4 Reasons You Shouldn't Outsource Your Marketing... Yet
Looking to outsource your marketing efforts to a digital marketing agency? Congrats! Bringing in a third-party team of experts can truly transform the state of your business. From granting your in-house team more time to work on other projects to seeing exponential results from powerful and personalized marketing strategies, handing over the reins to the pros comes with countless benefits.
Not sure if the state of your biz is ready to seal the deal? Here are a few signs that you might need to wait bit longer before you outsource marketing.
YOUR BIZ LACKS CLEAR DIRECTION
If your business lacks direction internally, you can only imagine the headache that will arise when you try to bring a third party digital marketing agency into the mix. Before outsourcing, ensure you’re happy with your product or service AND the branding accompanying it. If you’re unsatisfied with your branding, you’ll be unsatisfied with how it looks in content (yep, even when the content itself is beautifully designed). Having a pre-established brand style guide that clearly communicates your branding (ie logos, fonts, colors, etc.), tone of voice, and preferences will ease the likelihood of miscommunication with an outsourced party.
Additionally, be aware of not only where your brand is now but also where you want your brand to go in the future. Digital marketing agencies can do their best work when they have clearly established goals and are aware of the exact target audience they’re aiming to reach. Having solid foresight is key before you outsource your marketing.
YOU OPERATE “ON THE FLY”
When working with an external team, it’s important for all parties involved to be respectful of one another’s time. When outsourcing your marketing efforts, you are no longer your marketing team’s only client. Digital marketing agencies typically have multiple clients to manage and operating “on the fly” with last-minute promos or launches isn’t going to cut it with this working relationship.
Adhering to the digital marketing agency’s deadlines is not only respectful of their time management but it also ensures that the agency can be strategic and your creative with your content requests, bringing in optimal results for your business. For reference, our boutique marketing agency requires all content requests and any accompanying assets be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the requested go-live dates. This deadline ensures that our team can produce our best work without causing delays or poor results for any of our clients.
YOU DON’T HAVE SOMEONE IN-HOUSE THAT CAN OVERSEE PARTNERSHIP COMMUNICATIONS
While the goal of outsourcing is to take as much off your plate as possible, regular communication with the agency should still be expected. This communication can include:
Hopping on recurring calls (ie bi-weekly or monthly) to touch base on the account’s standing and upcoming launches or promos
Approving new content for review by a set deadline
Responding to any questions and/or requests from the marketing team in order for them to fulfill their duties
Leading an account to success is a two-way street and will require a level of responsiveness and information from your end. Ensure you have a single designated point of contact on your team that can take on the above in a timely manner.
YOUR WEBSITE ISN’T OPTIMIZED TO CONVERT
Lastly, you should wait to outsource your marketing efforts if your website isn’t optimized for conversion. While improvements can, of course, always be made, it’s important to understand that channels like social media are only one piece of the conversion puzzle.
A social media marketer’s primary goal is to increase brand awareness and foster a community that eventually feels compelled to head to the website where a conversion can occur. What actually happens once a user lands on the website, however, is outside of the social media manager’s control.
Here’s what we mean: while a user may love the content they’re seeing on social media, they may ultimately refrain from making a purchase if they land on your site and encounter one or more of the following:
Products priced too high or low for the perceived value
Negative reviews
Poor or undesirable product design/quality
Poor website design (ie not compelling or hard to navigate)
Poor website copy
Slow loading time
Complex checkout process
And more!
If your site has any of the above, don’t expect your social media manager (or email marketer, influencer manager, etc.) to make a miracle happen on their own.
We hope this blog post was helpful in discovering a few reasons why you may not be ready to outsource your marketing yet. If this sounds like you, but you’re still wanting guidance on how to improve your marketing strategy, book a one-on-one private consultation with the CEO of our boutique marketing agency. If this doesn’t sound like you and you’re ready to make a totally killer team, inquire about our digital marketing services. We can’t wait to hear from you!
xx,
The Homies
