Working with an agency on managing and executing your firm’s B2B marketing strategy can deliver a lot of time savings and overall value. That may seem weighted coming from a B2B marketing agency, but it’s true.
The truth is that you are an expert in the products and services you offer, whether it’s cybersecurity software, data center management, financial consulting, recruiting C-suite candidates, or whatever niche you excel in. While you are an expert in delivering your services or producing your end product, an experienced B2B agency excels at marketing your services and products to your end user.
As each party has their own expertise, it’s natural to assume that your company is best suited to handle certain tasks while the agency is better equipped to handle other tasks. Let’s explore which tasks or duties you should keep in-house and what you should outsource to a credible B2B marketing agency.
Outsource to the Experts
- Copywriting – There is no question that your internal team has the subject matter expertise to explain your products or services. However, how that is explained to your core audience or prospects and customers is the difference between so-so copy and compelling copy that converts. Working with an agency allows you to access experienced copywriters for every type of medium. It’s their job to craft copy that connects to the target audience – use this skill for your benefit.
- Search Engine Optimization – You can’t learn search engine optimization overnight and it’s best not to “try” it. Partnering with an agency that has a demonstrated record of successful search optimization and that stays up with changes in SEO is your best bet for effective implementation. Google and other search engines aren’t updating their algorithms every six months, they are updating them every day. By relying on a partner to manage your SEO, you are ensuring that they are using best practices and keeping their finger on the pulse of what is evolving in SEO.
- Website Design and Development – Professional B2B website design and development takes years to perfect. Commercials make website design looks like it only takes 30 minutes to get a website up and running, which is a good fit for a mom and pop shop that can only afford $1,000 for a new website. However, if you plan on generating website leads that are valued between $30,000 – $100,000 over the life of the relationship, a template website won’t cut it. By working with a B2B website design and development partner, you can be sure that the end result will be a professional website design that resonates with your target market and positions your company in the best possible light.
- Content Creation – Wouldn’t it be nice if you could know what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to content pieces and your target market? That’s the main advantage of outsourcing your content creation to an experienced marketing agency. Not only do you get access to seasoned writers, you get access to a design team that knows design best practices, your company’s branding principles, and what works best for each type of content medium. Knowing your brand isn’t enough and this is why this is best to outsource to a professional team.
Keep In-House for Maximum Value
- Goal Setting + Strategy Oversight – Even if your sole function is marketing and/or business development for your company, you likely have insight into the strategic direction of your company and how all the various departments are interconnected. You also have a very keen idea of how your company’s products or services fit into the broader industry. Even if you communicate key goals or insights about your industry, a B2B marketing agency will never have the comprehensive understanding you do. For this reason, you should always maintain control over goal setting and the total marketing strategy for your company. You can enlist an agency for direction on best channels, executing campaigns, and ideal messaging – but ultimately you should be the ultimate keeper and decision maker of your strategy. Your best bet is to partner with an agency that will act as an extension of your marketing team.
- Lead Nurturing + Qualification – An experienced agency can help you set up lead nurturing processes, help you develop the tools to attract and nurture leads, and gauge the quality of the leads, but a successful lead nurturing and qualification process is driven from internal sources. Why? Because you know what pain points or challenges your prospects face and at what point these challenges pop up. Additionally, you know the questions to ask a prospect to determine if they are the right fit for your products or services.
- Campaign Ideation – This seems counter-intuitive. Why wouldn’t you call on the creative ideas of a B2B agency for coming up with advertising campaigns? Yes, you definitely want to outsource the creative development of any ad campaigns to an agency. But often, campaigns will center around internal goals, revenue pushes, or sales strategies. For this reason, it’s a good idea to keep general campaign ideation internal. If you determine that it’s time to make a push on a particular product or service that is lacking in numbers, then approach your B2B agency for help with developing that campaign.
Working with the right B2B agency is a true partnership. Once you find the right fit, they will become an extension of your internal marketing and business development team, calling on your expertise and theirs to develop successful marketing strategies.
