Are you working with an agency that specializes in business-to-business markets, or do they handle mostly consumer accounts? Here’s a quick way to tell if your agency speaks B2B.

If your agency thinks…

The ‘Channel’ is something you change to watch MTV,

‘Organic Search’ is a great way to select fresh produce,

A ‘CXO’ is the newest texting abbreviation,

…then, you may need to find an agency that’s fluent in B2B.

I’m using humor to illustrate this point, but it’s true! As I discussed in this post, B2B marketing is different from B2C in several ways, including the length of the sales cycle, the multiple decision makers involved and the substantial information exchange that must take place.

In addition, I find that some consumer agencies don’t understand the distribution channel, types of benefits and value propositions that must be communicated to businesses as opposed to consumers, and the fact that mass media can’t solve all your problems. These are all critical to comprehend when it comes to B2B..

Have you worked with an agency that didn’t ‘get’ your industry or markets? Do you get blank stares from your account team when you bring up industry analysts or the B2B sales cycle? What’s your favorite piece of B2B jargon?