New E-book Explains What to Look for in a B2B Marketing Consultant
Rebekah E. Donaldson and Cris L. Rominger, of Business Communications Group, recently published an e-book, “The New Rules of Outsourcing B2B Marketing: What Marketing Directors Need In a B2B Marketing Consultant Today.”
You can download it for free — no registration required.
Rebekah and Cris lay out the 10 questions you can use to help you rank consulting candidates; they then use the rest of the e-book to explain what a B2B marketing consultant should bring to the table.
I really like their ideas. They make the case that a B2B marketing consultant needs to be well-rounded — meaning that he or she needs to understand marketing as a whole and how the various pieces fit together.
The authors also go into detail about why inbound marketing skills are crucial: it’s because B2B buyers are “empowered and savvy” and they go online looking for the products and services they need.
If your B2B marketing consultant has no clue how the Web works — or what types of Web content play a role in the various stages of the sales cycle — then you’re going to miss out on an important piece of the marketing mix.
According to Rebekah and Cris, a B2B marketing consultant also needs to understand the importance of integrating all major marketing disciplines — from search engine marketing and email to social media and trade shows.
The authors conclude with a discussion about measuring ROI. In fact, they advocate asking potential consultants how they’ll measure ROI and how they’ll report the findings back to you.
All in all, a really great resource — whether you’re looking for a B2B marketing consultant or you are one.
March 4th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Dianna thank you so much for covering our stuff. Have you found over the years that clients really want to know *how* to pick? That was really the genesis of this e-book… all those private conversations with prospects, helping to identify what is and isn’t important to look for in their consultant. But man was it hard to get this out the door! I don’t know how real authors do it…
Thanks again.
March 4th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Rebekah,
I guess you’re right — I had not thought about it from the perspective that all those “vetting” conversations were basically, “What do I need in a consultant?” type conversations.
I do find myself frequently explaining my “holistic” and “strategic” approach to marketing. That’s why I love your e-book — because it sounds like you have a similar approach.
I have another e-book I started two or three months ago on social media and have yet to finish it. I bet if I just sat down and did it, it would take only a few hours!
March 4th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Dianna – thanks so much for reviewing the ebook and sharing it with your readers.
As you stated so well, “If your B2B marketing consultant has no clue how the Web works — or what types of Web content play a role in the various stages of the sales cycle — then you’re going to miss out on an important piece of the marketing mix.”
Although the changing landscape and move to inbound marketing set a tall order for all marketers, they also offer us great opportunity for meeting prospects with the right information at the right time and in the ways they prefer. Would you agree?
March 4th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Cris,
Yes, I absolutely agree with you and see it at work with my own site and my clients’ as well!
March 9th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Thanks Diana for the link to an excellent eBook.
She nailed it, I think.
The importance of inbound, digital and trust.
Worthwhile for anyone looking for B2B marketing help.
March 9th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Doug — Yes, she did, and thank you for stopping by!
June 19th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
[...] and was like having a third baby. Kind colleagues promoted it with social media (thank you Dianna Huff, David Meerman Scott, Peter Kim, Peter Caputa, and other [...]
December 4th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Dianna thank you so much for covering our stuff. Have you found over the years that clients really want to know *how* to pick? That was really the genesis of this e-book… all those private conversations with prospects, helping to identify what is and isn’t important to look for in their consultant. But man was it hard to get this out the door! I don’t know how real authors do it…