Weighing marketing spend vs potential ROI is a decision as old as time (well, maybe not time—but definitely as old as business). But goals are important, especially when your business is growing.
The very next tough decision:
how do you execute on your plan to make your marketing spend hit those revenue goals—do you hire in-house or seek outside help?
For many small and mid-size business (SMB) owners, deciding whether to outsource marketing can be tricky. On one hand, outsourcing can seem like a significant spend, especially when budgets are already tight. On the other hand, the dollars marketing could bring in might be lost if your internal team is overwhelmed—or if you don’t have an internal marketing team at all.
It’s a tough call, and that’s why we’ve put together this list of pros and cons to help you weigh the decision.
Before diving in, let’s set the scene with some main marketing functions to grow your business:
- Branding and messaging: Creating a clear and recognizable brand identity that clearly communicates what you offer while resonating with and converting customers.
- Lead generation: Finding new customers and nurturing them through the sales funnel.
- Content creation: From blogs to social media posts, maintaining an active online presence helps prospects learn more about you and builds trust. This area includes many specializations like copywriting, graphic design, and videography.
- SEO and digital ads: Ensuring your business can be found online and targeting the right audience.
- Analytics and reporting: Measuring campaign performance to make optimizations for more effective strategies.
- Product development: Creating product or service packages, researching potential markets, pricing, etc.
- Marketing ops: Ranging from CRM upkeep and integrations, event management, website maintenance, and other technical needs.
These are just a few key tasks, and they each require a level of expertise and time to pull off well. If you lack an in-house team, or are unable to fill these fairly essential functions with your current team, outsourcing can become a valuable solution. Now let’s get into the pros and cons of enlisting a third party.
Pros of Outsourcing Your Marketing Efforts
1. Cost Savings
One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing is reducing labor costs. Instead of committing to the salaries and benefits required to hire a full-time in-house marketer/marketing team, outsourcing gives you a way to pay only for the specific services you need, often at a fraction of the internal cost. Additionally, you avoid the overhead costs associated with office space, technology, and other resources.
2. Access to Specialized Expertise
Outsourcing gives you access to a team of specialists in various areas of marketing, including graphic design, copywriting, SEO, and strategy work. Rather than relying on a "unicorn" employee who is expected to handle all marketing functions, you can leverage the knowledge and skills of multiple experts. This ensures higher quality work, better results, and a greater ROI.
3. Time Efficiency
By outsourcing, businesses free up valuable management time. You no longer need to oversee every marketing effort, allowing you to focus on your core competencies. Outsourcing can give you peace of mind that an expert is developing and executing marketing tasks, which accelerates project timelines (and therefore means you hit your goals faster).
4. Scalability and Flexibility
Outsourced marketing services are easily scalable. As your business grows, your freelancer(s) can easily adapt by increasing efforts to match your needs. You can also scale down during slower periods without the complications of reducing in-house staff. This flexibility is invaluable, especially for small businesses with fluctuating workloads (just be sure to communicate well with your freelancers!).
5. Risk Mitigation
By sharing responsibilities with an outsourced team, you minimize risks associated with marketing failures. These professionals have experience handling common marketing challenges and can make recommendations and implement strategies to mitigate these risks effectively. They can also give you real-time insight into what’s working and what might not.
Cons of Outsourcing Your Marketing Efforts
1. Loss of Control
When outsourcing, businesses give up a certain level of control over their marketing processes. This can be challenging, particularly for SMB owners who are used to hands-on management. Ensuring that the outsourced marketer(s) align with your marketing goals, brand voice, etc. can require extra effort in communication and collaboration to build trust.
2. Data Security Concerns
Depending on the type of marketing being outsourced, sensitive data such as sales figures, customer information, and proprietary strategies may need to be shared. This can pose a risk if proper security measures are not in place. It’s crucial to vet individual contributors or agencies thoroughly and ensure they comply with data protection regulations like GDPR or CCPA. Most marketers meet these basic requirements, but it’s still a good flag to raise and research.
3. Potential Hidden Costs
While outsourcing can save costs upfront, there may be hidden fees that arise during the partnership. These include costs for project management, additional services not covered in the original agreement, or changes in project scope. Companies should account for these potential expenses when considering outsourcing. And be sure to thoroughly read your contract to fully understand project scopes and situations like rewrites/edits.
4. Lack of Direct Customer Focus
Outsourced teams may lack direct contact with your customers, which can lead to a weaker understanding of your target audience. The distance from the customer base could result in some more legwork on your end to prevent marketing strategies that are less personalized or irrelevant.
5. Long-Term Dependence
Relying too heavily on an outsourced partner may make it difficult to bring operations back in-house in the future. If you become dependent on the outsourced team's expertise, it could take time, effort, and resources to regain full control of your marketing efforts. Long-term retainers with talented freelancers are often great assets—just try to keep the evolution of your marketing in mind to keep your ops optimized.
The Middle Ground: Hybrid Models and Small Agencies
Maybe you read through the pros and cons and thought, “How can I get the best of both worlds?”
Good news: Outsourcing does not have to be an all-or-nothing decision. A hybrid approach can be an effective solution, where companies keep certain functions in-house (like customer research or branding) and outsource specialized areas (like content creation or SEO). This approach allows you as a business owner to maintain control while still taking advantage of the expertise and cost-efficiency of outsourcing.
Hybrid models provide flexibility and access to specialized skills, but you aren’t only left with the option of hiring individual freelancers or a full agency. There’s another great alternative: small marketing agencies a.k.a. freelancer networks. This option combines the cost-effectiveness of hiring individual freelancers with the added benefit of cohesive, collaborative work (like with a full-size agency). When freelancers are part of a network/small agency, they can work seamlessly together, providing a unified approach to your marketing efforts without the price tag of a larger agency. This can be an ideal middle ground to get expert help that’s seamless and affordable.
Final Thoughts
Outsourcing marketing is no small decision, but it can be a powerful way to free up internal resources and bring in the expertise needed to grow your business. Whether you’re weighing the pros and cons or need additional support for your team, arming your marketing function with the right strategy and the right people to pull it off makes all the difference. In the end, it’s about finding a solution that fits your needs without overextending your budget.
What could outsourced marketing look like for your business? Take advantage of our free 60-minute consultation to explore some options. Let’s chat about how outsourcing with 143 Berkley can help you meet your marketing goals.
