Growing a software company requires more than just a great product - you need to get it in front of the right people and convince them to buy it.
To generate that demand, you need expertise across multiple marketing disciplines, from content strategy and SEO to paid advertising and marketing automation.
This is why fast-growing software companies often partner with specialized marketing agencies to accelerate their growth.
Building a successful partnership starts with three core elements:
- Clear expectations about what success looks like
- Strong collaboration between teams, and
- Well-defined processes for getting work done.
Without these foundations, even the most talented agency will struggle to deliver consistent results.
The Initial Partnership
When you start working with an agency, you'll undergo an onboarding phase. Think of this like building a roadmap together - your new marketing partner will take time to understand your business from every angle.
They'll research your market position, analyze your website's performance, and study your competitors' strategies.
This groundwork helps establish clear, measurable objectives to guide your partnership's success.
For example, at Kalungi, we start every partnership with our Go-To-Market workshop. This intensive planning session involves your leadership team and our marketing experts, who work together to define crucial elements of your strategy.
These include:
- Growth priorities
- Ideal Customer Profile
- Positioning and Messaging
- Brand voice
- Buyers Journey
We then use the information from that workshop to build your content and SEO plan, including your content calendar and Positioning and Messaging document. Key channels and keywords are also built based on that meeting.
We'll also identify your ideal customers and craft compelling messages that resonate with them. We'll establish your brand's unique voice and map out how customers typically move from first hearing about your product to actually buying it (the buyer's journey).
This initial work becomes the foundation for everything that follows. Every piece of content we create, every advertising campaign we run, and every email we send will tie back to these core strategies.
The Day-to-Day Collaboration
Once the strategy is set, success comes from consistent collaboration. You should regularly check in with your agency account manager through various channels. Sometimes, quick updates via email or chat will do, and other times, you need more detailed video meetings.
Most agencies use project management tools (like Asana or Trello) to keep everyone aligned on what's being worked on and when it will be delivered.
During these meetings, you'll review how different marketing activities are performing. You'll look at metrics that matter, such as:
- How many users are coming to your website,
- How many are showing interest in your product,
- How many are having serious sales conversations.
Your agency should be quick to adjust when things aren't working. For instance, if your paid advertising brings in lots of leads but your sales team finds they're not a good fit, your agency should adjust their targeting to attract better-qualified prospects.
The Long-Term Partnership
Over time, your marketing agency should continuously improve campaign performance. Think of it like fine-tuning an engine - when certain metrics start to dip (like fewer people clicking on ads or filling out contact forms), they should analyze why and suggest improvements.
This might mean testing new ad copy, adjusting your target keywords, or trying new channels entirely.
As your business grows, your marketing efforts need to grow, too. Your agency should proactively identify new opportunities to reach potential customers and ensure marketing stays aligned with product development.
For example, if you add new features that could appeal to a different type of customer, your agency should adapt their strategy. They could create new content that speaks to this new audience, adjust advertising to reach them, and develop email campaigns highlighting relevant features.
Common Challenges and How to Avoid Them
- Mismatched expectations. Before you even sign a contract, both sides need to be clear about what's realistic in terms of goals and timelines. Meeting quarterly to review performance targets helps keep everyone aligned, especially when things change - like budget adjustments or new business priorities.
- Maintain good communication. Your agency needs to understand what's happening in your business to market it effectively. Meanwhile, you need to know what they're doing and why. Regular, honest feedback from both sides keeps things running smoothly. Don't be afraid to speak up if something isn't working - good agencies want to hear this feedback to improve.
- How to handle sensitive information. Your agency needs to understand how to protect your data and your customers' information. Both teams should agree on a process for collecting, storing, and using data safely and securely.
Why Work With A B2B Marketing Agency
A specialized B2B SaaS marketing agency brings together a team of experts who understand how to market software products effectively. They've done it before, know what works, and can adapt proven strategies to fit your specific needs.
The key is choosing an agency that prioritizes collaboration and backs up their work with data. When you find the right partner and establish clear ways of working together, you can build a marketing partnership that drives real business growth.
While managing an agency relationship takes time and attention, the return on investment becomes clear as your marketing efforts mature and your customer base grows.
Kalungi is a full-service B2B marketing agency for SaaS companies. We provide you with a fractional CMO and a full team of marketing experts to grow your business and scale your marketing efforts. Book a call to learn more about how our strategies can take you to the next level.
