B2B Marketing Consulting Agency Blog

3 Marketing Partner Best Practices: How Does Yours Stack Up?

- November 12, 2020 12:21 am

Marketing Partner vs. Vendor

As a former head of product management and working with so many clients that have been under-served by their so-called marketing “partner” over the past 14 years, I know what ineffective marketing looks like and how much it can hold you back.

How well does your marketing partner stack up with the following?

1. Being a True Marketing Partner vs. a Vendor

Does your marketing company actively bring new lead generation and thought leadership ideas to you on a regular basis? Do they meet with you on a regular basis and provide monthly reporting? Can they provide useful guidance on even beyond marketing?

2. Thinking Strategically vs. Opportunistically

Does your marketing company developed a comprehensive marketing plan for you every year that identifies the right combination of digital marketing, website development, content marketing, SEO, video, Google Ads, email campaigns, PR, direct mail, social media, industry association sponsorship, etc.?

3. Effective Use of Marketing Technology

Has your marketing company identified how to use HubSpot or other marketing automation software to integrate with your CRM, website and email management to create a 360° view of every prospect and customer instead of having data silos? Have they set you up with an easy, cost-effective and secure website platform that you can easily edit?

Get a Marketing Audit

If you feel under-served by your marketing company or would like a report card on their work, an Innovaxis marketing audit will uncover the marketing gaps and reveal new opportunities to increase lead generation and sales – and can serve as a report card for your current marketing company. The audit’s findings and recommendations can create the foundation for your 2021 marketing plan.

Here’s a case study of our work with a manufacturer of induction heating tools, which started with a marketing audit. We then implemented many of the audit’s findings, which increased product sales by 20%-100% and their ecommerce sales have grown 20% ever year since we implemented it (45% this year).