Just in case you missed it, we posted an article on Medium last week called How to Recession-Proof Your Small Business.
There’s no denying that we’re living in tough economic times right now. A lot of businesses are struggling.
In that article, point number 5 is: Never. Stop. Marketing.
Marketing is a vital aspect of keeping any business afloat, no matter what the economy looks like.
But that doesn’t mean it has to cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. One solution is to outsource your marketing efforts rather than hiring an in-house team.
Let’s talk about some reasons why you might consider doing just that.
Reason #1: Outsourcing Your Marketing is Cheaper
We figured we’d get the most obvious reason out of the way first.
According to Indeed, the average digital marketer’s salary in the United States is just over $62k per year.
And that number is just for one person.
Most businesses require various skills if they’re going to market their products and services the right way. For example, most businesses need the expertise of:
An SEO specialist
At least one content writer or copywriter
These are obviously very different roles with their own average salaries. But let’s just say each one of these roles requires a salary of $62k a year.
If you have your own in-house, 5-member digital marketing team, you could be paying out $310,000 every year just to cover the cost of their salaries.
And that’s not even including additional costs that an in-house marketing team incurs, but we’ll get to those in a minute.
Larger corporations like Walmart, The Cleveland Clinic, and Progressive Insurance may be able to afford those salaries. But for small and mid-size businesses, that’s often way too much.
If your marketing budget for the year is more in the $10,000-$100,000 range, you’ll save a substantial amount of money by outsourcing.
And you’ll still get excellent results as long as you choose the right team.
Reason #2: Breathe New Life Into Your Message
Working with an in-house marketing team seems like the best option for many business owners.
Think about it - they’re always available when you need them, they really get to know your brand’s voice, and they’re immersed in your team culture on a daily basis.
However, if you’re not careful, your message can become stale pretty quickly.
Every business gets stuck in its own routine, and it’s easy to continue doing the same things day in and day out; especially when it appears to be working for a little while.
When you outsource your marketing needs, you get an immediate advantage over your competition. Why?
Because whether you’re working with an independent contractor or an agency with many clients, they’re constantly exposed to new trends, ideas, and strategies.
That’s exactly what you need to ensure your business remains relevant.
Reason #3: Achieve Faster Results
Because of the way office culture tends to work, in-house marketing teams don’t get to spend as much time on actual marketing as an outsourced team does.
If you currently have an in-house team, how many additional roles do they play within your company? Are they:
Planning your next company picnic/Christmas party/team-building event?
Getting stuck at the water cooler each afternoon, chatting with co-workers?
Clocking out right at 5 pm?
Taking on other duties that have nothing whatsoever to do with marketing?
With a virtual digital marketing team, they don’t have to deal with any of these distractions. Their job is to focus on your marketing.
They have control over their own schedule, and many work well into the evening/night or even on the weekends.
What might take an in-house team a month to accomplish for your business may only take an independent contractor or a contracted agency 2 weeks or less.
That’s improved efficiency, which means you get faster results.
Reason #4: Avoid Paying Extra Money for Marketing Tools
There are a lot of great FREE marketing tools available for agencies, independent contractors, and businesses like yours. We actually use some of them ourselves.
For example, we use Trello for our project management needs, and while there are paid plans, the free version comes with all the bells and whistles we need.
However, there are a lot of paid tools out there too, and some of them are essential for in-house teams expected to get great results.
Tools like Ahrefs are critical for keyword and competitor research. But you’re going to pay at least $99 a month or more for access.
There are also other tools, like:
Social media marketing tools
Email marketing tools
Graphic design software
Once you add up all the top recommended tools an in-house team would need, you could easily be looking at $1,000 extra a month just in marketing tools.
That’s a lot for a small or even medium-sized business to handle.
But with outsourcing your advertising, the professionals you work with already pay for these tools.
While they may pass a small amount of that cost to you (understandable), you’ll end up paying a lot less in the long run.
Reason #5: Focus Your Efforts on Running Your Business
Finally, you’ll love how it feels when you no longer have to micro-manage your marketing team.
Let’s face it, whether you own a restaurant or run a medical clinic, you have enough work to do, right? Why add managing a marketing team to your growing to-do list?
Your efforts are best spent on running your business. That’s your area of expertise, and your company deserves your time and attention.
Does This Mean You Should Fire Your In-House Marketing Team?
Nope. That’s not what we’re saying at all.
But it may be worth crunching some numbers to determine what you could gain by outsourcing.
In-house team members come and go, so for example, if you have a copywriter who takes a job elsewhere, why not explore outsourcing that role?
In time, you could slowly transition into filling those positions with independent contractors. It doesn’t have to be something you do all at once.
And you’ll experience all these great benefits along the way.
Want to Outsource Your Marketing Efforts Now?
If outsourcing sounds like a great plan to you, we’d love to talk with you!
Colwell Creative Content, Inc. has been in business since 2012, and we’ve worked with hundreds of clients in just about every industry you can imagine.
You’ll also have the advantage of partnering with a one-stop shop that has all the services your business needs to succeed in any type of marketing - offline or online.
Contact us today and Let’s Grow Your Business Together!