A strong partnership is the foundation for successful mental health marketing. However, knowing which agency is the right one to partner with can be a challenge. This article outlines five things to look for when making your choice and provides a question guide to get the answers you need.
Are They Willing To Dive In Head First?
Of course you want your team to understand the healthcare arena. But, understanding the healthcare arena as a whole doesn’t mean that they truly understand your business. A true partner takes the plunge into the industry and into your business. They take the time to understand your competitors, your business goals, your threats and how you view success. All of this comes with one end in mind – developing a strategy that is uniquely yours and will meet your objectives.
How Does The Team Measure Success?
Marketing and communications successes should be able to be replicated. Seems simple enough, right? But, without the data to showcase that success and why it happened, making it happen again may not be so easy.
An agency partner should not only understand the importance of data and data-driven insights, but also know how to use tools that collect and track data so they can analyze, glean insights and apply them to future campaign recommendations.
Who’s On Your Team?
Every member of your agency team will play an important role. But, having senior leadership as a part of your team throughout your engagement is key. Nearly 85% of the success of your program comes from the first 15% of the process.
Senior leadership should be involved in the initial conversations, but must also stay engaged through the strategy and execution to ensure that first 15% of your engagement is optimized for success. The senior team should also be available throughout the program – both to you as a client but also to more junior staff members who are executing the program: their insights, experience and leadership will help to optimize results.
Does The Team Walk The Walk?
A team that understands the industry is one thing. A team that participates in the industry and actively “walks the walk” is another.
For a team to truly be fluent in the mental health space, understanding lived experience is a must. Look for a team that has been mental health first aid trained (being trained with an underlying emphasis of cultural sensitivity is a plus!). See if the team participates with any of its local mental health-focused non-profits or CBOs. The more the team is engaged in a meaningful way with the mental health community, the more insights, understanding, grace and sensitivity they can bring to your communications.
Are Your “Whys” Compatible?
Whenever you enter into a relationship, it’s important that your values
align. Ask your agency team why they do the work they do. What motivates them? How do they determine the type of work they want to take on? And then see if the answers to those questions line up with your organization’s answers.
Working with a partner who sees the world through the same lens and is working toward a larger, common goal makes everything easier.
Ready To Find Your Partner?
A strong partnership is the foundation of successful mental health marketing. However, determining that partner can be a challenge.
We’ve prepared a list of ten qualifying questions to help you determine if a particular agency is the right fit for your organization.
Ready to begin? Download the free guide here!