Is it time to outsource your marketing department?

Being a small business owner is tough.

Chances are, you have an ever changing market and sky high workload. So juggling, plate spinning and different-hat-wearing skills are essential.

Sometimes, you get so caught up in keeping all the plates spinning that you forget to realise, every now and then, we all need a little help.

When the lightbulb moment does hit, most small businesses try to solve the problem by moving tasks around internally.

However, a sustainable marketing strategy is as a crucial element to ensuring the success and longevity of your product or service. It’s a plate that you and your team just can’t afford to drop.

Fret not though. There is a saving grace. And that, my dear, is outsourcing.

Outsourcing your marketing needs is a big decision with financial, productivity and morale considerations.

So to help you out, we’ve developed a five-point checklist so you and your team can identify when it really is time to outsource your marketing needs.

Not enough specialisms in the team

Marketing is a field that many people like to dabble in. It’s enjoyable. It’s creative. And it’s collaborative. What’s not to love?

However, as fun as it might be, it is important to remember that developing a marketing strategy which delivers results is a complex task with many facets.

So, as much as your team members might like to fiddle with Facebook, dabble with design and pick at Pay Per Click advertising, weighing up their true skill set and workloads with your marketing needs is essential to the progression of your business.

To get the most out of your marketing budget, consider outsourcing the work to ensure there is an overarching strategy which is backed by research and is perfectly executed as well as carefully measured.

Your team is too busy

A common problem in small businesses is a overly busy team desperately wadding to keep their heads above the workload water.

Although there will always be times of high stress and pressure, you shouldn’t constantly be up against it or even running behind on deadline.

Most marketing agencies offer a wide range of services that can help to alleviate the pressure on your team. These services include developing and delivering brand and marketing strategy, Google pay per click, social media management, website design, on and offline copywriting and search engine optimisation.

You don’t have to commission all of the services. Agency staff certainly aren’t there to replace your loyal employees. Depending on what you can cover internally and the budget available, an agency can be brought in as an extension of your current team, to do as much or as little as you want.

Stage of business growth

Are your marketing choices not generating enough revenue? Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Hiring external support from a marketing agency can help bring the perspective, expert skills and helpful advice you need to progress forwards.

Marketing agencies will have a broad range of experiences, specialised staff, unique resources and ROI tracking skills. Not only does this mean that they can improve your marketing output, and fast, but the results will speak for themselves, so if you are not happy, you can end the contract and move on easily.

We’d definitely advise taking advantage of any free consultation services on offer from agencies. This will help you better understand the services they deliver. It will help to give you a good overview of what work you‘ve got covered internally and what is worth outsourcing.

Your website is out of date

As one of your business’s biggest marketing tools, your website should be an ever evolving feast. Regular tweaks will help to maintain your website’s functionality, attractiveness and customer focus. Not to mention, helping to align it to Google’s changing algorithms.

If you’ve not had time, budget or the know how to update your website regularly, you could find you’re losing sales due to out of date information, broken links and clunky functions.

Outsourcing your website development and maintenance will help to keep you on top of these essential tasks. But agencies are also on top of new trends and vital updates that will keep your business ahead of the marketing landscape.

Not enough money for a full time experienced person

So you know you need some marketing support. But you can’t afford a full time experienced staff member. In that case, outsourcing can be the answer to your prayers.

With the right targets and a solid briefing, outsourcing to a marketing agency can help keep your company agile. A team of specialists can ‘hit the ground running’. And, it can be a fraction of the price of a full-time in-house employee.

What’s more, should your budgets or marketing needs change, you can scale up or down an agency’s involvement. This gives more flexibility, outsider knowledge and creativity than a full time employee could.

Need some help?

If your workloads mean your marketing efforts are waning, we can help. Perhaps you need to increase your social reach. Or maybe reduce your cost per click on ads. How about a new website to wow… we’ve got a skilled for professional for that.