As your business continues to grow, you’ll eventually be faced with the decision of outsourcing part of your operations. For many businesses, one area often up for consideration is marketing. And it’s not because these businesses do not have a marketing department and strategy in place. It’s usually because they feel like a reputable and experienced marketing agency might be able to do a better job. Sometimes it just comes down to the business owner wanting to focus on other core competencies.
Important Questions to Consider Before You Outsource Your Marketing
If this is a dilemma you’re currently in, there are many important questions you need to ask yourself before you decide to outsource your marketing.
Question 1: Has Growth and Revenue Plateaued?
If you’ve tried to scale up your business but haven’t found much success in terms of brand and revenue growth, this is a sign that should consider outsourcing. This usually means your marketing team doesn’t have the experience or creativity to drive the business forward. Sometimes you have a solid strategy, but you need a pair of fresh eyes to innovate your business. Whatever the case, this is a good sign if you’ve put in a strong effort and still haven’t seen noticeable changes.
Question 2: Are Your Marketing Campaigns Reactive and Do They Lack Strategy?
Do you feel like your marketing campaigns are only trying to target prospects that are surefire bets? Are the campaigns not aggressive enough and lacking a strong follow through? Maybe you have a bunch of tactics that are working right now but there isn’t anything resembling a solid strategy. These signs indicate weaknesses in the way your business is approaching marketing.
Question 3: Are You Not Taking Advantage of All Available Marketing Channels?
It’s not uncommon for businesses to get most of their revenue from one or two marketing channels. To see good growth, it’s important to expand into new marketing channels whether it’s social media, mobile marketing, or SEO. If your company simply can’t expand into new channels, it’s a sign that your marketing team doesn’t have the knowledge or experience to make these channels work. This is usually a strong case to outsource part of your marketing to an agency that understands the channels that you’re not using.
Question 4: Are Your Marketing Campaigns Even Producing the Results You’re Seeking?
In the worst cases, some businesses are confused about which of their campaigns are producing results. They might have an online advertising campaign, use direct mail, and even have a sales department. However, they are unable to dig deep and understand which channels and campaigns are generating most of their revenue. If that wasn’t enough, these businesses are unsure how their campaigns are affecting other business goals like brand growth, increase in customer lifetime value, building strong engagement with customers, etc.
Question 5: Is the Marketing Team Overworked and Producing Lackluster Results?
One of the telltale signs you need to outsource your marketing is if your marketing team is overworked. This is simply a case where the business doesn’t have the budget to hire a new employee or doesn’t have the right protocols in place for training. This usually translates to lackluster results from marketing efforts. Outsourcing, in this case, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to fire your marketing team. It might mean you need some outside help.
If several of these questions really resonated with you, then it’s very likely that you need to outsource your marketing. The ideal situation would be to work with a marketing agency that has the expertise, experience, and record of client satisfaction. The agency should also focus on automation as it is a key component in allowing you to scale your campaigns as you’ll be able to realize replicable results and faster growth.
