Partnering with a marketing agency can help you develop a campaign, boost your online presence, and ultimately increase sales. Asking potential agencies the right questions will enable you to assess and select the best medical marketing agency for your business.
Why Do I Need to Hire a Marketing Agency?
This question is one you'll need to answer yourself. Knowing your short-term and long-term reasons for hiring a team will make for a more effective collaboration. Whether you're after lead generation, social media development, content creation, or, define your needs before considering agencies.
Do You Have Medical Marketing Experience?
Marketing for continued medical education (CME) offerings is incredibly different from, say, promoting a yoga brand or confectionary company. An agency with experience in medicine and medical education, in particular, will have a stronger understanding of your offers and your audience - better positioning them to effectively market your courses and services.
What Clients Do You Work With?
Ask for a list of current or past clients that they have teamed up with and if they can provide you with some success stories. It's also worth asking if they have any current work ties with competitors in your industry which may negatively impact your working relationship.
How Long Has the Agency Been in Operation?
Experience isn't the be all and end all, but it certainly gives an indication as to where a marketing agency is in their development. New companies may still be going through a 'teething phase,' while more established agencies are likely to have tried-and-tested marketing strategies in place.
Who Do You Believe Are Our Top Competition in CME?
Prior to your conversation, the agency should do enough research to understand the top providers of continuing medical education, especially those who directly compete with your specific offerings. The American Medical Association is a great source to start developing this list for yourself.
Describe Your Promotion Strategy and Schedule for a New CME Course.
The answer to this question will reveal a potential marketing agency's insights into the CME industry as well as their attention to detail. Any proposed schedule should include appropriate steps, timing based on industry standards and consideration of a range of marketing platforms.
What Resources Do You Use for Medical Marketing?
Asking about a potential agency's knowledge of tools and resources that are specific to medical marketing will also help you see how much they know about your industry. These may include specific forums, apps and websites that your customers frequent or may provide insights into your audience.
How Would You Use Social Media for CME Marketing?
Social media is a popular marketing platform across industries and only continues to rise in popularity. A recent study indicates that social media could be used to effectively promote CME offerings if targeted and used correctly. The right agency should understand the value of social media marketing for reaching your specific core customers.
What are the Costs Involved and Payment Process?
This is a loaded subject, but a medical marketing agency worth their salt should be able to clearly explain the costs involved, including whether work is billed per project or per hour. They should also indicate potential additional costs, as well as the payment process and methods of payments that are accepted.
What Happens if We Choose to Part Ways?
AKA, what happens if I no longer give you my money? You'll want to know how long you're tied into a contract for, and what your options are if the marketing agency doesn't live up to their promises.
It’s also worth knowing what you'll actually own should you choose to end your working relationship. For example, will things such as photographs, artwork, and coding actually belong to you, or will the marketing agency legally own these brand assets?
PJ Calkins is a Solution Engineer. He is an expert at identifying client needs, marketing strategies and budgets. PJ has managed over 4.5 million dollars in PPC advertising and analyzed almost 1 million unique website visitors across dozens of websites & industries. Because of his lengthy experience running a small business, he also has tons of experience in problem solving and creative brainstorming.
