December 08, 2014

Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing are Top Revenue Generators for B2B Agencies

Many companies are finding themselves strapped for marketing resources as they try to keep up with today’s rapidly changing digital landscape. So instead of taking up the long, arduous and expensive task of hiring new team members, more businesses are seeking outside help from marketing agencies.

According to a new study from B2BMarketing titled “B2B Agencies Report 2014,” more B2B companies are now outsourcing their core marketing responsibilities. The report indicates that the most revenue-generating outsourced services for B2B marketing agencies include marketing planning and strategy, website design, development management and branding/ content marketing.

The benefits to outsourcing marketing responsibilities extend far beyond financial reasons. Let’s face it; marketing is far more complex that most people realize. Partnering with an agency can help simplify certain tasks and offer the necessary support for reaching full market potential. For example, you get all the perks of having a specialized team of digital marketing experts, at a fraction of the cost, with no long term commitment. What’s more, agencies can provide fresh, innovative market perspectives.

Of course, finding the right fit for your business is paramount as not every agency is created equal. Below are a few tips on how to choose the right marketing partner:

1. Evaluate Your Needs: Before you start your search, it’s important that you first evaluate your needs. For example, maybe your department is making a big content marketing push for 2015 and you’re in desperate need of editors and writers who can churn out fresh custom content.  Identifying gaps in your current strategy will enable you to focus your search on those that offer exactly what you’re looking for.

2. Set Your Criteria: Now that you’ve determined your needs, it’s time to establish how you will evaluate different firms (e.g. price, accreditation, services). This way, you can avoid wasting precious time exploring options that turn out to be the wrong fit for your business. Make sure that all stakeholders agree on the criteria you set in place.

3. Ask the right questions: Asking the right questions during the interview process is critical to finding a good fit your brand. Remember, you want an agency that has experience in working with brands like yours. To determine if they have relevant experience ask them about clients in similar industries who’ve faced similar challenges. Or ask them to see examples of strategies they’ve create for clients.

4. Talk to a client: Relying on a sales pitch doesn’t often give you enough information to make an informed decision; however, talking to an agency’s clients does. Ask to speak with a current customer as this will give you a more accurate picture of how the agency works. If you can’t speak to a customer, ask to read a case study or testimonial.

5. Hire for cultural fit: Not only should your partner have the necessary skills, but they should also mesh with your organization and culture. For example, if your business is all about collaboration, make sure the agency you pick is too. To assess cultural fit, ensure that the people you meet with during the interview process are the ones who will be working on your business on a regular basis. 

Outsourcing isn’t going to be right for every organization. As the CMO or marketing manager, it’s up to you to know if it’s the right move. If you want to learn more about choosing the right agency, download our whitepaper “The Virtues of Choosing a Content Strategy Vendor.”

 



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