B2B marketing. Solved. Here's what we mean.

Our motto is more than just a buzzword. alan. Managing Director Richard Hadler explains why.

At the heart of alan. is our motto “B2B marketing. Solved”. It's more than a buzzword. It's at the core of our way of working and is hugely important to us. So allow me to explain it.

Before we launched the agency we asked brands for their gripes about working with typical B2B marketing partners. The same two frustrations surfaced again and again.

1) Agencies are shallow. They achieve only a skin deep understanding of a brand, and this affects the quality of work.

2) Agencies only offer a narrow range of tools. Content agencies suggest content. Web designers suggest a new website. It's frustrating.

Then we started with a blank piece of paper. We listed our strengths. As the list grew we realised our unusual background in journalism and publishing made us uniquely able to tackle these challenges.

Here's how alan. stands out. 

We create and nurture relationships that last for years. We've worked with FTSE-100 companies and major professional services providers, amongst others, for over a decade. We've come to know their team, their wild theories, their secret concerns, the mechanics of their internal processes...everything. 

Our origin story gives us a phenomenal breadth of expertise. During our time at Raconteur we published 685 reports. The subjects we covered included artificial intelligence, supply chain resilience, the future of packaging, cyber fraud, virtual reality...amongst many others. Yes, we win pub quizzes! And we have an encyclopaedic knowledge of business. In that time we have also built relationships with more than 400 journalists. If we need to consult on Hadoop big data processing frameworks, we just ring the award-winning journalist we know and discuss.

And we are full-service. We commission qualitative and quantitative surveys. We handle digital rebranding. Content is our first love: so we are the first people to call for immersive and long form reports. When reports are published we are experts in pay-per-click and paid media activation. At the end we generate tangible ROI. This breadth means we keep an open mind when listening to a brief. Whatever the job needs, we can bring the right tools.

This is why we think our offering stands out compared to other agencies, and why we came up with the formula: “B2B marketing. Solved”.

Let me take you through our problem solving model approach. Firstly, clients come to us with a B2B challenge. Then we bring our unique skills to bear to succeed.

We begin with a diagnosis session. We may send three employees to spend two days on-site with your brand. Does that seem like overkill? In our experience it's a great way to get to know your company and brand. 

We run creative brainstorming sessions. Clients begin with a goal, such as generate more leads and we pick it apart. What sort of leads? What qualification metrics are you using? How are existing leads being nurtured? 

Then, we propose solutions. If a client needs it, we'll deliver an avalanche of ideas. Our most used phrases are “what if...?” and “have you considered...?”. Our wealth of experience means we've got tried and tested strategies galore. 

Pretty soon, together we've smashed the problem. 

We have the track record to support this. For example, we work with a well known investment manager, on its annual global report. It's their biggest sole piece of marketing each year, and we work as an extension of the internal marketing team where we’ve generated fresh thinking to make their reports a sensation in the marketplace. Each edition hits new heights. So far, it's been a dream partnership. 

So when we say “B2B marketing. Solved”, we mean it.

We combine our network of experts, our breadth of expertise and our commitment to understanding your brand to build a relationship that lasts years.

Our ultimate goal is to produce career defining work together. Marketers rarely get the recognition they deserve. 

At alan. we know we are succeeding when our clients are hailed internally and externally as pioneers. Let's produce something we'll look back on with pride for decades to come.

If you have a challenge and want to tackle it together, get in touch. 

“B2B marketing. Solved.” is our ethos. We can't wait to show you how it works in practice. 

Richard Hadler

Managing Director, alan.