Marketing is ... well ... it's a lot of work. And if you're a small business owner with no marketing team, finding the time to do everything you should be doing to market your business can definitely be a challenge. Social media? Content creation? Landing pages? SEO? Email? All those channels -- while extremely beneficial to your marketing -- can add up to a whole lotta work. That's why it's no wonder that 53% of surveyed marketing executives plan to outsource their marketing, according to the Harvard Business Review.
But sometimes it's really hard to know when it makes sense to outsource your marketing functions to an agency or contractor, and when to hire a dedicated team to do it for you in-house. Luckily, the folks over at Mavenlink have created a helpful flowchart to help you weigh the options and factor in your business' specific variables such as size, cost, skills, and industry knowledge. Follow along for their recommendations, and if you find you could use some help from an outside team, feel free to mosey on over to HubSpot's Services Marketplace, where you can find HubSpot-certified providers that can help you implement an effective inbound marketing strategy for your business -- or even just help you out with a specific marketing channel.
(Click the flowchart to enlarge.)
Do you have a dedicated, internal team of marketing rock stars, or do you rely on an expert agency for your marketing programs? Perhaps it's a combo of the two?
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nazmul alam 2:29 PM on August 01, 2012
In this world of complex business environment hiring a marketing team is necessary. They can deliver you a satisfactory results within a short time with the use of some great tools like email marketing,social media,SEO and so on.So, marketing outsourcing can be a handy option for the chief executives!!
Chantelle 2:32 PM on August 01, 2012
Cannot read content on this article on the infogram, can u mail it to me?
Molly 3:17 PM on August 01, 2012
@Chantelle: click on the infographic, and it will increase in size in a new tab.
Jacob Rice 3:28 PM on August 01, 2012
I've found that outsourcing your marketing to qualified professionals can really help your bottom line in the long-term. You pay for results, not hours. One of the more interesting trends in b2b marketing.
Amy Haynes 4:11 PM on August 01, 2012
You got it right, marketing is a lot of work. Inbound Marketing is your best bet on a budget and outsourcing can be a cost effective way to implement inbound online marketing.
Jim Taylor, CRE, CPE, CPMM 5:16 PM on August 01, 2012
One of the best pieces of info you've put out. I've been stewing over just that issue and had come to the same conclusion, but this confirmed it.
Akira Hirai 6:13 PM on August 01, 2012
I think a more fundamental question that needs to be added to the flowchart is: "Should marketing be a core competency in order for my business to maintain a leadership position in its industry?" Some companies, such as manufacturers who distribute through reps, should focus on operations instead of marketing. On the other hand, if success relies on having a strong brand, then marketing is a core competency that probably should be handled primarily in-house.
jared 6:54 PM on August 01, 2012
I think it really depends, if you can find a good contractors then it could make sense.
Stanley Rao 3:37 AM on August 02, 2012
It depends unless you find some one really good
Tony Cornelius, Sweden 6:50 AM on August 02, 2012
I think this question also depends on the companies exit-strategy.
When you calculate and decide what price you are willing to pay to acquire a full company;
marketing, salesforce and the knowledge of the companies marked, customers and needs is a factor that either increases or decreases the companies value.
Nancy 7:11 AM on August 02, 2012
I think outsourcing marketing is a gr8 idea to increase business through online by using many employee from different country without their physical presence.
IWP 11:41 AM on August 02, 2012
IBM does a great job with their commercials that stress that small businesses need to focus on their core businesses, not accounting and internet marketing.
Nathan Halydier 3:35 PM on August 02, 2012
There is always the option to hire the company I work for as your marketing department service provider.
Pilar Verduga 7:03 AM on August 03, 2012
"53% of surveyed marketing executives plan to outsource their marketing, according to the Harvard Business Review" . Wasn't this a prediction made for 2005? think I remember it (the article?) saying that the percentage would probably increased four times within 3 years from then. It would be really interesting to have an update on the actual situation.
Larissa Rima 3:45 AM on August 06, 2012
Why couldn’t an outsourced team be dedicated and passionate? I have a team who is available for outsourced marketing and we are all very passionate and excited about everything we do. As entrepreneurs we are very goal-oriented and business minded. Customers also benefit from our experience in different fields. It is very flexible when you don’t need to keep all the resources in your budget all the time, but you can call for more upon need.
Andrés 1:21 PM on August 07, 2012
Thanks, nice post