Internal vs. Outsourced Marketing
Your Business Will Only Be As Successful As Your Marketing Team!
Successfully running a company is a lot like successfully raising a child. The desire to foster strength, encourage growth and promote uniqueness are innately felt. With that being said, there comes a time when every small to mid-sized business needs to decide how to turn these ideas of grandeur into realities and ideally, into income.
In order to design a successful business model, a strong marketing team is necessary. Now, the question is, does marketing belong inside the house or outside the house? Read on to find out if your organization could benefit from outsourced marketing solutions as an alternative to the tried and true method of internal marketing group development.
The term “marketing” embodies so many different meanings. Marketing can include everything from elements of product management or product development all the way to content writing, social media and website development. In order to run a fully functional marketing team, an organization is faced with two options, hiring on full or part-time employees with each of the aforementioned skill sets in order to develop a fully comprehensive marketing plan or hiring an already fully functional outside firm to step in and collaboratively take over marketing duties.
Does Outsourcing Make Sense?
Internal marketing departments are most often times seen in larger scale organizations. The who’s of Fortune 500 companies are most likely going to have an internal marketing group. The reason for that is that these larger companies have the resources and manpower to support these groups.
An internal marketing department is a lot like a family as there will be more tenured employees, mid level and entry level. Everyone has a job and the hierarchy of the group will continue to shift with the more tenure marketing individuals training and molding the newbies. Larger companies also have the resources to pay several hefty marketing salaries on an annual basis along with providing bonus, retirement option, and medical benefits.
However, if you’re not an Apple or Sherwin Williams, you might want to think about the benefits of outsourcing your marketing efforts. Initially, take the time to consider how much time and knowledge your organization can honestly provide in order to successfully onboard, train, and develop a marketing professional in each segment of marketing. According to an article from TopSEO’s, “There is a huge time commitment involved with successfully compiling, creating and implementing a marketing team. With outsourced marketing agencies, you are given an already equipped team of professionals able to jump in and keep the ball rolling. A good agency should be able to provide references and testimonials from past clients in order to substantiate their past successes.”
I heard an awesome quote once that a good marketing individual is a little bit like Liam Neeson in the movie Taken – they should possess a unique skill set. This is what you will get with outsourced marketing efforts, several professional individuals each bringing a very unique skill set to your company. Marketing professionals come in all shapes and sizes; some are well versed in the online universe while others are masters of creativity. When you work with a marketing agency on an outsourced basis you will be exposed to many different talents and many different individuals fostering such talents. “Businesses which look to build an in-house team for marketing endeavors are often met with the outrageously high costs of software and tools within the industry. Online marketing agencies are often more efficient due to their use of tools which specialize in a specific task or subset of tasks. The professionals which assist an agency compared to an in-house team is more likely to have experience with different tools and resources”. (https://www.topseos.com/benefits-outsourcing-vs-house-marketing/)
Making an Informed Decision
Hypothetically speaking, let’s pretend that you already “think” you know all of the varying pros and cons involved with internal and outsourced marketing and you’re still unsure of what path to take. Well, read on my friends! Forbes has done a wonderful job of outlining the questions to ask yourself while making this decision.
Does your existing staff have the skills to foster new talent?
Will you invest in continuous education?
Do you have the financial resources to hire and maintain good talent?
Have you designed core competencies to direct a marketing hire with?
Could outsourcing help you figure out what the ideal “hire” looks like?
Can outsourcing be beneficial to short term goals?
Can you trust an outsourced team?
Can an inhouse person remain consistent and engaged?
What value are you getting for the cost?
Would inhouse talent be spread too thin?
Where is your staff’s time and talent best spent?
What is your ultimate goal?
Now go ahead and take a long hard look at how you have answered those questions and really the proof should be in the pudding. By taking a clear look at the current status of your organization, you should be able to decipher your next step in terms of marketing. Also, keep in mind that just because you might be team in-house now that there isn’t room for bringing in additional talents of outsourced efforts down the road or vice versa.
Outsourced Marketing With Jennasis and Associates
Jennasis and Associates is a thriving and growing full service marketing agency headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Jennasis prides itself on it’s vast array of energetic marketing individuals all bringing unique talents to the table. Whether you are looking for a website redesign, branding strategy, marketing asset development, content writing or social media management, Jennasis has what you are looking for! If you are interested in learning more about the services offered by Jennasis and Associates please visit our website or shoot us an email.
