As we all know, the last couple of years have thrown convention to the wind. In times of business upheaval –upturns, followed by downturns – it is invariably marketers who feel the impact initially. Marketing budgets, rightly or wrongly, are often the first to be cut in harder times, and are generally slow to return to previous levels when things start to pick up again. This makes budgeting and planning difficult at both the business and departmental level.
Marketing departments should be working ahead of the curve, planning for the longer term, sometimes as far as 6-12 months ahead of the present situation within a business. Quite often, arrangements and commitments have already been made, which cannot be avoided.
With an outsourced function or marketing resource in place, more flexibility exists in adapting to the ebbs and flows accordingly, in a more timely fashion. You can set your support at an appropriate level to suit the current circumstances within your business, reviewing and adjusting it at short-term intervals, and reallocating or expanding the team when you need to during peak periods of activity, and adjusting the support for key activities accordingly as circumstances dictate.
In other words, you’re not paying for what you don’t need.
With the outsourced model, you also benefit from having the opportunity to work with the best of the best, importing experienced specialists to key areas when you need them, whether that be PPC, SEO, or content and copywriting, for example.
Smaller businesses may not always be able to afford (or need) a highly experienced marketing manager on the staff at £40+K per year, but the outsourcing model allows them to tap into their expertise and knowledge base at a much more affordable rate, as and when required.
And don’t forget if you think the simple answer is to entrust your entire marketing function into the hands of a full-service agency (of which there are many good ones, and some not so good), they will still require briefing, managing, and holding to account by someone skilled in marketing within your business, to ensure you are getting the most (and the best) out of them.
Outsourced marketing support also provides an element of ‘distanced objectivity’ for your business, insulated from other distractions that an internal marketer invariably gets dragged into – as much as they might enjoy organising your summer BBQ, or Christmas social, it is not where their time is best spent!
If you are considering outsourcing your marketing, it is, of course, vital to establish regular monthly progress meetings, and work to a clear, mutually agreed plan so that both parties are working in unison and know what to expect. This will help you to measure the effectiveness of the support you have in place at regular intervals.
For further information on our services please contact us at info@apricusmarketing.co.uk.