Partnering with an experienced B2B marketing agency can be a great way to fine-tune your marketing efforts and help you reach your overall business goals. But to set the foundation for a fruitful collaboration, it’s important to clearly communicate your goals and ambitions. This starts with a simple step: writing effective briefs.
Don't just think of a brief as a set of instructions. It’s so much more. Your brief is an important tool for ensuring you and your agency are perfectly aligned on project outcomes and wider campaign objectives. It will help your agency deliver work that meets (or even exceeds) your expectations.
And a clear, well-written brief can do more than just helping your agency deliver high-quality work. It also allows your budget to go further, eliminating the need for rework and extensive feedback – which sounds like a win-win to us.
With that in mind, we’ve asked our Podsters to share what makes an ideal brief and what kind of information they’d like to receive from clients. Let’s take a look at what they said.
Think of the job at hand as the foundations that will help build your campaign. Ideally, you should brief your agency not only on the specifics of the job, but also on its role in reaching your marketing objectives.
Let’s take a blog post as an example. Clearly, you should communicate to your agency essential information such as the topic, angle, desired length and call to action – and your content writer should be able to advise you on best practice for any of these elements if you’re not sure. But there’s more. To make the project successful, you should also discuss with your account manager what you’re hoping the blog post will achieve in the context of your overall marketing strategy.
“Let us solve a problem, rather than just provide a deliverable,” explains Pod’s Director of Consultancy, Tech & Innovation, Adam Leach. “We can work much more effectively if a client comes to us saying they want to increase retention rates by 10%, rather than just asking us to write some renewal emails.”
Adam also advises discussing your business objectives early on, ideally at the start of your collaboration, and possibly in person.
“Let us get access to your business. For big projects, discovery should involve us visiting you and working in your office, meeting your service team, or visiting your factory in person. These activities are much more valuable than just asking for a commoditised deliverable.”
“Sometimes clients might share what they need without giving us an idea of the bigger picture,” adds Account Manager, Jen Sutton. “But if we have all the necessary information, we might be able to offer better solutions, advise on more effective tactics, or just ensure the job at hand meets the client’s long-term objectives rather than just addressing their immediate needs.”
A key aspect of briefing is establishing realistic deadlines. And remember, this will need to include time for feedback, amends and sign-off. Consider your internal timescales: if a dozen stakeholders need to approve or offer feedback on a piece of copy, how long will that take?
Also, consider whether you have all the information your agency will require to get started on a job. For example, if you ask them to write a case study, do you have any quantifiable results to share? Did you get written permission by your client and other third parties? These are crucial details that can stall a project and postpone the delivery date.
Agreeing on achievable deadlines is also good for the wallet. “Clear briefs with realistic timelines help clients save money,” advises Jen Sutton. “Account management time is always charged in addition to the project deliverables, and if it takes ten phone calls with your account manager to complete a simple task, you will be charged for it. This is often when projects tend to go over budget, but clear briefing and agreed timelines can prevent that.”
We are generally taught that it’s rude to talk about money, but this couldn’t be further from the truth when discussing a project with your B2B marketing agency. By being open about what you’re willing and able to spend, your agency can ensure your expectations are realistic and your budget’s value is maximised.
“It’s never a good idea to force us to guess your marketing budget,” explains Adam. “We could end up suggesting a project that’s massively under-budget, meaning you don’t get the full value of our collaboration.
“On the other hand, we could quote you for a much bigger campaign than you can afford and you might choose not to proceed, when your budget could have been enough to secure a campaign that’s less comprehensive but still effective”
A clear brief goes a long way in ensuring that you end up with assets that meet or exceed your expectations. However, working with an agency is, inevitably, a collaborative process.
“Think about what you really want before embarking on a project, and communicate it clearly to your agency,” suggests Account Manager, Rosamund Wisdom Bull. “In this way, you can avoid needing many rounds of revisions that can lead to frustration for both you and your agency.”
“It’s also helpful when clients share what they don’t want,” adds our Director or Client Services, Kate Garratt. “Showing examples of outcomes from past work that you didn’t like gives us a clear indication of what to avoid.”
When amends are needed, ensure your feedback is timely and constructive.
“Sometimes, clients might say that they don’t like the tone or approach of a piece of copy, but to address their concerns, we need to know exactly what they don’t like and why,” explains content writer, Monia Dal Checco. “Vague feedback inevitably leads to us going back to the client to get more insights on what’s needed, and this can postpone the completion of a project.
“It’s also important to ensure that all stakeholders involved in the approval process provide feedback before amends are made, and that all comments are added to one document to avoid duplicates and missing information,” adds content writer, William Tomany. “Also, establish internally who should have the last word when a decision is to be made. If two or more stakeholders provide contradicting feedback, your content writer will need to know whose directions must be followed.”
Working with an experienced B2B marketing agency can be the springboard for your business’ long-term success, and clear communication between you and your marketing team is key for this to happen. By sharing your strategy, timescales and budget – and establishing an efficient and effective feedback process – you can make the most of your collaboration and ensure your marketing budget works as hard as you do.
Can’t wait to brief us on your latest marketing project? Get in touch with our team.