D1. Justify the use of specialist marketing agencies for carrying out original
market research.
SPECIALIST MARKETING AGENCIES
Marketing agencies, also called marketing firms or marketing companies, are companies
offering research services and help to customers to implement and manage marketing
strategies to achieve their business goals. An agency may offer qualitative research,
quantitative research, or both, increasingly supplemented by consultancy services,
workshop facilitation and so on. Marketing agencies purposes are to identify valuable
marketing strategies, this means they work with customers to pinpoint marketing strategies
that will drive the best business results and maximize return on investment (ROI); as well,
implement marketing solutions where they execute and manage marketing campaigns for
customers. Also, evaluate marketing results by monitoring marketing efforts and using data
to improve campaign results.
Additionally, specialist marketing agencies are important and needed because all companies
need an effective, well thought out and executed marketing plan. Furthermore, a marketing
agency will work with the company to create and implement a successful marketing plan.
This will result in lead generation for the business that can then be turned into sales, putting
the company on a path toward business growth.
Specialist marketing agencies uses primary and secondary research methods:
Primary research methods – This is a research where the specialist marketing agency
conduct by themselves. It involves going directly to a source (usually customers and
prospective customers in the target market) to ask questions and gather information.
When collecting and analysing data, primary research methods use quantitative research
which deals with numbers and statistics, and qualitative research that deals with words
and meanings. Both are important for gaining different kinds of knowledge. For example,
some methods of primary research are interviews (telephone or face-to-face), surveys
(online or mail), questionnaires (online or mail), focus groups and visits to competitors'
locations. Also, how specialist marketing agencies use primary research method it could
be for example, a brand is about to launch a new model of mobile phone and hire a
marketing agency which will conduct a research about the looks and features mobile
phone they are soon going to introduce. The marketing agency can select a qualified
sample of respondents that closely resembles population and conduct primary research
with them, to know their opinions. Based on this research, the brand can now think of
probable solutions to make necessary changes in looks and features of mobile phone.
Secondary research method – This is a type of research that has already been compiled,
gathered, organized and published by others. Secondary research includes research
material published in research reports and similar documents. These documents can be
made available by public libraries, websites, data obtained from already filled in surveys
etc. Some government and non-government agencies also store data, that can be used
for research purposes and can be retrieved from them. For small businesses with limited
budgets, most research is typically secondary, because it can be obtained faster and
more affordably than primary research. A lot of secondary research is available right on
the Web, simply by entering key words and phrases for the type of information they are
, looking for. They can also obtain secondary research for example, by reading articles in
magazines, trade journals and industry publications, by visiting a reference library, and by
contacting industry associations or trade organizations. Also, the way marketing agencies
use secondary research methods could be, for example, suppose in research, they want
to investigate how people of different nationalities and ages spend their money on dining
out during 2020. Marketing agencies will do a research in trusted websites to obtain up-
to-date the data towards people dinning out in 2020 and information about their ages.
ADVANTAGES FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM BUSINESSES USING MARKETING
AGENCIES
Most small business entrepreneurs are encouraged to work with marketing agencies
nowadays. It’s seen as a smart way of investing its money as they should come out with a
great strategy that works. Furthermore, there are many new entrepreneurs with small
budgets who may wonder if it’s worth spending their money.
Expert knowledge
Agency staff, offering these specialist services, are usually experts in their fields who have
knowledge and experience of marketing tactics that the new business do not possess.
Experts as such, do not want to fail and will strive to create high-quality work that
produces results for their customers. Experts who also keep on top of the latest marketing
trends, which are commonly transferred directly to the customers’ work. Marketing
agencies are always on the leading edge of trends and technology. Performance-driven
agencies use analytical reports, data, and software to target the right offers, to the right
customers, at the right time. Furthermore, they have worked with various technologies,
customers, and industries so they have the experience and data to prove what campaigns
are most effective for the industry they are working for. A good marketing agency will have
access to specialist information technology packages to coordinate and maintain the
business marketing strategy. These services will help save costs and also ensure the
business connect with potential customers in the most effective way. Plus, business will
benefit from transparency and accountability.
Creative minds
Creativity is at the top of any discussion on the pros and cons of hiring a marketing agency.
Most marketing agencies have creative directors with a lot of experience when it comes to
creating marketing campaigns. Under those creative directors, there are whole teams of
talented copywriters, designers, and animators waiting to showcase their creativity. These
people can take a simple business concept, such as selling products and turn it into an
advertising masterpiece, a website, or billboard that provokes thought and admiration.
Even if the business think of them as creative, the advertising skills can hardly be
compared to those of experts with multiple years of experience in the industry. Chances
are the business won’t be able to create a memorable campaign on their own. And just
one of those campaigns is enough to put the business on the industry map for years to
come. Furthermore, it’s proven that marketing agencies do help promote a business and
increase the number of customers they generate, the traffic their site receives, and
everything in between. There’s a reason of why so many agencies popping up; they work
and can have a higher success rate than a business doing it on their own.
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