Clients want agencies to deliver industry expertise, agility and empathy, new research finds

Branding ad agency Triptent’s recent research on what brands are looking for in their agency partners showed similar findings with B2B marketers. A major factor influencing the agency business comes down to being empathetic partners as changes and tech developments are happening faster in the industry. Triptent surveyed more than 800 B2B marketers in the U.S. from April to May this year.

Being a partner

Now agencies need to be more of an “ally,” said Wendy Lurrie, managing director of practice lead at Triptent.

B2B marketers expect their agency counterparts to act as an extension of their team, coming with industry knowledge and faster execution, per Triptent. Additionally, 59% of marketers said they find agencies helpful — but 41% want more from the relationship. Understanding of the industry (55%) and execution speed and agility (50%) were cited as the top improvements they want in agency partners.

“[Clients] don’t need 200 slide decks and 57-step strategic processes,” Lurrie said. “I think part of this lack of empathy kind of manifests in agencies not understanding what a client’s reality is like — and how much pressure there is to make the right decision, to make the right recommendations and to work together.”

Erin Allsman, president of agencies network Brownstein Group, said it’s like “being extensions of their clients’ teams” — using a five-point brand promise approach that teams use to internally evaluate everything from the team’s skills and expertise to effectiveness of the work.

“While the tangible outcomes and business intelligence may be more obvious measures, our clients also appreciate intangibles such as listening skills, empathy, organizational skills and the ability to be calm under pressure,” Allsman said.

Navigating challenges together

Asked about clients expectations, Kelly Higgins, CMO of B2B agency Doremus+Co, agreed that clients are under “enormous pressure navigating various disruption, in the market, in culture and internally – across the board, and particularly in B2B [where] there are shrinking budgets, rising expectations and changing audience dynamics.”

This means clients expect agencies to go beyond the brief to develop more “human-centric ideas” and tailor service models based on each client’s sector, Higgins added — including asking questions like: “What stakeholders are involved in decision making and approvals? How do you like to work?”

In terms of moving faster in the industry, agencies also agreed that clients want timeliness and quality as the speed of business “is more fast-paced than ever — clients need us to adapt quickly to changes in budgets, product promotions, and market dynamics,” said Stephanie Mace, chief client officer at Code3. Especially in recent years with changing supply chain and inventory management during the pandemic to post-pandemic recovery, it has become more difficult for clients to predict return on ad spend, Mace explained.

“We are leading clients through predictive modeling and scenario simulations that include patterns and trends in consumer behavior, campaign performance and market conditions to help them make data-driven investment decisions,” Mace added.

Developing empathy and expertise

Christina Downey, managing director at Geletka+, added that the agency will not “jump into a complex industry without time dedicated to immersion.” This time is needed to talk to customers, interview stakeholders and even visit factories or dealerships — working with the client’s leaders across the organization.

“We also invest in ongoing understanding,” Downey said. “That’s as simple as subscribing to relevant trade pubs and investing in events — even bringing in outside experts to advise us until we’re officially ready.”

Independent integrated marketing agency Brunner has similarly developed new approaches to B2B and B2C spaces as millennial audiences and businesses have grown, explained Patrick Culhane, VP of brand strategy. Instead of calling it B2B, Culhane said the agency focuses on a strategy of B2H, or Brands for Humans.

“The brand part of it is all the more important now than it’s ever been because of the modern buyer, which is driven by the millennial buyer becoming a dominant force within the marketplace,” Culhane told Digiday. “So they have a higher expectation that your brand has a purpose, and they want to find that purpose and relate to you as a brand in an authentic human way.”