In today’s communications and creative sector, data-driven decisions set agencies apart. Whether it’s understanding employee sentiment, client needs, or industry trends, surveys are a vital tool. But should your agency run its own survey or work with an external partner that collects data across multiple agencies?
Both approaches have their merits, but the right choice depends on your goals, audience, and need for honest, benchmarked insights.
DIY Surveys: Control Comes at a Cost
Running your own survey gives you full control over questions, methodology, and timing. It allows you to focus on the topics most relevant to your agency. However, control doesn’t always mean better insights.
Key challenges of DIY surveys
- Limited benchmarking – Without industry-wide comparisons, it’s hard to tell whether trends are agency-specific or part of a broader shift
- Bias and blind spots – Internally designed surveys often reflect leadership assumptions, shaping the responses and missing critical insights
- Trust and anonymity concerns – Employees and clients may hesitate to give candid feedback, fearing a lack of true confidentiality. This can lead to filtered responses, where people say what they think leadership wants to hear
- Resource-heavy process – From survey design to distribution and analysis, managing a survey internally requires expertise and time
Internal surveys work best for quick pulse checks—but they risk producing data without direction, making it harder to take meaningful action.
Partnering for a broader (and more honest) perspective
An external research partner brings a wider lens to your agency’s data, ensuring that insights are benchmarked, unbiased, and actionable.
Benefits of working with an external partner
- Industry-wide benchmarking – Compare your performance against competitors, not just your own past results
- Unbiased methodology – Third-party experts ensure data credibility and remove internal influence.
- Increased candour – Employees and clients are more likely to provide honest feedback when they trust that responses are anonymous and confidential.
- Expert survey design – Professional research partners know how to frame questions to reduce bias and improve data quality
- Time and resource efficiency – Your team focuses on actioning insights, rather than managing the research process
- Compliance and data privacy – External partners ensure adherence to regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and ethical data practices
The biggest advantage? You get unfiltered truth, not just a filtered snapshot of your agency’s internal perspectives.
Beyond the data: how actionable are your insights?
One of the most overlooked aspects of surveys is what happens next:
- DIY surveys often deliver raw data, leaving leadership teams unsure of how to interpret or act on it.
- External partners don’t just collect data—they analyse trends, offer strategic recommendations, and provide benchmarks, making insights more actionable.
If you’re investing time in collecting feedback, shouldn’t it drive real change and competitive advantage?
The decision matrix: DIY vs. external partner
Which approach is right for your agency?
|
Factor |
DIY Survey |
External Partner |
|
Full control over survey content |
✅ Yes |
❌ Limited |
|
Industry-wide benchmarks |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
|
Minimizes bias & increases objectivity |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
|
Ensures anonymity & candour |
❌ Risk of bias |
✅ More trusted |
|
Saves internal resources |
❌ Time-consuming |
✅ Efficient |
|
Expert survey design & analysis |
❌ Limited expertise |
✅ Professional insights |
|
Compliance with data privacy laws |
⚠️ Potential risks |
✅ Fully managed |
The key question: Do you need deep, comparative insights or just a quick internal pulse check?
Final thought: what’s your end goal?
If you need targeted, operational insights for internal decision-making, a DIY survey might work. But if you want a strategic, industry-wide view that provides candid, actionable, and benchmarked insights, partnering with an external firm is the smarter move.
Would you rather have filtered feedback or unfiltered truth? That decision could define your agency’s next big move.