What are the pros of outsourcing your marketing? You may think that marketing is easier when done in house, considering you know more about what your business does and what you need than an outsider might. However, the cost reality of an in-house marketing team can run up to $300,000 a year. Because of this, outsourcing has grown over 57% since 2008.
Outsourcing can reduce that cost significantly without lowering your standard of work. Here’s what you need to look for in an outsourced marketing team.
Strategic Thinking
There is no one right way for a company to market their business. Your outsourced marketing team needs to know how to pinpoint what exactly will work for your specific needs. While you should always have input on your own marketing strategy, a team with a methodology and experience in this discipline is a great tool to utilize within the process. Such a team will be ahead of current market trends and know where to take your business to strengthen revenue and grow your customer base.
An Integrated Approach: Sales and Marketing
Combining your sales strategy with your marketing process is more than a trend—it’s a necessity for a company that wants to remain competitive in the marketplace. Account-based marketing focuses on researching specific accounts to fill the top of the funnel with leads, rather than casting a wide net to any and every account you can find. This mimics the actions of a sales team in the sense that marketing now provides insights into your company’s problems and doesn’t just open the door to new opportunities. Buyers have become smarter—they want straightforward insights into how you can help solve their pains and build growth. This also helps construct the kind of trust with a prospect that becomes the foundation you build your relationship on, not the other way around.
Keeps Track of KPIs and Overall Budget
You want to find an outsourced marketing team that can help keep you informed of your spending and the results of your marketing efforts. The best way to know what’s working and what needs to be improved is by tracking agreed-upon KPI metrics. Your outsourced marketing team should not only do this for you but also consistently communicate the results of their efforts and their plans for improvement. This way, you can revisit your agreed-upon budget and identify areas that can be expanded upon or slimmed down.
A Fitting Culture
Not every team will mesh as easily as you want them too. Culturally, you need to find an outsourced marketing team that fits with yours. Meet the team members you will be working with, and learn more about the company as a whole—the principles they value, the kind of work they’ve done in the past, and so on. Remember that they will be an extension of your own team; you need to be able to trust them to advise you on multiple levels, especially on how to be a market leader.
Handles Commonly Needed Tasks
You don’t want to hire a team that doesn’t specialize in your most needed tasks. Currently, two of the most needed outsourced tasks are writing (44%) and design (41%). You must ensure that the team you contract with can complete these services ahead of everything else.
You may have other tasks that include web development, campaign launches, strategic planning, and more, so make sure to discuss these in detail when creating a contract to be sure you’re only outsourcing what you need and that the work will be completed promptly and efficiently.
Growth: Offers Case Studies and Work Samples
You want to help your clients grow in order to benefit your own growth, so your outsourced marketing team needs to be able to handle that. Be upfront about your research, and make sure you can move on if you don’t feel comfortable signing the contract. Asking for case studies and work samples is an easy way to learn how others feel about that specific marketing team and help assess whether they have previous experience with the kind of work you’ll need done.
Contact us today to learn more about our team and how our methods can support your company’s growth.
Take me home!
Read more blogs.