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FAQS
What is B2B Connect?
B2B Connect is an entirely free service that uses a combination of AI to process big data and human touch to do find the perfect agencies for your projects. We do this through a 3-step process:
- Collect data sets: We can begin a search by including agencies that are known to focus on a particular service (PPC, product design, branding, etc.) or industry. Our data sets come from 28 primary sources including review sites, message boards, social media platforms, legal records, watchdog sites, employee reviews, and more. This gives us all relevant information about a large pool of agencies that offer a specific service or set of services.
- Data analysis: Most review sites suffer from paid or solicited reviews making them effective marketing tools for companies. This often hides an agency's true customer satisfaction rating. To address this, we use multiple methods such as text analytics, temporal analysis, uspect reviews through the use of text and other measures. This ensure the most objective measure of an agency's public reputation. Unfortunately, buying decisions are made everyday based on manipulated reputation data.
- Human Vetting: human-led vetting is performed by checking references, confirming the agency's commitment to transparency, and ensuring budget and project suitability, etc.
This is the most comprehensive way to identify the most transparent, credible, and proven agencies for any project.
Why did you start B2B Connect?
Over the years, we navigated through the process of finding and hiring various vendors and agencies for multiple companies we were leading. The process was extremely frustrating because everyone sells themselves as extremely capable of delivering results. Sometimes, we were fortunate to have a positive outcome while other times we got burned.
Friends and colleagues shared similar experiences. This caused us to ask the question, “Why do we do this to ourselves?” Once you begin challenging conventional thinking, good things happen.
We decided to develop a system that would quickly weed out suspect agencies and vendors. It would then fully vet the remaining options to determine credibility and suitability for a given project.
We feel that highly productive partners should be rewarded with more customers and customers deserve more consistent results when hiring a partner.
How are you different from review sites?
It's no secret that most review sites can and are frequently manipulated. In this sense, they essentially become marketing tools for businesses. They understand that encouraging positive reviews by selecting who they ask for a review or offering incentives can be an effective way to generate new business.
Unfortunately, this often does not reflect reality. So, rather than relying on reviews from one or two sites, we analysis data from 24 sources and deploy sentiment analysis and other measures to remove the noise. This provides the most authentic overview of an agency's actual reputation.
Are there any obligations?
No. Our service is entirely free and there is no obligation to move forward with any of the agencies we recommend. However, we're confident you'll be happy with the results.
All we ask is that you begin an agency search when you are ready to hire the right partner and have an approved budget.
It’s entirely up to you to decide if one of our recommendations if the right fit.
How are you able to operate as a free service?
Our goal from the beginning was to fill a significant unmet need. As we explored various business models, we discovered that we could offer our service at no cost to our customers. It’s one of those rare situations in business that just works.
Agencies have sales and marketing budgets. Within these budgets, they typically carve out an amount for partnerships. It is through these programs that we are compensated. This is money they are already spending. We just ensure they maximize their ROI.
What happens once you've matched us potential partners?
It's simple! Once we've identified 2-3 credible agencies that specialize in your area of need, we'll provide a simple report of the results. Then, we'll make introductions with a senior member of agency's team. This can be done over email, or we can even schedule intro calls right in your calendar if you use tools like Calendly.
Our goal is to make agency selection easy and effective.
Do you operate across all industries and specialities?
Yes! The principles that guide our vetting process are universal across all industries and specialties. This allows us to populate a comprehensive list of agencies with specific industry expertise and evaluate them according our principles of performance, transparency, and customer-centricity. The result is always the same...agencies that are committed to being the very best in their industries always rise to the top.
With that in mind, below are examples common industries we operate in. If your industry is not listed, let us know! We're confident we can help you too.
- Aerospace and Defense
- Analytics
- Automotive
- B2B Consulting and Services
- Construction
- Consumer Services
- Computer and Data Hardware
- Consumer Products
- Dental Practices
- Dental Technology
- E-commerce
- EdTech
- Entertainment Industries
- Equipment Rental
- Event Centers and Services
- Financial Services
- FinTech
- Food and Beverage Manufacturing
- Food and Beverage Services
- Government
- Health, Wellness, and Fitness
- Healthcare Technology & Med Devices
- Higher Education
- Hospitals and Practices
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Information Technology
- Life Sciences and Bio Technology
- Logistics, Warehousing, and Transportation
- Manufacturing
- Market Research
- Non-profit Organizations
- Pharmaceuticals
- Product Design and Development
- Real Estate
- SaaS
- Social Networking Platforms
- Software
- Software Development
- Supplements, Vitamins, and Nutraceuticals
- Retail
- Telecommunication
- Travel and Hospitality
What types of agencies can you help us find?
Good question. We find and vet proven agencies and consulting firms that offer any B2B and B2C service. This includes but is not limited to:
- Amazon Advisory and Management (Full-service or à la carte)
- App Design
- Appstore SEO
- Branding Services
- Celebrity and Influencer Engagements
- Content Writing
- CPA and Accounting Services
- Cybersecurity and Certification Services
- Database Migration and Management
- Demand Generation and Sales Development (SDR) Services
- Digital Marketing (Full-service or à la carte)
- Direct Mail and Print Advertising
- E-commerce Advisory and Management
- Event Planning and Management Services
- Fractional Leadership Services (CMO, CRO, CFO, etc.)
- Franchise Services and Consulting
- Graphic Design and Animated Videos
- IT Consulting and Services
- Management Consulting
- Market Research Services (Full-service or à la carte)
- Market Research Sample and Panels
- Outdoor Advertising
- Outsources Services (HR, Software Development, Product Development, etc.)
- Pay-per-click (PPC) and Display Ads
- Paid and Local Search
- PR and Crisis Management
- Product Design and Development
- Programmatic Advertising
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Social Media Management
- Specialty Services (Healthcare, Dental, Financial Services, Higher Ed, etc.)
- Talent and Hiring Services
- UX/UI Consulting
- Web Design, hosting, and security
Can you share more about your vetting process?
Our automated system finds and runs potential partners through a 29-point vetting process. The vetting criteria fall into two primary categories. Credibility and Suitability. This ensures, you only have discussions with agencies and vendors that have a proven track record and that fit your specific requirements.
However, not all 29 points are relevant for each search that is initiated. So, when we introduce you to a potential partner, we'll share the specific criteria that caused that partner to stand out from its peers. This will give you the needed backstory before having a call.
Can you clarify the terminology used on the website?
Agency: Any company that offers B2B services and/or consulting. See the question above for a list of common services our agencies provide.
Vendor: A company that licenses B2B software or provides products. Yes, we can help you find the best vendors as well. Just ask!
Partner: An agency or vendor you may choose to hire for a specific project or need
What types of agencies and vendors does your service vet for its customers?
Our system can find and vet potential partners for any project. Often, we've already vetted a group of partners that offer a specific product or service while other times we'll build a list from scratch based on your specific needs.
Our goal is to become a resource you and other leaders in your company repeatedly come back to when an external partner is needed.
Reach out to us today, and let’s discuss your project.
Can you help with the vetting of a vendor or agency I’m already exploring?
Sure! Provide us with the details and we will vet them through our system. In addition, we may also provide info on other potential partners who offer competing services. This will allow you to compare multiple options.
We always want you working with the most credible partners and achieving a high return on your investment in their services.
Can I refer agencies to your company?
Yes, please! We are only interested in the very best agencies. Personal referrals and endorsements are always a good sign. Please don't hesitate to share your favorite agencies with us and we will put them through our vetting process.
This allows B2B Connect to be a more cooperative service.
Can I refer friends and colleagues to your service?
Now you’re speaking our language. Since we don’t charge a fee for our service, our currency is referrals. So, please keep us in mind when a friend or colleague is facing the same challenges of finding good partners.
What are the primary reasons a vendor doesn’t meet your standards?
There are several reasons why a vendor or agency doesn’t meet our standards. These include:
- Uses dishonest or misleading practices. We have zero tolerance for dishonesty. If we discover an agency has a history of misleading, overselling, or using dishonest practices, they are blacklisted. Far too much time and money are wasted because of bad actors.
- Has an unproven track record. Everyone has to start somewhere. It wouldn’t make sense to penalize a company just because they are getting started. If a relatively new agency or vendor can't show a history of success but otherwise receives high marks, we may use alternative methods to prove their credibility. In addition, if we feel they are honest and transparent we may recommend them to one of our clients. We can then carefully track outcomes. However, we will always offer a disclaimer that they are relatively new and don’t have a long track record.
- Has a history of poor performance. We will never recommend an agency or vendor that has a history of poor performance. Weeding out bad actors and poor performers is a fundamental reason why we created B2B Connect.
- Not meeting our suitability requirements. Some partners offer high-end products and services. While these could generate amazing results, they may be priced way out of reach for many of our customers. For this and other reasons, we perform suitability research. The exception to this is if a potential partner is priced a little higher than our customer’s potential budget. If we feel they could be the perfect partner, we know our customers would want an opportunity to make that decision.
We believe our customers deserve to work exclusively with top-tier agencies and vendors. We also believe transparent, credible companies should win all the new business. Nothing gives us more satisfaction than facilitating this.