Marketing analytics is a hot topic these days. Challenge is, there is so much out there, and not all agencies are diving down deep into what you need as a marketer to support your business.
More and more marketers are recognizing the need for an agency that can support their marketing analytics needs to do things like determine cross-channel attribution, optimize advertising content/experience, or implement some form of predictive modeling.
The need is not going away, it’s only getting more pronounced – in part because of what we’ve been through over the past year. As more of you marketers move to digital, social, e-platforms, more of you marketers now have an opportunity to better understand your spends and your plans and the effectiveness of the things you do to support your business.
And while you may not be as curious or your agency might not be as on top of it, either your management will start asking questions and/or your competitors will start eating your lunch.
In our most recent New Year Outlook survey report among marketers and agencies, 89% of marketers stated it was going to be either “somewhat” or “highly” important for their agency to provide data and analytics capabilities.
The good news. A good first step.
The good news is 96% of agencies (the highest level since this question was first asked in 2016) believe that it will either be “somewhat” or “highly” important their agency provide data and analytics capabilities in the coming year.
That’s the good news. In past surveys we’ve run, the vast majority of agencies have told us that they believe they aren’t quite as sophisticated as they need to be in this space and recognize a need to dial it up. We see this every day among agencies (particularly the smaller ones) on the agency new business side of our business.
A Matter of Degree
We’re seeing varying levels of sophistication among the agencies we represent on the agency new business side of our business and the agencies that we talk with about their involvement in potential agency searches we are managing.
We believe we’re at that point now, where data and analytics are a given – whereby you should expect your agency to provide these capabilities/service your business in whatever manner you feel is necessary to put the best possible plan on the table.
It’s no longer a question of does an agency have the capabilities or not, it’s a question of the sophistication of their capabilities.
What does this mean for you, the marketer?
If your agency isn’t doing much of anything right now, and you’re pretty deep into the digital/social space, ask your agency what they know about marketing analytics and how they think it can help your business. Ask them “how do you know we’re doing the best possible thing to maximize our marketing dollar’s performance?” The answer you get might be concerning or frightening.
Key for your agencies is staying current on what platforms/reporting tools exist and making certain you are satisfied with the way in which they’re helping you navigate the landscape – providing you with the best possible insights, driving to obtain the best possible results and returns on investments in your marketing programs, and putting you in a position to win in the marketplace.
Stay ahead of it. Don’t fall behind. There are plenty of agency options out there to keep you on track.
If you’re not getting what you feel is the best possible support from your agency, give us a call (513-559-3101) or drop us a line (msneider@rswagencysearch.com)
