Why You Should Hire a Digital Marketing Agency (Especially Now)

People and companies have had their fill of changes this year. Yet because of these uncertain times, more and more companies are making choices that defy the very logic that afforded them success. Today, strategic outsourcing is a requirement both operationally and financially. It’s how we’re able to scale companies further faster. We plug the right people in with the right process and boom: inevitable acceleration. So, why alter that practice amidst a pandemic? 

Let me clarify, I know delivery and service methods have to change, and therefore an approach to marketing may have to adjust, but many companies aren’t stopping there. Some companies have adopted an ‘in-house’ attitude, adding further strain to existing internal responsibilities, as though, during quarantine, product managers and accountants suddenly learned U/X best practices, became Google Adwords experts, and can construct meaningful email marketing automations. In a less than calculated manner, it’s a cost savings construct that can have damaging effects. 

Why is in-house marketing a bad idea? 

IF you're fully staffed with a team of strategy, content, design, development, platform, and analytics professionals, then you’re golden. However, if your team isn’t composed of these gifted gems, perhaps it’s best to divide and conquer. Opportunity cost is real. If you have employees uniquely positioned to do what they do, don’t stretch them in ways that can reverse the trajectory of your entire brand. 

You’ll lack specialization. 

Finding a person who can do it all, and well, is next to impossible. 

In small companies, marketing is often sloughed off to the sales team. While the sales team is trying to close deals, marketing becomes an afterthought and is usually only activated reactively when the sales funnel dries up. In mid-sized companies, marketing might be led by a marketing specialist, but typically leadership expects that person to move mountains. Somehow a single person is supposed to be in tune with company strategy, sales objectives, craft meaningful content, be a design wizard, a development guru, and a social media extraordinaire. If it sounds like a tall order, it’s because it is. Remember, even the quarterback needs someone to either block for them or throw to in order to make forward progress. 

You’ll lack accountability. 

The pressure of being held accountable by an outside party gives the objective a larger sense of urgency.

Ever hit a weight loss or fitness goal because you made it known? Stating a goal aloud instantly gives that goal more meaning. The pressure of being held accountable gives the objective a larger sense of urgency. Choosing a marketing team not only helps with collaboration and groupthink, but also drives results. If the result isn’t there, the relationship ends. Think about it this way, if you’ve hired a marketing team on a monthly retainer, it’s in their best interest to find ways to win. They have to keep improving. The whole point is that they’ve tied their success to yours.

Remember: as an outsourced team your marketing partner is reliant on you to be a good team player and marketers are only as strong as the resources they have available. Do everything in your power to set them up for success and the results will pay off.

You’ll lack focus. 

No matter what, internal or external blocking and tackling will take you off course. 

If you’re working with an outside marketing firm, you have continued focus on what you’re uniquely positioned to do. Even when you aren’t able to dedicate as much time and attention as you’d choose to marketing, progress is still possible. Passive, yet strategic focus on steadily driving qualified prospects to the sales funnel is critically important for long-term success. 

You’ll spend more. 

There is a huge financial cost advantage to only using and expending what you need.

Digital marketing is multifaceted. It’s not uncommon for an agency to employ strategists, social media coordinators, designers, content writers, and web developers. Think of the overhead it would take to bring that team in-house, full-time. There is a huge financial cost advantage to only using and expending what you need. This principle goes back to the solid business practice of staffing to your average and not your busiest season. On top of that, a growing company who builds a marketing department from scratch experiences massive growing pains onboarding each employee and spends ample time reinventing the wheel.

Think you may have overcorrected during the pandemic? Let’s talk about how you can focus on revenue recovery.