Someone asked me recently how work was going. I gave the usual answer. Then they asked a different question: did I still enjoy it?
I had to think about that one. The answer is yes, but it’s what gave me pause that I want to share with you today.
The Law of Familiarity
The law of familiarity says that doing the same thing repeatedly drains the interest and creative energy you bring to it. It’s why people get bored at jobs they used to love. It’s why expert practitioners often produce more routine work than newer ones, even when their technical skill is higher.
This isn’t about any one person falling short. It’s just how people work, unless we make a real effort to do things differently.
Agencies fall into this pattern, too. It’s something most clients never see coming when they’re choosing who to hire.
Why Specialist Agencies May Not Be The Best for Your Business
The conventional wisdom says a specialist agency, one that only works in your industry, is the safer choice. They know the language, the regulations, the buying patterns, the typical playbook for your space.
But here’s what happens: when an agency repeats the same work for similar clients over and over, the law of familiarity kicks in. The ‘industry playbook’ they promise is usually a recycled solution, something that worked for another company in your space, maybe years back, with a few tweaks. What starts as expertise can quietly turn into a shortcut, where ‘this is how it’s done’ feels safe for everyone but doesn’t always get you the right result.
This isn’t a knock on specialist firms. It’s just a reality that’s tough to escape when your whole world is one industry.
How a Generalist Agency Bucks the Pattern
Agencies that work across different industries have some built-in advantages that specialists just can’t copy.
Cross-Industry Pattern Recognition
I’ve seen lessons from cybersecurity marketing show up in professional services. A campaign that took off for a B2C ecommerce client can spark a new approach for a B2B firm. Agencies that live in more than one world spot connections specialists never see, because those ideas only show up where industries overlap.
A specialist sees one playbook used a hundred different ways. A generalist sees a hundred playbooks and starts to notice which ideas actually work everywhere.
Fresh Problems Keep the Work Sharp
Every new client, every new industry, is a puzzle to solve. That keeps the team engaged and also means better work for the client.
When people care about the work, they notice more. They ask sharper questions, challenge assumptions, and spot details a team on autopilot would miss. That energy isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s the difference between a strategy built just for you and one that’s dusted off from the shelf.
Adapting Beats Replicating
A generalist figures out the core idea, then shapes it to fit the client. A specialist might skip that step, reaching for a template instead. Templates are efficient, but you end up with a strategy that was never really meant for you.
Adapting takes more effort, but that’s where the real value is.
The Team Stays Curious
Curiosity is what keeps strategy alive. It’s the difference between a kickoff that feels like a real conversation and one that’s just ticking boxes.
When a team is genuinely curious about your business, they ask the questions that lead to ideas your competitors haven’t seen. When they’re not, you get a shiny version of what worked for someone else.
What This Looks Like for the Client
You can spot the difference between these two models once the work actually starts.
With a specialist agency, you tend to see:
- Familiar deliverables, often recognizable across competitors who use the same firm
- Case studies in the pitch deck that are years old
- A defined playbook applied with minor variations
- Limited pushback on industry conventions
With a generalist agency working across industries, you tend to see:
- Real questions in the kickoff because the team doesn’t assume they already know your business
- Strategies adapted from contexts you wouldn’t have looked at on your own
- Willingness to challenge industry conventions when the convention is the problem
- A team that’s visibly invested in the work because the work is still interesting to them
Industry knowledge matters. A lot. But the best results come when it’s paired with curiosity, not used as a shortcut for real strategy.
Why This Matters to Me
Back to the conversation that started this article.
The reason I still love this work, after more than a decade of running an agency, is the same reason our model produces better work for clients: it produces better work for clients. I get to meet people running real businesses across industries I wouldn’t otherwise see. I get to play a small role in a business transformation that actually makes a difference for the owner. I get to learn something new on almost every project because each one is genuinely new.
This isn’t just a perk. It’s what keeps the work moving forward.
I don’t have to do this work—I get to. That difference is what separates an agency that’s still building something real from one that’s just following a script. When the team feels that, the client does too, even if nobody says it out loud.
How to Tell the Difference When You’re Hiring
If you’re evaluating agencies right now, here are four questions that surface whether the firm in front of you has fallen into the familiarity trap, regardless of whether they call themselves a specialist or a generalist:
- Ask what they’d do differently for your business than they did for the last three clients in your industry. If the answer is generic, they have a playbook.
- Ask about a project where the strategy didn’t work and what they learned. Agencies running on autopilot don’t have a good answer to this one.
- Ask what they find interesting about your business specifically. Listen for whether the answer sounds rehearsed or curious.
- Ask how they decide which clients to take on. Specialists often can’t say no to any business that fits the niche. Firms with real intention choose by fit, not by category.
This isn’t about ruling out specialist agencies. It’s about making sure the agency in front of you is still paying real attention, not just coasting on routine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a generalist and a specialist marketing agency? A specialist marketing agency works within a single industry or niche. A generalist agency works across multiple industries. Specialists offer deep industry familiarity. Generalists offer cross-industry pattern recognition and tend to bring fresher strategic thinking because they aren’t repeating the same playbook across every client.
Is industry experience important when hiring a marketing agency? Industry experience matters, but it isn’t the only thing that matters. An agency with deep experience in your industry can become reliant on past playbooks. An agency with diverse experience often brings ideas your industry hasn’t tried. The best test is whether the agency adapts its approach to your specific business or applies a template.
How can I tell if an agency is giving me a cookie-cutter strategy? Look at the specificity of their questions in the kickoff, the age of the case studies they reference, and whether their recommendations could apply to any business in your industry or only to yours. Cookie-cutter strategies tend to feel polished but generic. Real strategy feels specific to your situation, including the parts that are uncomfortable to discuss.
When does it make sense to hire a specialist agency over a generalist one? Specialist agencies make sense when the work requires regulatory or technical knowledge that takes years to build (heavily regulated industries like pharma or aviation, for example) and when the industry’s strategic conventions are clearly the right ones. For most businesses, a generalist agency with cross-industry experience produces stronger work because most strategic problems aren’t actually unique to one industry.
Hire the Agency That’s Still Paying Attention
Site Hub works across industries by design. WordPress development, SEO, paid ads, content, and strategy for clients in cybersecurity, professional services, B2B, B2C, government, and more. The diverse experience is what keeps the work fresh. If you’re looking for an agency conversation that doesn’t come from a script, let’s talk.
