A new study has found what healthcare companies feel are important criteria in judging the performance of their public relations and advertising agencies.
The new client satisfaction study released by Baxter Gurin & Mazzei, the Los-Angeles based marketing communications firm is a valuable benchmark for both agencies and healthcare companies who would like to rate their areas of high impact strengths and opportunities. The survey interviewed 100 executives at pharmaceutical companies.
According to the study, healthcare company wants are twofold: they want agencies that understand the client's industry and the client's needs; and agencies that follow strategy and stay focused on objectives.
"Knowing what is important to a customer enables the company to focus on improving performance where performance counts," said Joseph Doyle, president of Los Angeles-based Baxter, Gurrin & Mazzel, which specializes in marketing communications for medical, biotechnology and healthcare companies nationwide. "The company can then concentrate its resources cost efficiently into those areas of service or product that the customer truly deems important, not simply what the company thinks may be important."
Studies such as the Baxter one are important because both pharmaceutical companies and their agencies need to know, in measurable terms, what customers look for in their suppliers, what roles they want them to play, and what factors contribute to their satisfaction, said Howard Godman, healthcare director of Manning, Selvage & Lee, a London-based PR agency.
It is not enough, however, to merely develop these factors; it is more important to prioritize which are most meaningful to the clients) in the relationship and upon which agencies can act.
"What we learned has wide implications for virtually any business where customer satisfaction drives sales and can be instructive for pharmaceutical companies in meeting the needs of their customers," said Doyle.
Two basic principles emerged from the BGM Client Satisfaction Study:
1. The price of admission is understanding the client's industry and is reflected in the agency's output.
This one underlying principle was part of most respondents' answers. Most wanted an agency that understood the intricacies of their business and the complexities and influences of the marketplace for their products and services.
Agencies must demonstrate a thorough understanding of what the client faces in the marketplace and translate that understanding into specific communications programs that will help the client company achieve its goals effectively.
2. Agencies must also understand specifically what the client needs from them, and then deliver it.
The survey found that, not surprisingly, different respondents held different expectations as to what its agency role should be.
Survey participants expect an agency to perform multiple roles during the course of their relationship. The specific roles varied with the respondent and the size of the company and, in some cases, overlapped. For example, small to mid-sized companies valued the agency as a strategic partner and consultant, particularly in terms of strategic planning capability and marketing expertise, as well as creative concepts and execution.
Some larger companies also look to the agency for the strategic function, but not as greatly.
For those companies with internal strategic planning capabilities or that appropriate that role to outside consultants, the strategic function is narrowed down to the importance of producing creative ideas and on target strategy execution, said Doyle. However, outside influences, such as budget constraints and number of agencies worked with, impact expectations.
(BMG, 310 914-5050; Manning Selvage & Lee)When evaluating an agency,
BGM's survey suggests that pharmaceuticals look at the following criteria:
Does the agency understand the varying size, maturity, and missions of managed care companies, what those customers really want and need from them?
Do they understand that the above factors shape the negotiation of pricing, marketing support, and ancillary services to maintain satisfied customers?
Do they know which areas need attention and how much, weighed against return on investment?
Does the agency follow direction and deliver what is expected of it?
Does the agency possess a profound insightful understanding of your company and the business challenges it faces?
Do they know the business enough to deliver an on-target product?
Does the agency understand what is important to the customers and do they know how to identify, improve, and deliver the internal and external resources to satisfy what matters most to the client?