Why is your current B2B agency failing to engage technical buyers with its content?
If your experience matches mine, you know the frustration of working with a traditional agency that doesn’t understand the depth of expertise desired by your diverse client audience. Clueless content leads to endless rewriting, which consumes the precious time (and energy!) of your clients’ internal experts and ultimately fails to win over editors and their sophisticated readers. The cost of getting the wrong content is much higher than many think. It’s not just a waste of budget. Weak or inaccurate content puts your credibility at serious risk, and we don’t need to tell you how hard that is to win back. Qualified leads that may already exist can be wasted or wasted. Napier has a long history of helping clients regain the dignity they fear they may have lost forever.
How to find B2B content agencies with the technical expertise you really need
Broadcasting your message in a bottle in the Google Ocean will likely land you on the rocks. Don’t misunderstand. There is plenty of room for extensive internet searches to get an idea of what’s available and narrow the field from there, but don’t rely solely on Google searches. Instead, improve your talent search by using Google (other search engines are available) to help you do your homework. For example, take a closer look at who is producing content for — or about — the reputable tech companies you recommend. Hang around the websites and LinkedIn pages of agencies founded by experienced engineers and industry journalists and look not only at what they write about, but whether that content, in your opinion, really reflects the world you know your clients live in.
Alternatively, take a tip from Napier and keep an eye out for speaker lists from both the biggest and most tech conferences. You can identify other potential partners.
My evaluation process includes, but is not limited to, a few key questions
I was never prepared for a high-level exam. By that I mean, when evaluating potential content production partners, I use a checklist that goes beyond scanning their portfolio of case studies. Instead, I ask them to walk me through a new client onboarding process, especially if they need to understand specific product components for complex products. I want to get an idea of whether their authors can hold honest conversations with the developers they are expected to communicate with. I always like to see a ‘before and after’ example of a technical article they’ve simplified to see if they’ve done it without watering it down so much that we lose accuracy. These two questions alone (there are others) help me distinguish between real, useful technology and smoke and mirrors.
How to spot a fake ‘tech’ agency
Spotting a “fake” may sound easy. I assure you, it is not. Most agency representatives talk a good game and I can’t blame them for that. It’s their job. However, with guidance from many of my more experienced Napier colleagues, I have developed a sixth sense for spotting those who pretend to have technical chops. If they overuse marketing buzzwords instead of what I consider to be the real thing in some respects. ie, market threats, company strengths and weaknesses, that’s a yellow flag.
However, the biggest red flags are reluctance to introduce me to real writers who will work on my account; portfolios filled only with top-of-the-funnel content; and vague, uninspired answers about their process of interviewing SMEs to create content. That may sound picky and precious but, trust me, a little extra skepticism up front goes a long way in avoiding costly hiring mistakes.
The real ROI of partnering with a professional content technology agency
One of the many affirmations I learned at Napier is that the ultimate proof of the value of content production is always the impact it has. Working with a professional technical content agency should be a source of measurable skill and growth. Faster publishing times; fewer instances of endless rewriting (giving professionals more time to innovate); many leaders with marketing degrees; and better organic ranking for long-tail keywords that are not easily found, are all good signs.
Remember. A good technical writing partnership is not only about the content. It’s about moving both businesses forward. If you don’t speak the same language as your substitute provider, look elsewhere.
