Many marketing agencies simply act as ‘cannon fodder’ in tender processes, with organisations shortlisting them even though they have little prospect of winning the business, according to a report.
Research carried out by B2B marketplace Globality found a quarter of firms include more than six agencies on a shortlist, allowing the agencies to complete the process even though they don’t have a realistic chance of being awarded the business.
The study of 300 marketing procurement professionals also found more than half of organisations (55%) used pre-approved supplier lists. The intenion of such lists is to reduce risk and speed projects up, but the report said the smaller pool of agencies limits marketing’s ability to choose the best fit for a project.
Globality said this reinforces a supply-based model, whereas it recommended firms move to a demand-based model to allow procurement and marketing to find the best agencies for a particular project.
Daniel Kline, senior VP of global sales at Globality, said: “While there are existing tools that offer help, there is still vast room for growth, as well as untapped opportunity for procurement professionals, agencies and marketers alike.”
