Solved: Finding and Evaluating a Marketing Agency for B2B SaaS When Pitches Sound Identical

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out, happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on finding a decent marketing agency, especially since you're in B2B SaaS. It can feel a bit like a needle in a haystack trying to figure out who's actually good and who's just saying the right things.

We'll need to look at finding agencies that genuinely understand B2B SaaS...

You've spoken to a few and they all sound similar, which isn't suprising tbh. Loads of agencies can put together a slick pitch deck, but actually *doing* the work well for your specific type of business is another thing entirely. Your internal person has done great getting the LinkedIn organic and email outbound going, which is a solid base. Now you need someone who knows how to amplify that, probably through paid channels.

For B2B SaaS, especially if you're looking to grow quickly, paid advertising is usually the way to go to scale reliably. Organic stuff is great but takes longer. When you're talking to agencies, you absolutely have to grill them on their experience with B2B SaaS. Not just "oh yeah we've done SaaS", but ask them about specific campaigns. What platforms did they use? What results did they get? What were the typical costs like? For example, we've worked with quite a few SaaS clients. One recent campaign for a B2B software got 4,622 registrations at a $2.38 cost per registration on Meta Ads, which is quite efficient. Another one focused on B2B decision makers saw costs around $22 per lead using LinkedIn Ads, which can be a good cost for high-value leads. We've also helped a medical job matching SaaS reduce their cost per user acquisition from £100 down to £7 using Meta and Google Ads.

The reason this experience is so important is that B2B sales cycles are often longer and more complex than B2C. Someone changing their accounting system, like one client we worked with, isn't a quick decision. They need to be really convinced. An agency that understands this won't just promise you instant ROI on ad spend; they'll talk about lead quality, nurturing, and how paid media fits into the overall sales process. If they don't seem to grasp that, or they focus too much on vanity metrics, they probably aren't the right fit for B2B SaaS.

I'd say you need to evaluate their expertise...

Beyond the flashy case studies and pitch decks, you need to dig into *how* they work and whether they have the expertise you need. How do they approach strategy? How do they figure out who your ideal customer really is and where to find them? Do they seem to understand the decision-makers in the companies you sell to? You mentioned your internal person is running outbound email and LinkedIn organic; a good agency should be thinking about how paid ads can complement this, perhaps targeting specific job titles or industries that your outbound efforts are focusing on, or retargeting people who engage with your organic content.

Ask them for case studies that show the strategies they've used from clients they've worked with, ideally other B2B SaaS companies.

Also, listen carefully to the questions *they* ask *you*. A good agency will be asking really probing questions about your business model, your sales process, customer lifetime value, what success looks like beyond just sign-ups or leads. If they jump straight into recommending platforms or tactics without fully understanding your situation, that's a bit of a red flag.

You probably should focus on what ad platforms make sense for B2B SaaS...

Given you're B2B SaaS, the most likely ad platforms that will work are Google Search Ads and LinkedIn Ads. Meta (Facebook/Instagram) can sometimes work, especially with certain limited B2B targeting options or for retargeting, but often the targeting isn't granular enough for specific B2B decision-makers compared to LinkedIn. Reddit ads are probably even less useful for B2B targeting directly, though maybe you could find some niche subreddits that fit.

Google Search Ads: This is great if your ideal customer is actively searching for a solution like yours. Are companies searching for "accounting software alternatives", "CRM for small business", "project management tool for agencies"? If so, Search Ads let you get in front of them right when they have that intent. An agency should show you keyword research and explain how they'd target that specific intent.

LinkedIn Ads: This is probably your main option if your customers aren't actively searching, or if you need to reach very specific people (like CMOs at companies with 50-200 employees in the finance industry). LinkedIn's targeting lets you zero in on job titles, industries, company sizes, etc. You'd likely want to test Sponsored Content ads, maybe with LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to start with (they can lower the cost per lead). We've seen good results with LinkedIn for B2B clients needing to target specific decision makers, though the cost per lead is usually higher than Meta, the lead quality can be much better.

Meta Ads: Can work for B2B, but it's trickier. You don't have the same level of B2B targeting. However, it can be effective for retargeting website visitors or engaging lookalike audiences based on your existing customers or high-quality leads. Video ads or image ads can work well here, often driving traffic to a landing page to capture leads.

An agency should be able to articulate why they recommend one platform over another for *your* specific situation, based on where your ideal customers hang out online and whether they are actively searching or need to be made aware of your solution. They should also talk about testing different ad formats (image, video, carousel, text) and targeting approaches to see what resonates best.

You'll need clear reporting that shows real value...

One big thing is how they report results. Avoid agencies that just send you a monthly report full of jargon and numbers that don't mean anything to you. They should be able to explain what the key metrics mean for your business – not just clicks and impressions, but cost per lead, lead quality, how many leads convert into actual sales opportunities, and ultimately, how it impacts your revenue and customer acquisition cost. The reporting needs to link back to *your* business goals, not just show graphs of traffic going up.

Also, make sure you understand the contract terms, especially the notice period. You don't want to be locked into a long agreement if it's not working out.

This is the main advice I have for you:

Finding the right fit takes time and careful evaluation, but hopefully, these points give you a better framework for assessing agencies beyond their surface-level pitches. It's not about finding a magical list of vetted agencies; it's more about doing your due diligence and trusting your gut after speaking to them and their references.

Sometimes getting an experienced eye on your current situation and what you're trying to achieve can really help clarify things and point you towards the type of agency or approach that would be the best fit. We're always happy to jump on a free consultation call to look at what you're currently doing and give you some more tailored thoughts.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh