Whether a company of this size should carry out the marketing function in-house or outsource it to a marketing company has been an issue for many small and medium sized companies.
Marketing Skills
By outsourcing it you can significantly increase the skills level and hence the quality of the service. At a marketing company you have a team of marketing specialists who have professional qualifications and carry out this work full-time – day-in, day-out. Moreover it is not just 1 person but a whole team with specific specialisations within the team.
At a small company the marketing manager may have some broad marketing experience but their skills level in many of the different marketing areas is probably mediocre – “jack of all trades but master of none”.
“At Website DNA we have employees who are carrying out work broadening their depth of skills and increasing their experience each day across a range of clients applying industry best practice. Many are qualified in particular marketing fields and carry out regular examinations to maintain their qualifications. For example every employee at Website DNA is a qualified Google Partner.”
Marketing Cost
The cost of a part-time employee is more costly than an outsourced resource as it not just the salary cost but the additional costs e.g. pensions, holiday, etc that means it can be quite expensive internally. Using an outsourced facility it can be, an as and when required cost, and doesn’t have to be a monthly retainer.
“At Website DNA we don’t use a monthly retainer and don’t tie clients into long term contracts. We let our exceptional service and quality of results retain our clients with fees charged based on just the work carried out.”
Marketing Control
The control of an in-house employee is significantly greater than the control you have of an out-sourcing to a marketing company.
“At Website DNA we provide clear communication and work closely with our clients. Furthermore they are not tied into a contract so we have to perform to retain them as clients. For many of our clients we have established a long term relationship delivering a high quality service.”
Marketing Efficiency
An outsourced resource can be considerably more efficient as a marketing company has employees who carry out work every day, applying best practices and have a wide range of clients to gain valuable experience and knowledge. At a company with a marketing manager they are working just for one company and have no experience from a broad range of companies that they can apply to improve their marketing.
“At Website DNA we are aware of, and apply the best industry practices, and work for over 100 clients. This enables us to see how we achieve different results and can apply the best performing to other clients where applicable.”
Reliable Marketing Service
A reliable resource is important whether carried out in-house or outsourced to a marketing company. If the marketing person leaves from a company then they don’t necessarily have anybody to fulfil their role and the company have to go through the costly and long process of recruitment. If the marketing person leaves from the marketing company then the person can be seamlessly replaced by another employee.
“At Website DNA all our employees are cross-trained to ensure they can provide a specific marketing service across a broad range of marketing areas. As a consequence were any to leave, then their service can be quickly and seamlessly taken over by another well-trained, experienced and qualified employee.”
Marketing Flexibility
A marketing company can provide significant flexibility with carrying out work, as and when required , and only charging for the work carried out. With a marketing employee the company has a costly fixed asset irrespective of the level of work available.
“At Website DNA we can schedule the work we carry out for our clients and just charge for the time taken with no fixed monthly retainer.”
Marketing Qualifications
Many marketing managers have a broad marketing qualification but at a marketing company there are a range of specialised qualifications ensuring there is a suitably highly qualified person to carry out specific marketing tasks.
“At Website DNA we have qualified employees for website design, search engine marketing (pay-per-click), social media marketing, content creation and Google Analytics.”
So Should You Outsource or keep marketing In-house?
The key is can you find an external marketing company that you can trust to provide a reliable, high quality service in the marketing areas that you require?
If you can, then outsourcing to a marketing company can have many benefits that significantly outweighs keeping it in-house.
At Website DNA we provide an outsourced marketing service to a number of small and medium sized companies. Our focus is on results-driven & transparent high quality service providing significant value to each client. We aim to build long term relationships and create a partnership where we see it that rather than work for the client we work with the client.
If you would like to speak to Website DNA about outsourcing any of your marketing then please email us at digital@websitedna.co.uk or call 01844 260700.
