How businesses select marketing providers: insights from new study
Understanding corporate strategy: How do businesses select marketing service providers? And who decides which provider is awarded the contract? Read on to discover the valuable insights from a recent marketing study by the BVDW.
Study into the selection of digital marketing service providers
The German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW) represents companies in the digital sector by pooling expertise, facilitating innovation and promoting digital business models, among other activities. Having an in-depth understanding of the digital economy is fundamental to its work. For this reason, the BVDW collaborated with market research organization Civey to survey 500 marketing, advertising and procurement professionals [GER] with the aim of revealing how digital marketing activities and services are awarded to providers. Their answers highlight the importance of personal contacts and recommendations.
How businesses select the right marketing service provider to partner with
When companies are looking for assistance with digital marketing services, a variety of factors come into play. Of the professionals surveyed, some 17 percent stated that they primarily rely on tendering processes, while around 16 percent use providers’ certificates as a guide. However, by far the most important component in the decision-making process is personal recommendation: around 46 percent of respondents said they choose who they want to work with on this basis. What this means for you as a marketer is that continuously maintaining and expanding your network is undeniably worthwhile.
Popular digital marketing services
The study carried out by the BVDW in collaboration with Civey also uncovers which digital marketing services are most in demand in the industry. According to the survey, social media marketing in particular tends to be outsourced very frequently (reported by just under 29 percent of respondents). This is closely followed by search engine optimization (SEO), selected by almost 25 percent of respondents, and search engine advertising (SEA) at over 22%. Surprisingly, programmatic advertising is often done in-house – only just under 9 percent of those surveyed stated that their company buys this service from external providers.
Marketing study reveals decision-making secrets
Who is responsible for outsourcing digital marketing services in companies? Who makes the final decision? And on that basis, who should agencies and service providers target? The BVDW study explored these questions, too. The results indicate that responsibility is usually split between a company’s head of marketing and its executive board. The latter makes the decision in around 27 percent of the businesses surveyed, while marketing managers are the decision makers in more than 31 percent of cases.
Build your presence to raise your profile as a service provider
It’s vital that service providers attract the attention of the right people and form valuable networks. That’s because direct contacts are an extremely important factor when decision makers are choosing between quotes. In order to obtain clear and reliable data on this issue, the BVDW and Civey asked survey participants which performance criteria they generally use to assess digital marketing service providers. With 55 percent of responses, the marketing, advertising and procurement professionals gave a clear answer: customer service and support are the key characteristics of good service providers. At around 28 percent, proof of expertise came a distant second in the ranking of the most important factors. What does this mean for marketers? Businesses and contractors should give their brand a human touch and let their potential customers get to know the people they’re dealing with.
Study considers the future of marketing and anticipates challenges facing the industry
Besides exploring the status quo, BVDW and Civey’s study into digital marketing services also asked participants to share their thoughts about the future. Respondents were asked to identify the challenges that their companies are most concerned about, and tech-related changes such as artificial intelligence came top of the list. AI has already proven its disruptive potential and could offer unimagined opportunities in years ahead. Budget constraints (26.4 percent) and a lack of internal expertise (26 percent) are among the other challenges facing marketers. In addition to the financial aspects of this period of upheaval, the training and development of employees are also key concerns.
Keep an eye on the future of digital marketing services and seize opportunities
Although the BVDW and Civey’s study into demand for marketing service providers has shone some light into the darkness, it remains to be seen what the future really holds. While challenges lie ahead, one thing is clear: marketers should focus on the endless wealth of opportunities. After all, that’s the only way to unlock potential!
