Advertising and marketing have become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. With the onset of the internet and digital media, it has become easier to reach audiences around the world, anywhere, anytime. This means that we are bombarded with brand and advertising messages day in and day out, which ironically can stifle up-and-coming brands because there is so much noise and competition.
Most companies and brands do not have the time to monitor and execute their own campaigns. Instead, they usually outsource these tasks to advertising and marketing agencies. These agencies will then help brands to strategise, execute, monitor, analyse and tweak their campaigns, sometimes even in real-time. This is fantastic for businesses, who can then spend their undivided attention on releasing the latest and greatest product.
While it’s not surprising that most advertising and marketing is done towards consumers, it can also be done to other businesses too – especially if a particular brand targets business as its customers. This is another subset of marketing and requires a slightly different approach. A business to business marketing agency can help you navigate this space and help you better target your customers – in this case – other companies.
What is a B2B marketing agency?
Let’s get it out of the way – what is a business to business (B2B) marketing agency? Much like a business to consumer (B2C) agency, a B2B marketing agency consists of a wide range of talents (mainly in the marketing field) that can provide companies advice, recommendations, tools and talents needed to get their marketing off the ground. B2B – much as its name suggests, refers to organisations that sell primarily to other companies instead of directly to consumers. As such, there are a few things B2B marketing agencies do differently compared to their counterparts.
- They tend to offer services that make up or accommodate complex and long sales processes (for instance, selling to accounting, senior management, etc). This is because businesses tend not to purchase for emotional or impulsive reasons. Plus, their decision-making and sales process can include a lot more people (a team may have to speak with their department head or CEO to get the approval to buy a product or service). Because businesses tend to be very risk-averse, building a relationship, educating, and positioning tend to take more time. This is why B2B strategies are more likely to be larger in scope.
- Businesses and consumers are driven by different wants and needs. While consumers tend to often be swayed by instant gratification, deals, status, entertainment, and security, businesses do not. Instead, they often seek out what is the most cost-efficient deal, and whether these products or services have measurable business results. So B2B marketers need to persuade their clientele using a more rational and logical perspective instead of an emotional one.
- B2B agencies tend to help their clients by creating long-form content that can educate, inform, and offer expertise. As B2B audiences are looking for either information or a solution to their problems, it is always a good idea to highlight the logical benefit of a product or service. Longer-form content such as books, whitepapers, and newsletters usually provide a wide range of information so that companies can seem like industry experts with authority.
Difference between B2B and B2C agencies?
As most of us can guess, B2C agencies focus on promoting a business’s product and service directly to customers. Therefore, most of their marketing strategy is geared towards how to meet the needs and interests of individuals.
On the other hand, B2B customers are looking to understand all the finer details of a brand’s product or service. They tend to think about the longer-term relationship with your agency based on their ROI.
However, sometimes the line is not so clear cut. Some agencies have begun to expand their services and dipped into both B2B and B2C marketing. This makes them a lot more versatile while increasing their customer base at the same time.
Popular services include:
Below are a few popular services when it comes to B2B marketing agencies.
Content development:
As mentioned above, most B2B marketing agencies help to produce a wide range of long-form content for their clients. This content includes relevant and valuable information that can help both attract and retain a company’s customers. Some content pieces feature blog posts, case studies, webinars and more. You can be sure that a B2B marketing agency has both copywriters, editors and SEO specialists that will help make sure that each piece of content shines so that you can get the best ROI.
Lead generation:
Another service B2B marketing agencies perform is bringing in new customers for your business. This can be done by coming up with a well-thought-out marketing plan that not only raises awareness of your brand but also engages potential audiences and customers. Aside from flat-out advertising, there are many more cost-effective methods to do this, like using PPC or social media marketing. Furthermore, if you are stuck on trying to achieve your goals, an agency can help be done to improve your campaign. Instead of you continuing to monitor your campaigns in advise you on what actions to take, whether they are likely to work in the long run, and what shouldreal-time, an agency can take over instead, so you can live your life stress-free.
Social media marketing:
If you are looking to build your brand online, social media is the name of the game now. Whether you are a B2B or B2C company – social media is where it’s at. It’s safe to say that with so many people using social media platforms, your business must have a social media presence. A professional B2B marketing agency can help formulate an optimal social media strategy so that your company can get the best ROI possible. Since different platforms target slightly different audiences and have different best practices, a marketing agency can suggest what kinds of content are best suited to what platform, so that you can get more engagements and interactions online.
Final thoughts:
If you are a B2B company looking to expand your marketing efforts, then it is highly recommended that you partner with a B2B marketing agency. As their main roles are to create high-quality marketing strategies for their clients, a professional one will ensure that you gain the best ROI possible for your marketing efforts.
B2B marketing agencies also deeply understand your needs as a B2B company, and how they differ from most B2C companies. As such, their campaigns and strategies will be tailored to best suit your business needs, so that you not only stand out from the crowd but are also positioned as an industry expert.
