A whopping 90 per cent of client-side marketers identify agencies to approach through recommendations, according to the B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report published by B2B Marketing, in association with Circle Research.
Agencies with existing client relationships have an advantage as the second most popular agency selection reason was ‘suppliers previously worked with’ (79 per cent), followed by meeting the agency at an industry event (55 per cent).
However, only 14 per cent of client-side marketers identify agencies to approach via business publications and eight per cent via specialist selection services or directories.
Meanwhile, clients have worked with an average of three agencies in the last 12 months.
Joel Harrison, editor-in-chief at B2B Marketing, commented on the findings: “This means that although a few clients may have migrated to using agencies more as a long-term strategic outsourcing partner for marketing services, many still prefer to maintain a variety of agency relationships, probably for tactical projects, and requiring various partners to jockey for position on different projects, as they arise.”
B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report 2013
Full League Table data plus more analysis and indepth agency profiles can be found in this report, which is an invaluable to tool for clients seeking to find and evaluate new agencies to work with. The B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report is free to Premium Members of B2B Marketing, otherwise it can be purchased online and in hardcopy format.
