But then the dream is pummelled by reality (like all good fantasies) and I snap out of it when I speak to clients or prospects and read industry reports. According to them, picking an agency is as hard as picking a broken nose. However some B2B buyers have gone out of their way to make the job harder by not sticking to specialists and ended up in the arms of a consumer agency.

There are certain home truths that differentiate consumer and B2B. The differences I reckon should be strong enough to make the B2B buyer beware of shampoo pushers, even the ones with great reputations. Aside from that, I got enough B2B agency competition to worry about and hope to narrow the field somewhat… But here’s why B2B buyers should stick to the specialists.

To begin with look at how a consumer agency is set up. Imagine a really good agency that does really good work and has a good name about town. They work with various FMCG’s, as well as one automotive company and an insurance giant. Awards have consistently come their way, earning PR in the trade press and every now and then in the dailies for “that” jingle.

Enter into this environment the marketing director of an industrial company who wants to buy some of the magic this agency produces. He talks about his company, the size, what they want to do, missions, visions and values, etc., while throwing around terminology such as electro-acoustic transducer or photogynsetic deflector. Leaving behind a few ppt’s, some white papers and an old corporate presentation, he says his goodbyes believing he just did an IBM – won’t get fired for hiring them. Here’s what’s wrong with this picture:

First thing the marketing director can forget about is the “A” team of the agency, the ones who have managed to wallpaper reception with awards. People who are used to creating brilliant ways to communicate “driving pleasure” or “whiter than white” won’t burn their brain cells on understanding complex operations, products or services. These are useful things to know when hammering out a well-defined target audience’s decision process or identifying a crucial USP.

The creative director most likely won’t give it to the “B” team either, because they are focusing on inventive sales promotions, which generate a solid Below The Line income. And even those accounts are more fun than worrying about an industry they’ve never heard of. In the end, both teams want to be part of work that will appear on billboards or can be seen during the Saturday night movie.

For the creative director, it’s a no brainer. Giving a B2B account, even a big one, to the real talent of the agency will mean the stars have to liaison with engineers and will have their work published in trade magazines. That is going to stick in their throat like swallowing a llama.

Who works the account then? It’s a “C” team thing. This group are either talent-yet-to-bloom or talent-that-never-really-took-off. In short, a consumer agency – even the fancy pants ones – are not good for B2B accounts. It’s not a lack of ability, it’s a lack of will that dictates final results.

Like all generalizations, this could be torn to pieces in a matter of seconds, but there is on the other hand an element of truth. So while the aforementioned scenario is more shallow than the “Complete works of Brittany Spears” and given the fact that all communications, consumer or B2B have to be memorable, compelling and selling, there are differences.

Starting with the basic purpose, let’s dig a bit deeper.

Business-to-business communications is all about helping the salesman to get face-time and close the deal. This must apply throughout the whole spectrum – from corporate branding to those cute datasheets. And the buyer, by keeping this principle in mind, stands the best chance to make the agency live up to something. Consumer agencies bath in glory when products fly off the shelves, B2B agencies should likewise get a dose of sunshine when key account teams and sales forces notice that their job has become easier. But let’s stop there, being a coward I’ll back off on the “effectiveness” issue and take that up some other time.

As a basic principle credible B2B agencies strive to provide recommendations to make the most optimal use of expensive human sales resources, which costs per sales call about US$ 500 to US$ 650. You can guess it can take a few get-togethers when selling million buck infrastructure or machinery, and in fact, the number on average is about 6 meetings, according to McGraw-Hill. With communications you can cut out some of that sales work, saving a lot of shoe leather.

B2B agencies also deal with 8 basic target audience issues, which highlight the fundamental differences between shampoo pushers and business communicators.
1. The target audience’s demand is usually derived, rather than direct.
2. The purchase isn’t for themselves it’s for a company.
3. Often the target audience is a small tight group of buyers who have almost identical professional backgrounds, regardless of nationality.
4. Decision-making is hard to define. Company politics, national politics, technical politics and a dozen other types of politics can ankle tap a deal worth millions.
5. Selling big turn-key projects involves a more complex buying process, than when choosing gum at the supermarket checkout.
6. Buying motives do tend to be more rational, usually because there are a lot more factors to consider.
7. While the money isn’t coming from the personal pocket, being responsible for purchasing mega-buck products/services is going to give some kind of pause for thought. Initial costs are sky high and careers could be on the line.
8. The target audience are most likely being asked to invest in something they have to live with for a long time. After sales, service for a hydroelectric power station will make any PC agreement look like a wedding invitation.

Having written all this, it feels oh so, well like a huge kick on an open door… Yet while the above list qualifies for stating the bleeding obvious, B2B accounts are in the hands of less than enthusiastic consumer agencies – meaning another client goes away muttering what a wicked business advertising is.

But perhaps before getting dazzled by what is most likely, in the world of Cornflakes, a damn good agency, the buyer could just pause and ask the question “What kind of agency do I need?”

Does it have to be one that reflects your size and stature on the stock market? That’s not a great yardstick for picking an agency that should make your communications a real (sales) asset for your company.

Rather, when looking for an agency, look at what they have done for other brands and how they approach communications. Do they always strive to add-value and present a client’s offer in a compelling way? This is where creativity can blossom into stunning communications and ultimately how a B2B agency can perform the most important function – helping the sales guy score a kill.