Author: cm08

What is Outsource Marketing? 

Outsource marketing is essentially hiring outside of your company to perform services that are traditionally performed in-house. Companies could hire a freelancer, or a company that specifically advertises as an outsourcing agency to cover everything from SEO optimization, advertising to running social media platforms. Since its inception in the late 1980s, this unique business strategy has revolutionized the industry, and it’s how The Color Club recently helped Nilfisk, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of professional cleaning equipment transform their operations and marketing production. Find out how here.

Outsource Marketing Facts:

• In 2019, the Global Outsourcing Market was worth $92.5 Billion
• In today’s market, 71% of companies are outsourcing more
• ‘Cost’ was the main reason companies outsourced in Deloitte’s 2020 Outsourcing Survey
• IBM is the biggest outsourcing company in the world.

Why Companies Choose Outsource Marketing 

There are plenty of reasons why companies decide to outsource. For example, small companies might not have an in-house marketing department, and larger companies might be looking for greater global brand consistency. Each reason has its potential benefits, and our experience as a digital marketing agency has meant we’ve dealt with many. Here are some of our top reasons why companies decide to outsource.

Cost Saving

When companies grow, market demands often grow faster than the ability to expand, leaving companies at a crossroad in terms of future business strategy. The burning question companies are left to face is whether they should outsource marketing to deal with the demands of market growth, and one of the main factors that comes into play when making that decision is cost.

As seen in Deloitte’s global survey, cost is considered the most important factor when making the decision to outsource, and this became especially so due to the pandemic. It’s clear to see why – hire 4 marketers on salaries of $50,000 each, or an agency full of expert marketers for $3,000 a month?

Compared to the salary based contracts of hiring in-house, outsourcing agencies can be hired on retainer, hourly, project-specific, or long-term basis. This creates great flexibility for pricing without the worry of individual employee needs, such as sick and paid leave.

To save even more, companies can also have trusted employees develop the marketing strategy and operation, but then bring in a marketing agency only for its implementation and execution.

Key Findings:

• 62% of companies reported 10% to 25% savings in 2018 when they outsourced
• 38% of companies reported savings as high as 40%
• 45% of companies have planned to increase their outsourcing since the pandemic.

Time

Whether its designers, copywriters, illustrators, or project managers, experts need to be brought in to cover growing market needs, which is often easier said than done. The average time to find the right employee is 41days, and that’s a lot of time spent scouring the market. As the hours pass away, more pressure builds on current employees due to growing workloads, and this may result in less productivity and burn outs.

In the same amount of time it takes to hire one person, companies could outsource and hire a whole team of dedicated marketers. In doing so, it lifts the burden of growing marketing activities for current employees, and frees up time for companies to focus on other areas of their business.

Key Findings:

• 80% of organizations are having difficulty filling openings due to shortage of skills
• 31% of new hires have left a job within six months
• The average job posting gets 250 resumes

Marketing Expertise 

Quite simply, if companies outsource they have access to a team of multidisciplinary experts and a wealth of experience. These marketers have devoted themselves for years to helping companies be successful in the market, and their knowledge will immediately impact a company.

On top of that, agencies adapt to company needs with personalised, customisable marketing strategies. This provides great flexibility in terms of focus, pricing, and helps companies turn their marketing dreams into reality.

3 things to watch out for when Outsource Marketing 

Companies may run into some initial difficulties when outsourcing, especially if it’s the first time the company is using an agency. Companies might not fully understand what it is they need, and may feel overwhelmed with the amount of agencies available. With our experience and understanding of markets, here’s a few things to watch for when looking to outsource marketing.

Choose the Right Marketing Partner 

Different companies have different needs, and when choosing the right marketing partner a company has to consider its current size, employees, revenue and future goals. A small start-up might not need a large, international digital marketing agency as it could be costly. Alternatively, the cheapest option might save money, but not produce high-quality results.

Solution

Companies first need to figure out their needs, and then look to partner with a company that’s trustworthy, affordable, and consistently delivers effective results.

Retain Marketing Control 

When outsourcing a company is handing over part, or even all of its marketing to an outside company. It has little control over day-to-day activities, and has almost no say in who is individually working on their marketing. This may seem a little daunting, especially for a company who’s not had any experience with outsourcing agencies.

Solution

Therefore, you need to trust your marketing partner. One of the foundations for this trust is an agency with clear communication channels and transparent work processes. This means marketing performance can be continually measured and direction aligned to ensure future goals are achieved.

Cultural & Language Harmony

There may be language and cultural differences companies face when they choose to outsource. Outsourcing companies are based all over the world, and in a study done by The National Outsourcing Association in the UK, 75% of respondents would consider culture as a factor when outsourcing in the future. Ultimately, this is due to differences possibly affecting ideas on innovation, company details, and future direction.

Solution

A key to avoiding cultural issues is to have clear communication channels, where both parties have a deep understanding of marketing objectives in order to positively transform your company.

Conclusion  

Outsource marketing continues to be a popular digital strategy for companies, with the primary reason being its cost-effectiveness. The overall benefits outweigh any initial problems, for instance the time spent finding the right marketing partner, or the initial required investment to outsource.

Once companies have invested in outsource marketing,  it instantly creates less pressure and demands on current employees, brings in a range of marketing expertise and technology that increases productivity, and helps the company continue to grow from strength to strength.

If you’re looking to find more about outsource marketing, speak to one of our expert consultants today. Enjoy reading? Then delve deeper into outsourcing in PwCs excellent report, Outsourcing comes of Age: The rise of collaborative partnership.

FAQ

The process where a company hires a third party to perform work on their behalf.

Why Companies Outsource Marketing?

Companies outsource as a business strategy due to cost-effectiveness, time-saving, and for the amount of expertise available.

What to watch out for when Outsource Marketing?

The 3 main things companies need to watch for when outsourcing marketing is finding the right marketing partner, retaining marketing control, and finding harmony in any cultural and language differences.