According to a recent report by John Arnold and Jay Pattisall, principal analysts at Forrester, fifty-nine percent of B2B marketing decision-makers now say that they are planning to increase marketing spend on outsourced services. This new investment mindset, combined with macro and micro economic factors, has sparked a B2B agency gold rush.

Forrester predicts that the largest agency holding companies will see new opportunities to build out comprehensive B2B-focused practices with end-to-end media, marketing, and data services while smaller agencies proliferate and expand their specialized B2B capabilities.

As B2B agency options proliferate, marketers will need to prepare for soliciting B2B marketing services by thinking about how to strategically structure their agency partnerships. In Forrester’s new report on this topic, they explain four types of agency approaches and what each type means when selecting B2B marketing services. The approaches are:

• Hybrid B2B agencies. These providers boast an appreciable blend of both B2B and B2C experience and client experience.
• Specialist B2B agencies. These are pure-play B2B marketing service providers with broader specialisms.
• Point-solution B2B agencies. These providers deliver focused solutions that enable B2B-specific execution in key areas.
• Custom-solution B2B agencies. These so-called “end-to-end” or tailor-made solutions aim to drive growth distinctly for B2B and B2C lines of business.

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