If you’re looking for help to drive revenue for your clinic or practice, then you’ve probably come across the terms Growth Agency and Advertising Agency.
Both can help grow your business but offer different services and have different functions, so you may be feeling confused about the difference between them. And if you need convincing as to why you should care about healthcare marketing for your clinic, have a quick read through this blog.
- What sets Growth and Advertising Agencies apart
- The main types of agencies
- How to choose an agency
We will also give you an opportunity to get some help so you can choose the right one for your clinic.
Let’s start with some definitions.
Both can help grow your business but offer different services and have different functions, so you may be feeling confused about the difference between them.
What is an Advertising Agency and what does an Advertising Agency do?
An Advertising Agency is a business focused on marketing to the masses.
They offer a wide range of services, including branding, public relations, and traditional advertising.
While they may help you generate leads and sales, they are not specialists in Growth Marketing.
What are the main types of advertising agencies?
Full-Service Agencies
They provide planning and creative development, media buying and execution, and they help with all aspects of advertising, so you can use them for a fully integrated campaign.
Pros: Can take care of all initiatives from start to finish.
Cons: They can be expensive, and their services may not be tailored to your specific needs.
Digital Agencies
They focus on online marketing and media, such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click ads (PPC).
Pros: Digital agencies offer a specialised service.
Cons: They may be positioned to tackle your particular business challenge however you’ll need to do extensive
research first.
Creative Boutiques
These are agencies with one or two employees. They offer personal attention but may lack some of the resources and skills of bigger teams.
Pros: Can provide specialised services for a reasonable price because of reduced overheads.
Cons: You might not get as much ‘bang’ for your buck.
What is a Growth Agency?
Growth Agencies work to identify, then target your ideal customer with a strategy that resonates so that you can increase lead flow, treatment uptake and revenue.
Specialists in Growth Marketing (all the different types of activities, tools, and services to increase treatment uptake), are data-driven and work to speed up the delivery of new good-fit patients for your clinic.
What are the main types of Growth Agencies?
Growth Marketing
These types of agencies help generate leads and increase sales through demand generation, using paid media like Facebook & Instagram ads, Google ads, YouTube Ads etc.
Pros: Have a good understanding of digital channels and can install an effective and speedy lead generation system. Click here to find out more benefits of using a growth agency for your clinic.
Cons: May not have the resources to service a very big company.
Growth Consulting
Growth Consultants typically have experience working for larger organisations to help them scale their growth programs up from one or two channels to multiple channels.
They focus on a few areas initially, then scale that up into a demand generation program by adding more channels, including offline through different media like TV Ads, Radio ads etc…
Pros: Typically, only work with larger companies.
Cons: May not have worked with your specific niche before.
Growth Hacking
Growth hacking agencies use a mix of marketing, design, engineering, and analytical skills to help companies rapidly grow their user base or revenue.
Pros: Have a well-established network of bloggers, social media influencers, and other contacts who can help expose
your product or service to a wider audience.
Cons: Better suited to larger companies with bigger budgets.
How do I choose a Growth Agency?
Clinics are specialist businesses, so you need to choose a specialist agency with the right growth team.
They need to be able to factor in important nuances unique to healthcare like:
- The patient journey
- Healthcare advertising guidelines
- Which treatments work best on which advertising platforms
- A deep understanding of the emotional drivers that move leads to high-value patients
What do I need to know?
First, ask if they have experience in your area of the healthcare industry.
Second, make sure they have a team of experts with deep knowledge about your specific type of business.
Third, ensure their services are relevant to you and that they can provide a return on investment (ROI).
Also, consider whether you need help to acquire new patients (lead generation) or more engagement from your current patient base (internal marketing).
The signs of a great agency
The best agencies don’t simply launch campaigns, send you an invoice and then forget about you.
They have systems and processes to support you, help tackle your business challenges and set you up for success with:
- Training
- Resources (best practice guides, knowledge bases and blueprints etc)
- Expertise gathered from delivering hundreds of similar successful campaigns
So, which one is right for you – Advertising or Growth?
Every clinic is different, and the answer depends on your specific needs.
If you’re looking for help with general awareness and marketing communications, then an Advertising Agency is the way to go.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for specific help with increasing treatment uptake from new patients all the way through revenue optimisation strategies, then a specialist Growth Marketing Agency is a great choice.
We’re here to help!
Choosing the right type of agency to help grow your clinic can be a daunting task, and we hope this post has been helpful.
But if you’ve already decided you want a trusted growth marketing agency that specialises in:
- Using the latest data-driven lead generation techniques
- A proven marketing strategy that delivers highly qualified leads
- Increasing revenue from new treatment uptake
If you want to get back to concentrating on providing outstanding patient care – then we might be able to help you!
Simply book your FREE Growth Strategy Call here to see if we’re a good fit and can help your clinic too. Here at Ignite, we do things differently and only take on clinics and practices that we can genuinely help.
Here’s some further reading (and viewing) for you.
