How to Choose the Right B2B Marketing Agency
B2B marketing is a different beast than B2C marketing and can be more challenging, even for experienced digital marketing teams. To build successful growth marketing strategies, working with a B2B marketing agency might be the most productive route to take.
With that said, it’s not a good idea to join efforts with the first agency that shows up on search engine result pages.
Finding the right agency that will meet a business's unique needs is easier said than done, and this article will discuss how to identify the right B2B marketing agency.
#1. Know Exactly What You Need
Even a rudimentary content marketing strategy (or any strategy, for that matter) requires a good understanding of goals and aims. It’s important that all objectives are made clear before a B2B marketing agency is approached.
When a business knows exactly what they want to achieve, it will be much easier for the agency to develop an effective strategy.
This doesn’t mean a complete and fully developed digital marketing strategy or paid media campaign needs to be prepared, but the main ideas should already be identified. It’s also a good idea to already know the target market and potential strategic foundations that could work best.
Having already-planned brand messaging and a fleshed-out brand identity will help the agency better understand the business as well, making the marketing and sales team’s work easier.
#2. Ask the Agency For Examples of Their Work
Before deciding which marketing agency has made the cut, it’s a great idea to get an understanding of what they can do and how they go about meeting goals. Naturally, no marketing agency can show off all the work they've done, but they should have suitable examples and archives to display their skills and abilities.
Keep in mind that finding the right agency isn’t necessarily about working with one that has done exactly what you need.
It is highly important that the agency has an understanding of appropriate industry trends (such as the PLG funnel), though. If the team is not up-to-date with what’s going on in your industry, the agency can easily miss the mark with its strategic planning.
#3. Read Their Websites Carefully
Once you have compiled a list of reliable and interesting marketing agencies, it’s time to see how they created their own website. An easy way to see what a prospective agency is capable of is by taking a look at its own website.
If an agency can’t show examples of how it satisfied existing customers (or previous customers), it might be best to move on to the next agency. Getting a glimpse of previous work allows for an understanding of how an agency can achieve the goals it’s given.
At Matter Made, for example, we offer case studies from many brands — including Dropbox, Productboard, Calm, Loom, and more.
The website should also highlight information such as pricing, customer reviews, and how the teams behind the agency’s success do the things they do. You’ll get an understanding of the agency’s workflow and how that can help with "speed to lead" strategies.
#4. Have a Meeting With Each Agency
Getting together with the marketing agencies and personally meeting every potential agency partner is essential. Although a lot can be learned from the agencies’ websites and brochures, etc, nothing compares to physically meeting the marketing and sales teams you'll be working with.
Allowing a business’ in-house marketing team to meet with the agencies’ team members will help everyone involved to decide if they can work together. A successful digital marketing strategy depends on every person working on it, and if there isn’t harmony, the final results may be lackluster.
Asking questions in person also gives a business the chance to gauge how the agency’s team responds and get a feel for what working with them will be like.
#5. Slowly Weigh Up Your Options As a Team
When all potential agency partners have been looked at, it’s time to sit back and carefully compare them. It’s important to not rush the decision and think carefully, taking portfolios, track records, skills, and pricing into consideration.
Taking enough time to make this decision can feel somewhat frustrating, but it’s important not to make an emotional or hurried choice.
Keep in mind your desired marketing campaign — will you use content marketing or social media marketing? How important is search engine optimization to you? Will the agencies be able to achieve the goals you have? How will they do that, and how long will it take them? How will their approach affect your revenue operations? The answers to these questions will help make the final decision easier.
Is Matter Made the Right B2B Marketing Agency For You?
Choosing a B2B marketing agency to work with is more complex than one might expect, and having everyone on the same page about goals and ambitions is important.
Although working with a good agency can make digital marketing easier, teaming up with the wrong one can cause frustration and waste money as well as time.
Matter Made’s team of experienced experts could be just what you’re looking for. Interested?
Let’s talk!
