Most companies have been outsourcing part of the marketing effort for years now. Working with advertising agencies for their communication needs has become a common practice. So it begs the question whether a company should outsource more of their marketing effort.
The simple fact remains that the trend to outsourcing of more marketing activities has been taking place for a few years now with the explosion of social media and the importance of having an online presence. We’re seeing more and more specialized marketing services firms being engaged by companies to fill in the gaps of expertise where it’s lacking in a company.
Some common areas of marketing outsourcing are:
- SEO/SEM
- Branding
- Go-to-Market Strategy & Execution
- New Product Development
- Lead Generation
- Innovation
- Campaign Development
Companies have been managing costs more rigorously of late and have cut back on hiring specialist that they once may have kept on staff. This certainly helps the bottom line but cuts in to a businesses ability to remain nimble and flexible to respond to market conditions. As an alternative a company should have a list of trusted service providers that it can turn to for special projects.
The reality is that few companies have all the marketing expertise they need to develop and implement projects that are prioritized. The other aspect is that marketing is becoming more analytical and less creative which requires a different skill set in an organization. Outsourcing your marketing effort can pay significant dividends when managed properly.
Bringing in external resources for special projects can have a few benefits such as:
1) Brings an external perspective to a situation. Companies can get locked in to a perspective on a problem or can reach an impasse between functional groups. One way to break that inertia is to bring in a third party.
2) Improve the quality of work. There is a lot of qualified people in the market these days that are specialists in their field. Applying a specialist to a problem will result in a much better outcome and improved quality of work.
3) Reduce your overall costs. By avoiding costly mistakes a specialist can save a company time and money down the road. Not having to redo work or catching potential problems BEFORE they occur can be invaluable.
Start researching a few firms or speak with your peers about reliable service providers that you can start to build a working relationship with. Starting with a small project is a great way to minimize your exposure to a new service provider and see the quality of work.