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As a b2b advertising agency since the late 1990s, bfw knows a thing or two about selling services. It’s not just about production. It’s about relationships and teamwork. It’s about qualitative research. And it’s about combining sales experience with creativity.
The b2b Advertising Agency-Client Relationship
b2b advertising agencies and their clients are partners. The relationship between an agency and its client lasts years, and sometimes, generations. Several of bfw’s clients have been with us for over a decade.
During this time, the relationship between clients and agency contacts becomes very personal. Bfw’s account managers routinely communicate with clients via text well after midnight in order to make last-minute changes to trade show booths or sales materials.
The closer the relationship becomes, the more productive it gets. This is particularly true for digital b2b advertising campaigns.
The agency can connect digital campaigns to lead databases. It can set up ephemeral campaigns to make the most out of trade shows. It can make pay-per-click campaign budget changes to meet increases in demand. And it can update the client’s site routinely with SEO changes.
The best b2b agencies produce relationships that last decades because both parties know what the other needs to succeed.
B2B Advertising Research
Creating compelling b2b advertising requires knowledge of why businesses buy products.
Sometimes it’s logistical: an e-commerce company will hire one shipping company over another because it offers the cheapest and most reliable way to get products to customers
And sometimes it’s emotional: a airline company might hire a safety consultant who employs former FAA consultants after a competitor has a disaster. Covering the same bases that got a competitor in trouble is the surest way to avoid a PR nightmare and assuage investor fears.
Both examples require thorough research.
To start, b2b advertisers will ask their clients where their customers come from. But the best b2b agencies will conduct hands-on research. They will go outside their client’s circle to find out what others think of the client. The agency will conduct surveys to find out the most important points of consideration. It will use these surveys for reference points in a mock investigation of a client’s facilities or services to find out its strengths and weaknesses.
Insights gleaned from this research are critical to developing b2b sales materials and advertising. And that is another core area of b2b advertising…
Sales Experience
b2b advertising agencies need employees with sales experience.
b2b advertisers with sales experience can create interactive visual aids that assist in conversations rather than serving as the focus. They know which sales materials create a lasting impression at a trade show and which materials will get thrown into the trash.bfw has no shortage of sales experience.
Thanks to that experience, we have produced IVA’s and sales materials at a fraction of the cost of our competitors. Unsurprisingly, sales reps love them.
If you want to beat Ferrari, you hire Carroll Shelby. If you want great sales materials, you hire us.