ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS column: Part 033: How to find the right B2B web agency for your internet marketing strategy

The key to success in B2B internet marketing is positioning a company correctly and addressing the right target group at the right time in the right media channels. Not every web agency is able to do this. If you want to save time and money, you should be critical when making your choice.

Finding the right agency is one of the biggest challenges in B2B internet marketing. You should be very clear about this because you will be investing time and money. Unfortunately, not all traditional web agencies are suitable for the B2B sector. To get the best results, you should make important preliminary considerations. Because apart from the money and time, you could even jeopardise your brand with the wrong agency.

Following the economic crisis and financial uncertainty in today's marketing world, many agencies are deciding to simply start working in the B2B sector. Every day I come across companies whose web agency actually has very little knowledge of B2B internet marketing and yet still offers these services to the full. If they don't succeed, the decision-makers become aware of this and invite me in as a neutral observer who then develops the right B2B strategy with the agency - and sometimes even has to train the agency!

Success on the Internet depends on the web agency

The key to success in today's internet marketing for B2B companies is your agency's ability to target the right audience at the right time in the right channels. If an agency immediately comes to you with obscure Facebook or Twitter strategies without first integrating your website into the strategy and adapting it to social media marketing, then you should be particularly careful.

My marketing professor used to say: "Before you learn to fly, learn to walk. Before you learn to run, learn to walk!". If some agencies followed this rule, there would be fewer disappointed companies! Here are a few important points to consider when choosing the right partner if you want to save time and money:

How well does your web agency know your industry?

First of all, the right B2B web agency speaks your language and that of your customers. Ask for relevant references. Only an agency that has a deep insight into your market and knows the purchasing behaviour of your customers will be able to help you operate better in the market. Does the web agency also know the relevant business channels and processes in your industry? It's really very important, because many B2B companies simply rely on their in-house agency for their internet marketing campaign, which was previously responsible for business cards and print advertising materials and is suddenly involved in B2B internet marketing overnight.

How well is the agency known in the industry?

How good is the agency's reputation? What happens if you search for the agency yourself, e.g. on the Internet under "internetmarketing B2B"? Can it be found there? Ask about the team behind the agency - and in which areas the agency specialises. Is it perhaps simply a PR agency looking for new clients in B2B - perhaps even as an experimental field - or has the agency specialised in B2B challenges for years?

In your own interest, make sure that the agency that takes care of your internet marketing in the future understands a lot about the interrelationships on the internet. Don't accept any concepts that look good on paper and cost a lot of money but don't achieve anything.

What qualifications does your web agency have?

Take a look at the qualification and ask! It's important how up-to-date the training courses are - it's not for nothing that we offer the Internet Marketing Master course!

The argument often comes up when something doesn't work: "Yes, that won't have an effect for years ...". If an agency tells you something like that, you should run away! You won't get far with promises like that.

In my experience, working with the right agency, the right strategy and the right attitude is the key to success and can lead to outstanding results. I would be happy to help you make the right choice.