In the report, Breaking Down the Marketing Service Provider Landscape — From Agencies and Consultancies, to Boutiques and Freelancers, Gartner examines the diverse world of marketing service providers.
This report provides insight to help companies find the best match, given the unique needs of every organization.
So when should you work with a “vertical industry specialist” or full-service agency?
Marketing Strategy
You’ll want to engage with a vertical specialist if you need a marketing strategy and associated budget recommendations. Here at Clarity Quest, we know the ins and outs of health technology, medical devices, biotech and software. We know the channels that produce, thought leaders who can promote your products, and the industry lexicons for content and brand messaging.
We’re also a full-service agency so we can tie all marketing channels together to produce an integrated plan in which all the programs enhance each other.
Effective and Compelling Creative
You can’t generate effective creative content without intimately knowing the pain points and challenges of target personas in an industry. Plus, in healthcare, there are legal rules that restrict certain copy and imagery. If you go with a generic creative agency, chances are they won’t know these ground rules, and you’ll waste time and money.
Marketing Operations Support
You would not hire a nurse to be a dental hygienist. Effective outsource marketing today requires both expertise in particular marketing programmatic and industry knowledge. If you are hiring an agency to execute a marketing automation campaign, that agency should provide content writers, graphic designers, web coders and automation cadence expertise with subject matter expertise.
Technology
Agencies who work in your industry can recommend the best tech platforms based on your size and goals. If you are B2C, you won’t need account-based marketing. But if you are B2B with defined target company prospects, you better be looking at ABM and personalized content.
Summary
Before hiring an agency, do an internal audit as to your needs. Understand you have many options, both inside and outside your local area, and select the best-matched marketing service providers.
