9 Smart Reasons to Outsource Your Marketing

You’re at the point in your small business where you’ve recognized you can’t do it all yourself. You either want to grow the business or you’re just tired of working 80 hours a week. Every business owner faces the dilemma: do I hire an employee or do I outsource my marketing? Each has their pros and cons. Many business owners find that when they are first expanding, outsourcing their marketing makes more sense than hiring because of all the benefits that come with hiring a Marketing professional.

9  Reasons You Should Strongly Consider Outsourcing Your Marketing

1. Frees you up to do the important task of running a business– as a small business owner how much time are you spending researching new marketing tools and strategies, learning, reading and trying to figure out how best to market your business? Not to mention the tactical efforts of maintaining your website, posting on Facebook, newsletters, blogging, etc.? Write down how much time you spend doing this and then ask yourself how much better off your business would be if you could divert those hours into another, revenue producing task. Would your business be better off?
2. Frees you up to have a life – as entrepreneurs we work our butts off, that’s a given. But what if you could free up just 10 – or even 20 – hours a month by outsourcing your marketing? Would that mean more time with the family? Going to more little league games? Would you travel more? Workout, run, go to the theater or just relax more?
3. Get experts instead of entry-level administrators– when most business owners start thinking about hiring full or part time marketing employees they have a minimal budget so they look for entry-level admin help. The problem with that is they aren’t getting the marketing experience and expertise they need to grow their business. Most entry level marketing employees are going to be order takers, not strategic marketing experts.
4. Outsourcing costs less than an FTE – hiring a professional marketing expert can be as much as 50% less than a full time entry, or mid-level marketing coordinator.  So for half the money,  you can hire a professional marketing consultant with years of valuable experience and knowledge. Not only is a marketing consultant an expert in marketing, but they are entrepreneurs, so they also understand what it takes to run and grow a business. You won’t get that from most employees.
5. You will achieve a greater ROI in the long run – outsourcing your marketing and working with experts, as opposed to entry level employees will yield you a greater ROI in the long run. Marketing professionals are experts in their fields and know the best ways to help you be successful.
6. New ideas and perspective – because outsourced marketing professionals aren’t full time employees of any one company, they will always have more access to new and fresh ideas that you can benefit from. Some of my best ideas for one client come from working with another client in a completely different industry.  Working with many clients at once helps me bring creative and out-of-the-box ideas to each of my clients.
7. Get honest insight – a good marketing consultant is going to recognize that their job is to give the absolute best advice and guidance, even if the business owner doesn’t want to hear it. I’ve had many tough conversations with business owners over the years that,  in the end, have helped them grow. It is much more difficult for an employee, whose sole income is tied to that job,  to be honest.  And surrounding ourselves with “yes” people is not conducive to growth; we need smart people to challenge us.
8. Knowledge about the best marketing tools and technologies – how much time have you spent researching SEO tools, WordPress, SEM, CRM, social media sites, advertising platforms and a myriad of other marketing tools and technologies? A good Marketing Consultant is on top of their industry and will have in-depth knowledge and experience about the best marketing tools on the market.  If not, THEY will do the research on your behalf. Any marketing professional will know the best solutions for your business without you having to do all the legwork.
9. Less of a commitment and less red-tape – labor laws, health care, payroll, taxes and worker’s compensation insurance are all major undertakings to consider when hiring an employee. You need a Human Resources professional just to manage your employees! Hiring a Marketing Consultant requires none of this and gives you more control.

 Whether you decide to hire an employee, a marketing consultant or firm to grow your business, it’s a big decision. Take your time, do your research and interview all your prospective employees, firms and consultants.  Check references and make sure you hire someone who shares your vision and passion for business.

If you would like help growing your business or have questions about how to work with a Marketing Consultant, we’d be happy to offer a 20-minute complimentary consultation. Contact me today!