We’ve signed up to the B2B Principles of Partnership - here’s what to expect

We’re proud to be among the first UK B2B marketing agencies to sign up to the new B2B Principles of Partnership, which we hope will set a standard for our industry and help agencies like us to deliver an exceptional service for B2B businesses. 

While every B2B agency will have its own formula for best practice, a standardised set of best practice guidelines is something that’s been missing from our industry. More often than not, we’re left to be guided by our instincts and experience, which can mean that the quality of client experiences can vary wildly from one agency to the next. The recently-introduced B2B Principles of Partnership (POP) is hopefully set to change that. 

The POP outlines a set of best practice recommendations for both clients and agencies, covering pitching, onboarding and communications. It’s been designed to accelerate growth, effectiveness and ROI in the B2B marketing sector by strengthening the agency-client relationship.

All of this sounds pretty good to us. Many of the behaviour guidelines outlined in the POP are things we already do at the Pod, but we wanted to formalise our approach and hold ourselves to best practice processes each and every time we pitch, onboard a new client or work with an existing client. So we’re joining other leading agencies and B2B Marketing magazine in publicly committing to the B2B Principles of Partnership.

By signing up to the B2B POP, we have committed to: 

Being totally transparent in our pitches

We know that in-house teams are often frustrated when the senior team they were wowed by at the pitch is replaced with a more junior team once the contract is signed, so we have always ensured that the experts our clients meet at the pitching stage will be the people that work on their account day-to-day. It means we already go beyond the POP’s requirement for two of the team who will be running the account/project attending the pitch presentation.

We also meet many of the POP’s other guidelines for improving transparency during the pitching stage, such as making it clear which concepts are within scope and which will exceed the budget, and providing an overview of our capabilities, sector specialisms and processes. We’ve always believed in being totally upfront about what we can and can’t do from the very beginning of a relationship with a new client - this way, they know what to expect from us, and we know we can deliver the results they’re looking for.

An open onboarding process

Kick-off meetings are so important, because they mark the start of a new working relationship. Everyone is usually keen to hit the ground running, so it’s crucial that we cover some key aspects of how we work to ensure that we’re working in a truly collaborative way. 

Under the B2B POP, we’ve pledged to carry out a dedicated onboarding session with all of our new clients. At each onboarding meeting, we’ll clarify our team’s structure, roles and responsibilities, and set out an SLA that works for everyone. We’ll also discuss our briefing and creative processes, providing briefing templates to help streamline our work and outlining how many rounds of amends are included in our quote.   

A collaborative client-agency relationship

At the Pod, we want our clients to feel like we’re an extension to their in-house marketing team, so developing a close working partnership with a client is always our first priority. We were therefore delighted to find that creating and maintaining a good relationship with clients is also a key element of the B2B POP.

Many of the POP’s suggested behaviours in this area already come naturally to us, such as sharing any changes within our team and being transparent on timings and costs to ensure campaigns are delivered on time and on budget. We’re always quick to raise any issues that may occur with the client, so we can work together to resolve them swiftly. As an agency, we’re also not afraid to provide honest feedback throughout a campaign and make suggestions for improvements, because that’s what we’re here for - to ensure our clients are getting the most out of their marketing. 

To find out more about what the B2B POP involves, and how clients can also commit to behaviour changes to improve client-agency relationships, you can find the full B2B Principles of Partnership here. And if you’d like any more information on what it’s like to work with us, we’re always happy to chat - give us a call on 01564 742848 or email hello@themarketingpod.co.uk.