Marketing best practices seem to change with lightning fast speed, making it challenging for B2B companies to create effective strategies. An estimated 79 percent of marketers believe that content marketing serves as an effective means of engaging with prospects. Yet, less than 10 percent of that same group reported knowing how to effectively use it themselves.

If your B2B company falls into that group, the solution could be signing a retainer with an experienced content marketing agency. Just one hire would give you an entire team focused on taking your strategy to the next level and getting results. Here’s how.

Access the resources of an experienced agency

The martech industry continues to explode. Although there were only around 150 companies in this specialized space in 2011, that number has soared to over 5,000 today. Marketing technology allows companies to take their digital marketing efforts to an entirely new level. They can track prospects with high degrees of precision, adapting their strategies and content to meet their needs.

For many companies, however, keeping up with the latest marketing technologies and the changing preferences and needs of their prospects feels daunting. Hiring an inbound marketing agency can alleviate this stress.

The reason: Agencies have already committed to remaining abreast of the latest developments in the industry and to using the latest technologies and tools. When you sign a retainer with an agency, you’ll also be able to use their experience and resources to reach your KPIs. Lead generation outsourcing is 43 percent more efficient than generating leads in-house because of their expertise, according to Fearless Competitor.

Gain an entire team dedicated to content and digital marketing

Content and digital marketing work best when the efforts are spearheaded by people who have experience in that specific field. Eighty-six percent of B2B companies that successfully use content marketing have a designated specialist leading their efforts.

Hiring and onboarding content and digital marketing specialists in-house can be another hurdle, however. One in three B2B marketing professionals say finding new hires who are trained in content marketing is more challenging than ever, according to the Content Marketing Institute.

In addition, new employees are expensive, and they usually need time to adjust to their new roles and create effective campaigns that address the pain points and goals of your buyer personas.

But B2B companies that utilize agencies can tap into a pool of experienced workers who have proven track records of success. They’re often more cost-effective than hiring in-house employees. And because they manage multiple accounts, they regularly run marketing experiments and stay on top of the latest trends in the industry. Now, they can put those insights to work for you.

Hit your KPIs and enjoy a high ROI  

Putting an experienced, dedicated content marketing team to work for you gets results. Consider these statistics: 

• More than 70 percent of B2B marketers can demonstrate, with metrics, how content marketing has increased audience engagement and their number of leads, according to an infographic by PointVisible.  
• Expertise in lead nurturing results in a 50 percent increase in sales-ready leads, along with a 33 percent decrease in its cost, according to Forrester Research via HubSpot. 
• 60 percent of a global manufacturing company’s new business came was a direct result of their inbound campaigns. (Source: GROW)
• A manufacturing company achieved 30x their spend through two enterprise accounts. (Source: GROW)  
• A Relequint global B2B company saw a 10 percent increase in total revenue in 12 months after signing an inbound marketing retainer. (Source: GROW)   

By hiring an experienced B2B content marketing agency, you can tap into new technologies, tools and best practices without the expense and effort of purchasing and managing your own marketing technology and hiring and training your own employees. The decision to work with such an agency could be a big change for your company, but finding an agency that aligns with your needs can help you take your marketing to the next level.