5 REASONS TO OUTSOURCE YOUR MARKETING

Notes by Julie Furlong

Marketing can often be a burden, causing further stress when trying to operate a successful company. We all know that when you focus on everything you are really focusing on nothing and with a forever changing landscape, digital platforms, technology and social channels transforming by the second, it is obvious that the marketing responsibility is becoming more specialised and you need experts on your side who know what they are doing.

Over many, many years, I have weaved in and out of helping all sorts of companies with their marketing to grow and deliver results. I have seen clients stress over deadlines or simply miss them because they have too many other things to worry about when trying to operate, lead and manage a business. Luckily for me (well I consider myself lucky), I live and breathe marketing and I’m grateful for leading an amazing, talented team who are passionate about what we do, and not only like, but love delivering marketing solutions after so many years. (Read: 4 Easy steps to finding your passions) With marketing being a forever changing landscape, it continues to challenge us and our knowledge to keep learning and stay on top of emerging trends, even after 23 years of agency life. From the traditional off-line options into the heavily, submerged digital and socials strategies, one thing always remains, marketing is competitive and you never know what’s around the corner or what may happen in the environment that can influence your strategies to achieve the results you really want – which is why outsourcing your marketing can make perfect sense.

Here are 5 of the main reasons why you should consider outsourcing:

1. Save time and money

Marketing your business requires expert knowledge in areas of strategy, brand, web, digital, content, copy writing, design, research and social media (just to name a few) marketing functions. Outsourcing will save on time and money VS trying to do this yourself.

Marketing is a strategic process involving the planning, organising and the delivery of the right mix to achieve specific objectives; your employees would need to be on top of, as core purposes to really leverage the most out of your marketing budget.

If these people are employed inhouse it takes time, money and resources into retaining and upskilling them. Building and paying for that marketing person or department is risky and time consuming and if you have unsuccessfully been down that path before, you would know it causes an enormous amount of stress.

Engaging the right creative partner with the expertise and ability will save money and further headaches of employing others and hoping for the best, it will get it off your ‘to do’ list so you can focus on your core business.

2. Receive the right advice from the experts

Imagine the ability to scale up and down with additional resources as required to deliver the latest in marketing trends that work and campaign components, using tools and systems that you’re unlikely to invest in or may not even know about.

1. It's difficult to be sure you are implementing the most relevant marketing strategies that will deliver. When you hit that point, this is the time to consider partnering with the right marketing team who should know what is working in the marketplace and what audiences are currently responding to.
2. They come on board with a load of talent, a clear mind and fresh ideas for your company, overcoming any internal politics and challenges, as they are not employees.
3. They remain focused to deliver upon a powerful marketing strategy for your business and are not being used by other team members for projects that are not directly related to growing awareness for your company. You also get access to the full resources of an experienced, experts with a specific skill set.

3. Ensure you have the right strategy mix and content

Outsourcing pays for the services of experts who are well-versed in the continually changing landscape of marketing, and who will research, create, and implement marketing strategies or produce compelling content designed specifically for your brand.

1. Successful marketing will bring rewards to any business, but different products and industries require different strategies to help leverage the marketing budget and get results.
2. There are many different low-risk and low-cost ways to implement and boost sales or build awareness, it’s just a matter of knowing. With a variety of options available, when you put the right heads together, clever marketing that thinks outside the box is applied.
3. After workshopping the key issues and challenges, a performing marketing outsource agency should be able to offer a new perspective and offer fresh, exciting ideas and strategies that you may have not known about.

To give an example, after a planning discussion, I advised a client to run a brand advocate and referral program as part of the marketing strategy. Brand advocates are trusted partners, friends, colleagues, employees, customers and clients, recommending your brand to help build positive awareness, because they truly believe in your brand and are an important part of your business surviving and growing. They're the ones you can count on for a recommendation or lead when someone asks for advice about what your products are about, or what your company does. Brand advocates complement your marketing strategy and coupled with a referral program, target happy customers, who will refer you to family and friends. This strategy successfully elevated the brand and further growth for our client. It was clear the business had never invested or even considered this kind of strategy in the past, which proved to be valuable, driving traffic at a low cost. (Read: Brand Advocates - An essential part of your marketing strategy)

4. Have complete control

Moving into the future with digital platforms, technology and social channels transforming by the second, it is obvious that the marketing responsibility is becoming more specialised and new positions are being created to meet the very specific and demanding marketing functions for companies to grow. Outsourcing will ensure you have complete control as;

1. using a set package approach means you have complete visibility and control over your marketing spend, with set pricing that adapts to your strategies and touchpoint requirements;
2. you will only receive the marketing requirements needed for the business with a results reports allowing you to measure and review performance, ensuring the right strategies are in place;
3. you will have the flexibility, time and insight to make decisions based on the performance of your marketing. Every business is different and has different needs.

5. Make informed business decisions, based on the performance of your marketing.

Most entrepreneurs and business leaders, don’t have the time to dedicate to marketing their business or brand efficiently and would be much better off spending their time on leading the entire business, instead of just the marketing.

1. When outsourcing your marketing, your role as an owner becomes more strategic, allowing you to make decisions based on the performance of your company marketing and sales; rather that getting bogged down in the ‘doing’ of your marketing or getting the right marketing talent to be across all marketing functions. As the old saying goes, ‘work on the business not in the business’. This will provide the ability to dial up the right marketing strategy as needed.
2. Growth will be the priority looking at the business performance to make informed decisions.
3. Leave the latest research and trends for the experts to learn and advise upon. Remember, it is in their best interest for your company to perform, if you perform, so do they; it’s an all-round ‘win win’ for everyone.

These 5 reasons are amongst many, as to why outsource marketing may be a good fit for your growing business. By engaging an expert marketing partner with a consistent and proven reputation you save time, money and further headache from trying to do it yourself or employing someone full time. The approach will also ensure you have the answers, some of which you may not have known. Marketers who ask the right questions will put forward the right strategies from dedicated and passionate experts who know how to get the results, for your business to grow, providing the control to review results and take the marketing function off your to-do list.

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

1. WITH MARKETING BEING A FOREVER CHANGING LANDSCAPE, ARE YOU ENGAGING THE RIGHT PARTNERS?

Outsource marketing may be the answer to your growing business.

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2. YOU NEED EXPERTS ON YOUR SIDE

Marketing is a strategic process involving the planning, organising and the delivery of the right mix to achieve specific objectives.

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