When & Why To Outsource Marketing Initiatives

I’ve been in the advertising industry for about four years now, and during that time I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of different marketing stakeholders and business owners. There have been several occasions where I have suggested to them that they hire an agency to handle a part of, if not all, of their marketing mix. Here are some of the reasons I’ve brought that up. 

1. You’re spending too much time coordinating different campaigns, or the campaigns of different businesses. 

The first time that I recommended hiring an agency to a client is when I noticed that he always seemed frustrated from dealing with all the different companies to run his campaign for his furniture store. He was working with different reps for his TV campaigns, radio campaigns, as well as billboards and any other marketing activities. All of those conversations take time out of your day as a business owner, and nobody’s time is more valuable. 

Similarly, the most successful business owners often own multiple different businesses. In order to properly maintain a marketing mix across different industries, one must devote time and energy that could otherwise be focused on running those businesses. When you have a partner that can provide easily actionable marketing options for each business, you get that time and energy back. 

2. You’re not doing any marketing at all

I’ve heard it so many times over the course of my career. “All my marketing is word of mouth” “We have all the business we can handle”. Whatever you’re reasoning, if you’re not actively taking a look at the vast array of marketing tools that are available to you as a business owner, then you’re leaving money on the table! Sometimes having an agency in your corner that has been exposed to different industries and used these tools to solve a variety of problems can open up new opportunities that you may not have been aware of.

3. You’re getting annoyed with advertising reps calling you

One of the benefits of having an agency of record is that you have someone to represent your interests with different media vendors. That means that those media vendors work through your agency. So when you are approached by a media company, you can connect them with your agency and allow them to handle the investigation of the offering. So as long as you trust the judgment of your agency partner, the proposals that you receive from media vendors will be pre-vetted before reaching you for consideration. 

4. You’re spending too much money, or not getting enough return on ad spend

Maybe you’re already trying to do some advertising on your own, but you’re not seeing the results that you thought you would. You’re getting calls or leads but they aren’t the quality you need. Having an experienced marketing expert on your team can turn your marketing expenses into a viable investment into your business. 

There are a plethora of different avenues of marketing your business, and what is effective for one industry or business may not be effective for another. Having a dedicated team that can analyze these efforts while working cohesively with your internal stakeholders is key. Together, they’ll be able to determine what efforts are driving the results that translate to success for your business which is paramount. 

5. You’re marketing decisions aren’t part of an overall strategy

This one goes hand in hand with the previous reason. There have been several occasions where business owners and stakeholders have shared unease or just a lack of knowledge as to why they bought a particular media product or advertising placement. This is a sign that those placements occurred without a proper strategy behind them. I think that every move that influences the performance of one of my clients’ businesses should be calculated. Sometimes it’s necessary to get an extra set of eyes on the complex arithmetic that dictates a successful marketing campaign.