There is no shortage of IT marketing agencies on the market that would be thrilled to have you as a client. You get calls regularly, have listened to countless pitches and reviewed what feels like a never-ending stack of presentations on demand generation. So, how do you choose? If you have a partner in place, how do you evaluate its effectiveness?

The most important aspect of your relationship, of course, is the result generated. You are looking for a return on your marketing investment, and sluggish demand generation is probably an indicator that you need to take a closer look at your IT marketing agency. And, strong results may be effective now, but you need to think toward the future — is your agency equipped to help you grow and mature?

To help you answer these questions, you’ll find below five characteristics of an
optimal IT marketing partner. Take a look to get a sense of what you are receiving
from your current relationship.

1. Diversified tools are a must
Even a boutique IT marketing agency should do more than throw telemarketing at a demand generation problem. Look for a partner that has diversified capabilities for generating IT sales leads, including direct mail, web analytics, telemarketing and content development. No one tool will work every time.

2. You deserve more than just names
Too many IT marketing agencies think their job is done when they turn over a list of leads to a client. Anyone can scour databases and work the phones … but this does little to improve the quality of the leads you receive. Since even slight improvements at each stage in the sales cycle can add up quickly, ask your marketing partner tough questions about how they qualify leads and what they do to improve the quality beyond merely plucking the names of decision-makers from your target market.

3. Lead nurturing matters down the road
Your IT marketing partner should keep track of the prospects who aren’t ready to buy now but may need to talk to you a few months down the road. Too often, these leads are simply cast aside. In a few cases, they may be flagged for contact in several months. The optimal IT marketing partner, however, will develop and execute a plan for cultivating these opportunities until the time comes to set up an appointment.

4. Social media capabilities are no longer optional
In the B2B space, companies are increasing their social media marketing budgets, and experiments are becoming sustained marketing efforts. IT manufacturers and resellers, specifically, have committed to the social media environment, and attention has turned not just to execution but ROI. Your IT marketing partner must be able to do more than develop a social media marketing strategy — it needs to have the knowledge and insights necessary to turn social media into a marketing advantage for your company.

5. There’s no substitute for content development
Content is the toughest part of the marketing partnership, but it can be among the most important. If you have to develop a disproportionate amount of content on your own, you aren’t getting the support you need. Your IT marketing partner should be able to supplement your content development at least — writing everything from tweets to white papers.