How to Select the Ideal B2B Marketing Partner

Before partnering with a marketing agency, it’s important to understand who will work with you, and the level of their experience in marketing and with companies and industries like yours.

Getting to know the culture of the agency — its workflows, collaboration style, ability to handle obstacles, etc. — is another key step before making a decision.

As with any relationship, communication is the key to success. Building rapport with your marketing partner requires frequent and consistent communication between your two teams.

We recommend meeting every two weeks (and more often, as needed) for at least an hour to discuss progress and results, get feedback, and brainstorm ideas. Understanding how your marketing partner communicates will help you determine how proactive — or reactive — they will be.

In addition to regular communication, quantitative measurement of your custom marketing program’s success is critical for driving double-digit growth. We recommend asking to see a sample of the reporting they provide to existing clients.

Leads, sales and customer retention are the most important factors for increasing profitability, but they are lagging metrics — think of everything needed to generate them. This is why it’s crucial to report on the most important leading indicators that drive increases in lagging indicators:

Inbound marketing

• Keyword rankings (Moz or SEMRush)
• Search terms where your website is showing and bringing in traffic (Google Search Console)
• Organic website traffic and how this is trending in recent years (Google Analytics)
• Overall/other forms of website traffic (Google Analytics)
• Bounce rate, average time on the site and per page, average number of pages viewed (Google Analytics)
• Pay-per-click metrics (Google Ads, Bing Ads, LinkedIn): impressions, clicks, clickthrough rate, average cost per click, conversions, average cost per conversion
• Ecommerce sales (if applicable)
• Social media followers, likes, and shares (generally the least important element for B2B marketing)

Outbound marketing

• Email open and clickthrough rates
• CRM stats: meetings scheduled with prospects, proposals sent, sales won/lost
• Marketing intent tracking: getting notified when prospects are searching for keyword phrases that are highly relevant to your business (ZoomInfo Intent)

Do a little research into your potential partner before signing an agreement. Read reviews, testimonials, and case studies. If they don’t have any, why not?

Smaller companies may be harder to research, but sites like Clutch.com, Expertise.com, and Google reviews can provide insight. For larger companies, pay attention to specific account managers named in reviews, and determine if these individuals still work for the company and will work on your account (vs. the recent college graduate).

For complete due diligence, we recommend requesting referrals from 1–3 of their clients. Most marketing agencies will be happy to connect you with an existing customer for first-person feedback. Trust your instincts on whether your partner feels reliable, trustworthy, and effective.

Because of the high demand for content these days, marketing agencies often put junior copywriters on client accounts, so be sure to evaluate the quality and consistency of whoever will work on your content prior to signing any agreement. Otherwise, you may get too much top-of-funnel or out-of-funnel content that is unlikely to draw prospects and convert them into leads.

High-quality mid- and bottom-funnel content, including educational blogs, case studies, e-guides, e-books, whitepapers, technical guides, and other long-form marketing content are powerful tools for inbound lead generation, but require the talents of published writers and experienced editors — ideally those with a background in journalism or market research.

Innovation keeps your company growing — and at the forefront of your prospects’ attention. In a fast-paced world, reactive marketing content isn’t just off target, it’s miles away.

Your marketing partner should regularly bring new ideas for you to consider. You want an active partner in the brainstorming and strategy phases of your marketing, not just the execution.

Look for a partner who serves as a trusted advisor and problem solver instead of a vendor.

Having a strategy for navigating conflict can help avoid a situation down the line. When vetting a partner, ask what happens if your expectations are not being met after the first 3–6 months. We recommend a 30 or 60-day opt-out policy built into every agreement.