (leaving gaps for campaigns and trends)… Once a project is completed it needs to be moved into its respective board and tagged with its respective reviewer."

my operating-standards doc, verbatim (GD workflow)

"Have 'audit' forms where each team member can score themselves on how they did before releasing their work for approval."

my operating-standards doc, verbatim (GD workflow)

"Add how long it would take on average so we can start estimating how long we spend on what."

my backlog notes, verbatim: the start of per-task capacity data
03 · The System

Early operational systems

Built while the work was already underway

Folder-per-client archive in the shared drive
Early operational systems

Client folder structure

The folder-per-client archive from the shared drive: 20 account folders spanning e-commerce, SaaS, home services, movers, genealogy, nonprofits and more.

CEO LEGALDIRECT TO CEO PAMELAOPS, STRATEGY &FULL-STACK MARKETING TECHDIRECT TO CEO STARTING POINT · DAY 1 · 2 PEOPLE
CEO LEGAL CPA ME TECH SEO DESIGN COPY WEB SOCIAL EMAIL CREATIVE EDITORIAL QA ENDING POINT · MONTH 18 · 12-PERSON SYSTEM

Operating model: ownership by function

RoleOwned
Founder / CEOClient acquisition, sales & business development, sales presentations, strategic partnerships, executive client relationships, paid media strategy (Google Ads), budgets & ad spend, contracts, final approvals & executive decisions, agency vision & growth, direct oversight of the Legal, CPA, and Tech teams
Me · Director of Operations & Marketing StrategyOperations strategy & execution, program & project management, client strategy & account delivery, marketing strategy, SEO strategy & keyword research, content strategy, UX recommendations & website planning, creative direction (design, copy, social, web), proposal development, packaging & pricing, client onboarding, process design, training & knowledge transfer, workflow & QA standards, resource planning & work allocation, capacity planning & delivery coordination, cross-functional team leadership, client communication, roadmaps
Senior Web DeveloperComplex website builds, advanced development, technical architecture
Junior Web DeveloperCMS updates, blog publishing, on-page SEO implementation, metadata, technical production
Graphic DesignerCreative production, branded assets, UI execution from strategy briefs
Social Media SpecialistSocial media production, scheduling & publishing from approved strategy
Copy EditorsEditorial QA, SEO refinement, proofreading & copy review

Capacity plan: roles & planned capacity

RolePlanned capacityPurpose
Director of Operations & Marketing Strategy (me)Full-timeSystems, strategy, delivery leadership, project management
Senior Web DeveloperFull-timeComplex development & technical implementation
Graphic DesignerFull-timeBrand assets & creative production
Junior Web DeveloperRamp-upCMS updates, publishing, technical production
Social Media SpecialistRamp-upPublishing & scheduling operations
Copy Editor(s)As neededEditorial QA & SEO review
Contract SpecialistsAs neededLegal, accounting & technical expertise

An early capacity planning snapshot while the agency team was still being built. Recreated from the finance and payroll sheet of my Jan 2019 workbook, with individual team members generalized into functional roles. The original tracked hours, compensation, and assigned client accounts. As client volume grew, this evolved into a 12-person distributed team with additional social media specialists, designers, editors, and contract specialists.

Agency-wide process improvement proposal document with inline comments
Agency-wide improvements · a proposal of mine

Future-state operations proposal

Beyond managing individual client accounts, I authored a future-state operations proposal outlining standardized lead management, onboarding, communication workflows, documentation standards, and delivery processes. The draft here is the actual doc as we worked through it, inline comments and all. The goal: reduce operational dependency on individuals and create a repeatable system for agency growth.

Scroll the document to read it · click to enlarge

The green light · Slack, Dec 2020 Slack conversation: the founder approving the operations proposal, saying yes, move forward, I LOVE it
Live Trello delivery board alongside a team training session
In production

Trello + training

Live delivery board coordinating work across active clients while onboarding a new team member into standardized workflows.

The core system

Client onboarding pipeline: pitch to kick-off

Designed and documented as a flowchart plus ready-to-send email automation copy, so any account manager, not just the founder, could run it. Non-responders get a timed follow-up cadence instead of ad-hoc chasing.

01
Pitch accepted?
02
Follow-ups 2d · 2w · 1mo
03
Welcome email
04
Handover call
05
Onboarding email
06
Scope
07
Contract
08
Kick-off email
3-touch follow-up cadence · owner assigned at every stage · invoice paid before work begins, by design

Client delivery pipeline: every account, every vertical

01
Lead intake
02
Discovery
03
Strategy
04
Project setup
05
Production
06
QA
07
Delivery
08
Reporting

Every account moved through this pipeline regardless of vertical: the system, not the deliverable, is what scaled across 21+ clients.

Real AuthenticationServaxNetTX Remodeling ProsBig WinVelocity VueGo PublicAssessment TechnologiesMob Armor+ more
Client portfolio

Scaling content operations across industries.

The system above had to flex across very different industries, each requiring a fast crash course in a new business before strategy or systems could be built to support content production. That made research, stakeholder interviews, knowledge transfer, content operations, cross-industry adaptation, and program coordination essential core skills.

SaaS & TecheCommerceHealth & WellnessService & TradesCreative ServicesTax & FinancialLogistics & MovingGenealogy ResearchWorkforce Safety & ComplianceExecutive CoachingPhysician EducationConstruction & RemodelingPet CareMedical AestheticsLuxury Authentication & Fashion
04 · Productizing Sales

From "every deal is custom" to a priced menu with an expansion path.

Instead of building every proposal from scratch, I standardized a reusable sales framework that could be adapted to different prospects while keeping pricing, discovery, deliverables, and expansion paths consistent.

The model · monthly package tiers

Retainers · hours-based
10 hrs/wk$3k/mo
15 hrs/wk$4.5k/mo
22 hrs/wk$6k/mo
Advanced packages · reference for additional ideas
Advanced tier 1$7.5k/mo
Advanced tier 2$10k/mo
Advanced tier 3$15k/mo

+ $3,000 one-time discovery, onboarding and set-up fee. Rebuilt as a chart from the shipped pricing deck; bar length reflects monthly price.

Budget slide from the Greaux Digital pricing deck: hour-based retainer tiers
The shipped thing: hour-based retainer tiers from the pricing deck.
Advanced packages slide from the Greaux Digital pricing deck
Advanced packages, straight from the same deck: $7,500 / $10,000 / $15,000.

Standardized proposal architecture. One proposal engine. Reused across every client conversation.

43 slides · built and reused across prospect pitches

Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 1Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 2Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 3Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 4Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 5Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 6Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 7Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 8Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 9Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 10Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 11Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 12Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 13Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 14Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 15Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 16Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 17Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 18Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 19Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 20Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 21Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 22Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 23Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 24Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 25Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 26Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 27Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 28Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 29Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 30Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 31Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 32Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 33Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 34Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 35Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 36Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 37Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 38Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 39Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 40Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 41Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 42Greaux Digital marketing proposal, slide 43

Scroll sideways or use the arrows to browse all 43 slides · click any slide to enlarge. Slides 32-41 and the client logo are blurred to protect client confidentiality.

05 · Hands-on execution

While the systems were being built, I stayed in the work.

Although this case study focuses on the operational systems I designed, I also remained hands-on in marketing execution across strategy, content, SEO, lifecycle marketing, and conversion optimization while those systems were being built.

Keyword research and SEO strategy document
SEO audit

Keyword strategy & prioritized recommendations

Used to improve organic visibility: audit, keyword strategy, and prioritized recommendations.

ServaxNet managed hosting website copy document
Website copy

ServaxNet managed hosting pages

Website copy doc including SEO-driven H1/H2 structure and CTAs.

Real Authentication Instagram grid
Social strategy

Real Authentication Instagram grid

Content grid designed around brand education, social proof, and app downloads.

Client onboarding email sequence
Email nurture sequence

Lifecycle marketing & copywriting

Nurture sequence design and copy for lifecycle marketing.

Texas Remodeling Pros brand collaterals
Brand messaging

Texas Remodeling Pros brand guide

Consistent logo, color, and type usage across letterhead, business cards, and social banners.

Real Authentication What We Authenticate page
Content strategy

"What We Authenticate" page

Organized by brand category for easy client navigation.

Mind Racer Consulting lead magnet design
Lead magnets

MindRacer Consulting checklist

Sales-department checklist offered in exchange for contact info.

Press release for Mob Armor's Mobnetic Maxx product launch
PR

Mob Armor Mobnetic Maxx press release

Written to position the product and announce key features at launch.

06 · Receipts

Direct from the CEO, in real time.

The green light on the operations doc · Dec 2020
Slack: Pamela asks to move forward on the operations doc and Trello boards; Wendy replies yes, move forward, I LOVE it
Hiring through the new ramp plan · Jan 2021
Slack: Wendy reacting to a candidate Pamela sourced, saying she is great and ready to go
Momentum · new clients, new hires, renewed optimism
Slack: Wendy tells Pamela she woke up with a renewed sense of optimism and is beyond grateful for her abilities

Live Slack exchanges with Wendy Gratereaux, Greaux Digital's CEO, across the engagement: not retrospective praise, but real-time reactions to the systems and decisions as they shipped.

07 · Results

What the system produced.

7-FigureRevenue in 18 months
24%Productivity lift · Month 1
75%Content production increase
12Person team built from zero
95%On-time delivery of core assets
210%SEO MRR growth
Public & verifiable
in LinkedIn recommendation · April 7, 2020
"Few people are as tenacious and organized as Pamela. She digs deep for insights and delivers quality results… She is collaborative and takes client feedback and revises deliverables to exceed expectations. Consider her if you need a resource for sales and marketing."
Wendy B. Gratereaux · Founder & CEO, Greaux Digital · Professor of Digital Marketing
08 · The work, in their words

Trusted by founders, clients, and teammates.

"It is because of her dedication to always giving her absolute best in everything she does, her innovative ideas, her skills as a strong leader, communicator, and strategic thinker, as well as her attention to detail that I have never been disappointed in all my years working with her."

Erica C. · Long-term collaborator

"Few people are as tenacious and organized as Pamela. She digs deep for insights and delivers quality results. She is collaborative, takes client feedback, and revises deliverables to exceed expectations."

Wendy B. Gratereaux · CEO, Greaux Digital · Global marketing consultant · Professor of digital marketing

"Her dedication to her work comes from a passion that knows no bounds. When given a project or task she always gives 100%. An intelligent, strong, and business-savvy woman who would make a great addition to any team."

Like what you see? Let's talk about how I could work for your team.

Let's chat

Transparency note

All client deliverables shown belong to Greaux Digital, Inc. and its clients. Visuals on this page are reconstructions from my own original working files (planning documents, trackers, wireframes, proposal drafts and flowcharts I authored during the engagement) plus publicly verifiable artifacts: the agency's live site and public reviews. Charts labeled "rebuilt" are redesigns of my original documents, not screenshots, because the originals contain confidential details (names, compensation, credentials). Teammates appear as roles, never names. Nothing shown here is work I didn't do; where evidence is missing, like post-implementation metrics, I say so instead of inventing it.

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