Maybe it’s an idea you and your team have kicked around in the past. Maybe you’ve used one but never saw any results. Maybe it never crossed your mind. Partnering with a marketing agency to move the proverbial needle can be a big decision and one many decision makers are skeptical about. This is particularly true for B2B and industrial organizations that don’t necessarily rely on a strong online presence.
Believe it or not, there are marketing agencies out there (like ProFromGo, cough cough) who specialize in just that—helping industrial, manufacturing and other B2B companies enhance their online presence to improve or completely revamp their online lead generation potential.
In an earlier post, I outlined some of the ways a digital marketing strategy can give your B2B company a competitive edge for lead generation. Some of those benefits include boosting your brand’s credibility, picking up some easy ROI and even broadening your client base. We do this through a collaborative strategy that puts your website’s content in front of the right people.
Common Objections to Using a Marketing Agency
Signing that service agreement with a digital marketing agency is a big step and it’s important to feel good about the decision. When ProFromGo begins a conversation with a potential client, we expect them to have questions. A solid relationship between a company and its agency starts with transparency and trust. We want you to feel excited about the process, and that often starts with putting a few common digital marketing agency objections to bed.
I have an internal marketing team. Why do I need an agency, too?
If you already have an internal marketing person or even an entire team, signing with a marketing agency on top of that can feel like an unnecessary expense. However, we typically find that our most successful clients often have their marketing people.
So, how do these two teams play together? Your own marketing team typically serves as the project’s internal champion. They are the folks who will maintain regular communication with your agency and discuss ongoing and future initiatives. Furthermore, a marketing agency offers another perspective on your website. For instance, maybe you’re generating a lot of product-focused content, but haven’t focused on topics like industry news or opinion pieces. Marketing agencies can help you balance out your content to target each stage of the buyer's journey.
Finally, a marketing agency can take a lot of the heavy lifting off of your own people. They can focus on the big picture strategy, qualifying new leads and offline initiatives while your agency produces content and manages your online presence.
We rely on other methods for lead generation
This is the old “if ain't broke, don’t fix it” objection. Maybe your business has been around for a long time. Maybe business is doing just fine and you don’t see any reason to rock the boat. Your company may generate most of its business from repeat customers, referrals or trade shows and other in-person settings. That’s great, and there’s no reason to give up these avenues for lead generation.
A digital marketing agency helps you amplify your existing lead generation and customer acquisition strategies by giving potential customers another way to find you. This particularly beneficial for industries that don’t have a lot of online competition. By building out a marketing strategy, you can help new leads find your company. We do this through search engine optimization (SEO). When someone goes to Google and searches for your particular product or service, you want to rank as close to the top of the results page as possible. In turn, this gets your brand in front of potential customers who may not have ever heard of you or don’t have the opportunity to meet you at a trade show.
I wasn’t seeing enough ROI with my last agency
ROI is the whole point, right? That’s definitely true, but knowing when to evaluate it is also pretty important. That’s why we’re realistic about how and when we “move the needle.” Depending on the state of your current marketing efforts, it may take a little time for you to start seeing a return on your investment. There are a number of reasons why we subscribe to the slow and steady policy.
Again, the ROI won’t show up overnight. That’s why we call it a strategy. Throughout your engagement, your digital marketing agency will learn more and more about your organization as well as the audience consuming your content. This is turn fuels new initiatives that build on each other.
Here’s one example of a long term strategy we rely on. It’s going to take Google and other search engines a little while to trust your site. For example, a blog post might get some traffic right after it’s published only to taper off after a week or two. This drop-off isn’t a death sentence. As search engines crawl your site and index your pages, that well-planned content strategy can start to pay dividends. In fact, in many cases we’ve seen the best performing piece of content month over month is often a single blog post we created and optimized a long time ago. If you have a well-placed call to action (CTA) on the page—one that encourages visitors to sign up for a newsletter or download a piece of gated content—we can begin to capture new leads and gain valuable insights into the content your audience is likely to convert on.
Learn More About B2B Digital Marketing Strategies with ProFromGo
Still wondering why your B2B company needs a marketing agency? Head over to our FAQ page for more answers. If you’re ready to see what ProFromGo can do for your organization, contact us today.
