Full Service vs. Specialized Marketing Agency - What’s Better?
Marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool for businesses to promote their products and services, build brand recognition, and generate leads. But what type of marketing firm should you work with to get the best results? While full-service marketing firms offer convenience by providing a range of services in one place, specialized marketing agencies are typically better suited for achieving specific goals. This blog post will explore why working with a specialized agency rather than a full service provider is likely the smarter choice when it comes to meeting complex objectives and getting the higher quality outcomes your business needs.
Generalist vs. Specialist
Full-service agencies offer a wide range of services that encompass many aspects of digital marketing, making them an attractive option for many businesses. However, due to the fact that full-service agencies are generally considered to be 'generalist', meaning they cover a broad spectrum of skills and services, they don't have the same level of depth and expertise in specific areas as a specialist or dedicated digital marketing agency. If you want specialized solutions tailored to your individual business needs, then working with a specialized provider may be the best option. Take Influent (our agency) for example. Everyday, LinkedIn is constantly changing and updating. We know a lot about LinkedIn, because we are daily operators on the platform. Our strategists are inside your profile, seeing the updates and changes in real time. That’s all that we do at Influent, so we have a different level of depth and expertise compared to a full service agency you would hire.
Two very different approaches
A full service agency's approach to digital marketing campaigns can be quite generalized and cookie-cutter. With a specialized digital marketing agency, businesses have the potential to benefit from more personalized and tailored strategies designed for their specific goals. Specialized digital marketing agencies are structured to take full advantage of the expertise their specialist team members offer, taking full advantage of specific kinds of promotion that full service agencies may miss due to their more generalist approach. A specialized digital marketing agency can bring a deeper level of focus and dedication to a business's objectives than general full service agency options. You may have also heard the term ‘boutique’ to describe the specialized type of agency. The size also impacts the way your account is serviced, as the relationship might also be more personal, or 1:1.
Then there’s the cost…
Specialized digital marketing agencies typically have lower overhead costs than full service traditional marketing agencies, allowing them to offer their services at a more competitive rate. A specialized agency is able to focus on what they do best, meaning better outcomes from the same budget than a full-service agency that needs to try to cover all disciplines and can be hampered in being a jack of all trades. By partnering with a specialist you get the full benefit of their efforts as opposed to having it divided amongst generalist roles in larger companies. In today's landscape of virtual business, hiring a specialized firm gives the promise of maximum return on investment while catering to specific needs.
