A practical guide for marketing leaders

Choosing a B2B marketing agency: from brief to working together

You need an agency that helps your marketing move forward. How do you define the brief, compare proposals and find people you can work well with? These steps take you from an initial question to an informed choice.

Start with the problem, your goal and the capacity of your own team. Give every agency on your shortlist the same information. Then discuss relevant work, the people who will deliver it, the approach and the full budget. Agree on the first phase before the collaboration begins.

A practical guide from Umbau, a B2B marketing agency based in Mechelen, Belgium.

1. Write a brief an agency can work with

A brief does not have to be a finished marketing plan. It should explain what needs to change and where you are getting stuck. Describe what has already been decided and which questions you want to explore with the agency.

“We need more content” says little about the task. “We have strong technical expertise, but prospective clients do not understand when to turn to us” gives an agency much more to work with.

A brief template in six questions

Why are you looking for help? Describe the problem, what you have already tried and why you are looking for support now.
Who do you need to reach? Identify customers, decision-makers and other stakeholders. Share what you know about their questions and buying process.
What needs to change? Make the desired outcome concrete. Explain how you currently assess marketing’s contribution.
What can your own team take on? Describe the expertise, time and responsibilities available internally, along with any other partners.
What is already fixed? Share timing, languages, markets, technical requirements and an indicative budget or range.
How will the decision be made? Explain who decides, which criteria matter and when you expect a proposal.

You can use these six questions directly in your brief. If an answer is still missing, say so. The agency can then explain what discovery work is needed.

2. Build a shortlist based on relevant experience

Look for work that relates to your challenge. A familiar client logo is a starting point. Ask about the brief, the agency’s role, the client’s contribution and the outcomes they can substantiate.

In complex B2B marketing, relevant experience can take different forms: making technical expertise understandable, reaching several decision-makers, supporting a brand transition or strengthening an internal marketing team. Sector experience helps, but a comparable challenge can be just as useful.

Three examples worth exploring

AE: making complex expertise clear, alongside the marketing team. Relevant when you need content expertise and extra delivery capacity. Case study in Dutch.
Barco Cinema: from Cinionic to an integrated brand. Relevant when brand decisions need to be translated into communications. Case study in Dutch.
Vinçotte: turning technical expertise into trust. Relevant when a technical offering needs a clear visual story. Case study in Dutch.

Look at how an agency describes its own role. You should be able to tell what it did and how it worked with the client’s team.

3. Ask each agency the same questions

Give each agency the same background and room to ask questions. This helps you understand how your potential collaborators think. These questions make the conversation concrete:

How do you understand our challenge? What information is still missing?
What would you investigate or tackle first, and why?
Which comparable project can you walk us through, including your own contribution?
Who will work on our account? Can we meet them?
What do you need from our team to do this work well?
How will we discuss progress, quality and results?
Which assumptions shape your proposal and budget?
Where are the biggest uncertainties, and how would we address them?

When is a pitch useful?

Meeting the proposed team and discussing existing work can already tell you a great deal. If you need an additional exercise, focus it on the question you still need answered. Agree in advance on the task, assessment criteria, available time and whether there will be a fee.

Give all participants the same starting point. Asking more agencies for a full campaign proposal rarely makes an unclear brief any clearer.

4. Compare proposals on the same basis

Agree your criteria internally before proposals arrive. Weight each criterion according to the task. For each assessment, record the answer, example or document that supports it.

A framework for comparing agencies
Criterion	What do you need to establish?
Understanding the task	The agency understands the problem, asks relevant questions and identifies assumptions.
Approach and choices	The steps, priorities and expected outputs are clear.
Team and delivery	You know who will be involved, what they will do and who is accountable.
Collaboration	Meetings, feedback, decisions and your own team’s input are agreed.
Budget and scope	Included work, external costs, exclusions and additional work are itemised.
Review and measurement	You know how you will discuss quality, progress and relevant marketing results.

What does the price include?

Ask agencies to break down their proposals into comparable parts. These may include research and strategy, creative development, content, production, project management and any media or software. Ask about feedback rounds, language versions, usage rights and external partners’ costs.

Check how much work your own team will need to take on and what happens if the scope changes. A lower total price may reflect a smaller scope. A higher price needs a clear explanation of the additional expertise or work.

Working within a formal procurement process? Follow that process’s requirements and involve the person responsible for procurement in the selection.

5. Agree how the collaboration will start

Define the first phase: what will be delivered, who will be involved, what information is needed and when you will decide together on the next steps.

Agree who consolidates feedback, who approves the work, how changes will be handled and which files and access rights are needed. Plan a review of both the work and the collaboration. This makes expectations clear early on.

Welke hulp past bij je vraag?

Vergelijk bureaus op het werk dat je nodig hebt. Deze situaties vragen een andere nadruk in je selectie:

Je aanbod vraagt te veel uitleg. Vraag hoe het bureau experts bevraagt, kernboodschappen formuleert en inhoud laat beoordelen. Bekijk onze aanpak voor B2B-positionering.
Je hebt een plan, maar te weinig mensen om het uit te voeren. Bespreek wie meewerkt, hoe snel die persoon zich kan inwerken en wie feedback bundelt. Lees hoe Umbau marketingteams versterkt.
Campagnes leveren te weinig relevante gesprekken op. Vraag hoe doelgroep, boodschap, campagnes en salesopvolging op elkaar aansluiten. Lees over B2B-leadgeneratie.
Je wilt ervaring met IT of consultancy kunnen beoordelen. Vraag naar een vergelijkbaar probleem, de concrete bijdrage en de samenwerking met inhoudelijke experts. Bekijk onze aanpak en cases voor IT en consultancy.

Zo zoek je gericht naar een passende partner. Ook wanneer je uiteindelijke opdracht meerdere onderdelen combineert.

Is Umbau a good fit for your challenge?

Umbau helps organisations with complex products, services and markets. We bring positioning, content, campaigns and delivery together. We also work alongside internal marketing teams that need expertise or extra capacity.

Tell us what needs to change, for whom and by when. Your question does not need to be fully defined yet. We can explore together what support would help.

Discuss your brief with Umbau

Frequently asked questions about agency selection

How many agencies should you shortlist?

Choose a manageable number of agencies with relevant experience. You need to give each agency enough context and assess each proposal carefully. The right number depends on the task and any selection procedure you must follow.

Does the brief need a fixed budget?

An indication or range helps an agency propose a realistic approach. Ask what is possible within that budget, which assumptions apply and what a potential next phase would cost.

Do you need an agency or a marketing consultant?

That depends on the expertise and capacity you need. First establish which decisions still need to be made and who can then deliver the work. Read our guide to working with a marketing consultant or agency (in Dutch).

Can you invite Umbau to a pitch?

Share your brief and selection process with us. Details of the task, timing, budget and expectations help us assess together whether taking part makes sense. Get in touch about your brief or pitch.