4 Red Flags to Avoid When Hiring a B2B Marketing Agency

The B2B marketing field is crowded – and rife with agencies that mean well but fail to deliver results. If your company seeks sustainable revenue growth, these well-meaning but ineffective agencies likely won’t help you achieve your goals. They’ll consume time, money, and resources – and you’ll be left with middling (or nonexistent) results.

If you’re ready to engage with a B2B marketing agency, here are four characteristics that should make you run for the hills – and what to look for instead.

All Style, No Substance

Good design is a critical component of any effective marketing strategy. But good design, alone, has and will never be enough to truly move the needle. Creative-first marketing approaches that prioritize design – and ignore strategy – are generally superficial and don’t have the depth needed to convert prospects into customers.

You may be wowed by an agency’s visuals or flashy web design capabilities, but beware: if their design chops aren’t supported by substance – in the form of thoughtful strategy and well-written content – they won’t be able to deliver meaningful results. Having an aesthetically pleasing website is important – but if it’s populated with irrelevant fluff, your prospects will leave long before you have the chance to meaningfully engage with them.

Shallow Understanding

One of the reasons why many creative-led agencies fail to deliver results is because they don’t have the desire – or capabilities needed – to gain a comprehensive understanding of their clients’ businesses or target audiences.

If an agency claims to understand what you do and what your prospects need before you begin working together, proceed with caution. An agency that fails to ask you questions or dig into your prospects’ issues cannot truly understand your business – which is a prerequisite for achieving meaningful results.

Further, if an agency lacks the willingness to deeply engage with your business, it may be an indication that they care more about landing as many clients and projects as possible – and less about seeing their work with you through to completion.

Lack of Follow Through

Agencies that are overly focused on building up an unsustainable roster of clients and projects almost always fail to deliver the quality – and sometimes quantity – of work that was initially promised.

If you engage a stretched-thin agency, expect long lead times and substandard results. If your agency is juggling too many clients, you will likely also struggle to get prompt responses to questions and requests.

It goes without saying that you should avoid agencies like these: if you want to achieve your goals, you must partner with someone who is equally invested in your success – and is willing to spend the time and resources needed to get you there.

Low to No Investment in Employees

The leadership structure of a marketing agency is critically important – but be sure you pay equal attention to the individuals who execute the work. To save money, many agencies work with freelancers or underpay revolving-door or entry-level talent. If your content is written and your website is maintained by a rotating cast of characters, you can expect inconsistent quality and, likely, poor results.

What to Look for in a B2B Marketing Agency

Once you’ve weeded out subpar B2B digital marketing agencies, look for one that offers the following services:

• Shrewd strategy that’s based on a deep understanding of your business and served markets
• Well-written, educational copywriting that resonates with prospects
• Quality web and graphic design used to bolster strategy and content
• B2B search engine optimization (SEO) that helps to drive the right prospects to your site

If an agency has a proven track record of delivering sustainable results, is deeply invested in its clients’ success, and understands the importance of cultivating a skilled team, green flags should be raised. When you partner with the right agency, you can approach marketing with confidence – and expect results to flow from your partnership.