Determining when and what to outsource isn’t always obvious. A best practice is to regularly evaluate in-house marketing capabilities and their operations. After all, marketing responsibilities are more complex and changing more rapidly than ever before.
Roles are increasingly specialized – SEO, digital content creation, data management, and others. Expectations for impact and ROI are at an all-time high.
Marketing: where to invest and why it matters
Today’s buyer is in control. Because of buyer self-education, marketing needs to be heard through the noise and come up with new ways for leads to find you.
You can tell if it’s time to consider outsourcing a portion of your marketing operation to a firm like ours with these six statements. If you answer ”Correct” to any one of them, then it’s time.
#1. You don’t have a great handle on your data
Historically, marketing’s return on investment has been a difficult metric to measure. With closed-loop reporting, monies spent on the awareness phase of the buyer’s journey can be tied directly to an increase in sales, allowing you to justify the cost and make the case for more.
If achieving this outcome is a struggle, then a marketing agency can provide data-backed insights on your marketing budget and where those funds should be invested across the sales funnel. Now you can stop spending money on tactics that can’t be tied back to sales.
#2. You can’t keep pace with the toolset
The marketing technology stack (a.k.a. “martech”) refers to the technologies marketers use to conduct and improve marketing activities. Currently more than 7,000 marketing software companies are clamoring for your attention. No wonder the choices can be overwhelming.
Who has time to evaluate and select the right ones, then make sure you extract every ounce of value from their use? This is a bigger problem than you may think. Marketing leaders report leveraging only 58% of their martech stack’s potential last year.
#3. You are bogged down with tasks
Simply executing marketing tasks isn’t enough. Keeping close tabs on key metrics and the need to optimize marketing mix and activities have become table stakes.
If this isn’t happening, then you’re flying an airplane without instruments: knowing where you are and making course corrections are impossible. You should consider how your marketing might look with a skilled agency in the cockpit.
#4. Your marketing content lacks pow
An outside perspective can shed new light on the quality of sales and marketing material. Materials developed in-house can simply miss the mark. Perhaps they are outdated or not aligned with the buyer persona and the buyer’s journey.
Whatever the reason, a marketing agency can revise the materials. They can also help get them to the right people at the right time.
#5. You are entering an unfamiliar market
The lack of relevant knowledge or plan comes to light quickly when businesses enter new markets for the first time. Anyone launching a new product or undergoing a rebranding can benefit too.
This scenario can be the perfect fit for outsourced marketing. You may pay a small premium, but the knowledge, expertise, and security will more than offset the cost uptick.
#6. You aren’t generating enough quality leads for sales
Outsourcing isn’t just for those who need help navigating the changing landscape. Businesses that aren’t hitting their targets are prime candidates too.
Marketing teams that aren’t producing enough qualified leads may not understand precisely why things aren’t working, but they do know that the sales team is spending too much time qualifying these leads. An agency can help you understand the reason why and fix the underlying issues.
Support for your marketing initiatives
How many statements did you mark “Correct?” If one or more, then let’s figure out where and how we might be able to help support your marketing initiatives.
Book an appointment to start a conversation.
