8 reasons why you should outsource your marketing

You can change the brake pads on your car. You can give yourself a (decent) haircut. Heck, you can even extract your own tooth if you can stomach it (highly unadvisable!). But, really, there are certain things that are best left to the professionals. Marketing is one of those things. And if you’re going to invest in it, you want to make sure you get it done right. 

Many companies completely misunderstand marketing, seeing it as an entry-level undertaking or worse, as a “side task” for front desk staff (we’ve seen this more than a few times). If you’re looking for measurable results from your marketing effort, you’ve got two ways to go about it: hire in-house or outsource to a single person or an agency. So which is better? Here are eight reasons why, for the same cost, you’ll get better results faster going with an agency that does integrated marketing (i.e., all types of marketing, rather than just SEO, just digital or just PR) than going with a single in-house hire or single consultant.

Reason #1: Save money and increase your bottom line

Let’s start by talking about money. When deciding between an in-house hire and an outsourced team, your bottom line is likely … well, the bottom line. Consider this: A mid-level hire will run your company somewhere around $60K, around the same as for an outsourced team. To that number, you can expect to pay around another 40% in overheads like office space, equipment, and benefits, not to mention the time spent by management in oversight, guidance, and strategy. Additionally, this single hire can be expected to have approximately 40% of the skillset of an entire team, and none of the process like reporting and day-to-day tactics. 

Reason #2: Bridge your knowledge gap

If you don’t currently have someone with marketing expertise on your team to direct and oversee an in-house hire, then outsourcing may be more efficient and effective than hiring someone new. A single hire brings their own expertise but it is, by definition, the knowledge and experience of one person. An external team will collectively strategize, execute and report—all without using your company’s resources. 

Reason #3: Avoid commitment and risk

Adding a new hire involves a lot of commitment—and risk. If you aren’t happy, it’s not simple to make a change. Also, consider that most junior hires won’t stay long in the role. For outsourced marketing departments, their success as an agency depends on their ability to meet deliverables and generate leads so they’re used to bearing greater accountability. And, if it doesn’t work out, you can move on to a different agency more quickly and easily. 

Reason #4: Hit the ground running

When you’re ready to implement a marketing plan, the last thing you need is a months-long delay. Finding the right candidate takes time and once you’ve made the hire, a new employee needs time to get up to speed. An external marketing team is ready to jump into your project now. 

Reason #5: Skip the learning curve

Your marketing work will likely require expertise in brand, messaging, writing, digital advertising and more. It’s tough to find a single person who can do all of that well. Add to this having established methods for measuring and reporting on all of the marketing you’re doing and you can imagine how long and steep the learning curve will be for a single person—particularly a junior or mid-level hire. If you work with an experienced outsourced team, you can expect them to know how to produce measured results that explain your return on investment. You needn’t finance the learning curve. 

Reason #6: Free up time

As a business owner, it’s not unusual to wear several hats. When you hire an external marketing department, you no longer have to wear that hat and can devote that time to growing and operating your business. At the same time, any staff who previously took on marketing tasks will also breathe a sigh of relief with newfound time to focus on the primary objectives of their positions. 

Reason #7: Immediate access to the newest, best technologies

When you take care of marketing in-house, it’s up to you (and your company’s budget) to research, select, and purchase the best technologies to run your marketing program. With an outsourced marketing team, these costs are handled for you. Outsourced services must stay current on the latest marketing tech—it’s part of their ability to deliver great results efficiently for you—so you can be sure you’re getting the most recent technology, often at a discounted rate. 

Reason #8: Gain objective insights into your business

It’s hard to remain objective when you’ve grown your company from the ground up and as an employee, an in-house hire may not feel comfortable challenging the existing corporate culture or beliefs. Every business needs fresh thinking to grow. Avail yourself of valuable external insights by enlisting the help of outside experts. 

If you’re looking for a solution for your marketing, now is the time to consider an outsourced team. They overperform in terms of capacity, experience, and knowledge when compared to an in-house hire—all for less of a time commitment and about the same cost. 

So while you’re busy running your business—and not side hustling as your own personal mechanic, hairdresser or dentist—an outsourced marketing team will be doing what they do best: finding you quality leads to grow your business.