Hi all! Now below are 6 things to consider when attempting to answer this question. Hopefully these are of constructive value to you. So, without further ado let’s get into it…
1. How Many Marketing Channels Do You Want to implement?
As a business owner there are many marketing channels you may want or need to use to grow your business. This counts more so if you want to grow your business quickly. That said, the number and type of marketing channels or strategies you want to implement right away, could make hiring an agency who likely have the expertise to execute on your ideas the best option. However, if you plan to add marketing strategies a little slower and gradually, or focus efforts on just a few strategies to start off with, doing your marketing in-house and adding to staff as you need to may be more suitable.
2. How have you been doing so far?
You may not have a marketing specialist on the payroll, but it’s very likely somebody in the company has some knowledge of marketing and may have dabbled in a few activities. If some form of marketing strategy was put in place, how did it go? What were the results? How effective was it?
You will generally need some level of creativity and expertise to grow your business effectively. You could take the option of learning the trade and marketing strategies you require, or you could invest in the expertise you need. The latter option would cost you money in the front end, but could free up your time better and allow you to focus more on the growth of company in the long run.
3. Are you interested in Marketing?
In my view marketing is one of the core functions of your business. That being said it does not always mean as the Leader it is an activity you are particularly interested in directly. If you’re not particularly interested, it may be worth outsourcing to an agency. Doing things this way you will be giving the responsibility to the professionals who know and enjoy what they do.
4. Will it stop me from building a strong Brand?
Very valid and important consideration for any business owner. As the owner you want to be able to contribute to the decisions that help you build a stronger brand. On one side outsourcing your marketing may allow you to execute your marketing across multiple channels, there is always a risk of diluting the strength of your brand. This applies especially if the nominated agency does not have more than a surface level understanding of your brand or industry. Conversely, by working with an agency that does have experience with building brands, it could allow a convenient bypass in learning that doing things in-house might require AA.
5. Do Marketing Agencies Understand Your Industry?
This leads on from the previous point. The more well-known your business industry is, the higher the likelihood that there are marketing agencies who can quickly step in and help you grow your business through outsourced services. However, if your business industry is less common, or represents a new concept or its products or services are highly specialized and detailed, growing your own marketing department in-house might not only be the advisable course of action but the necessary one.
6. How Much Do You Want to Invest?
Depending on which marketing strategy or channel your business needs, hiring marketing experts could be far more expensive than outsourcing some or all of your marketing activities. Outsourcing could allow you to take advantage of group pricing for things such as analytics, software, apps and other programs available from an agency that your company might not be able to afford on its own.
Hope these 6 things have given you an idea on things to consider. Think through them and review what you have in house. Balance is the key!
Catch up soon!