“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”
Versions of this quote have been attributed to everyone from Confucious to Steve Jobs. And while its source might be obscure, the wisdom in it is clear. Running a successful business takes more than one person, and bringing other people in means you can access deep expertise without having to spend the time learning that skill yourself.
The benefit of bringing in outside expertise is clear. But should you outsource, hire in house, or something in between? Given the recent worldwide economic uncertainties, B2B and non-profit organisations today face the unique and delicate challenge of balancing impactful marketing with budget and resource constraints. This dilemma is particularly acute for organisations that have internal resources who may be able to execute marketing tactics but lack internal highly skilled strategic marketers. There are, however, solutions that suit this middle ground that so many organisations fall into. Let’s examine them in more detail.
You can’t do marketing without an underlying strategy
The title of this section really says it all. Running a marketing campaign without a strategy behind it is like throwing spaghetti at a wall. Blindfolded.
It’s unfortunately common for organisations without internal marketing strategy resources to confuse strategy with tactics and jump straight into execution. Strategy is higher level and longer term, while tactics are the granular, day to day activities that help turn the strategic vision into a reality.
Let’s break down an example.
- Business goal: break into new markets.
- Strategy: Build genuine connections with local communities and ensure the brand aligns with their interests and values.
- Tactics: Collaborate with local influencers, organise or sponsor local events, run culturally relevant marketing campaigns.
A marketing strategy aligns your marketing efforts with your business goals and provides a framework to ensure all your marketing activities are targeted and effective. Without a well-defined strategy, marketing initiatives can become disjointed, leading to wasted resources and missed opportunities.
The pitfalls of jumping straight to execution
While it might seem faster to jump straight into execution, the results are often less effective and more expensive in the long run. Without an underlying strategy, marketing efforts are likely to lack direction and cohesiveness, resulting in campaigns that don’t resonate with the target audience or achieve desired outcomes and, in the long run, negatively impact brand equity.
So you know that you need to have a strategy in place. But what do you do if you don’t have an internal resource with the skillset to create one?
In-house vs outsourcing your marketing
Deciding whether to run your marketing in-house or outsource it to an agency partner is a significant decision. The best approach for you depends on several factors, including your budget, available internal resources, goals, and more.
In-house marketers are able to integrate closely with your other departments and develop a deep understanding of your organisation. However, if you choose to hire an in-house team, you may face limitations around resourcing and a lack of specialised skills.
Outsourcing, on the hand, involves engaging a freelancer or an agency to handle marketing tasks or campaigns on your behalf. This may allow you to access fresh ideas and perspectives and highly specialised skills as you engage the outsiders on a per-project basis. Outsourcing also can allow you greater cost flexibility, reducing the overhead costs that come with salaries, benefits, and training.
The in-house vs outsourcing debate is widespread and a common topic. A less common topic is about the middle ground. In our experience, there are many organisations who have some internal resources (usually ones who can work on the tactical level) in which case outsourcing their entire marketing is not the most cost effective option.
That’s why we propose a middle ground solution: outsourcing your marketing strategy.
Benefits of outsourcing your marketing strategy
Outsourcing your marketing strategy essentially involves hiring an agency or freelancer to complete the high level strategic work required. Depending on your needs, this could also involve a handover training session or some tactical planning work as well.
In other words, they can create whatever you need to give your internal resources a plan to follow.
Outsourcing your marketing strategy offers several key benefits:
It’s flexible
Outsourcing allows you to leverage strategic insights as needed without commiting to a full time role. For example, you could hire a strategist to create an annual marketing strategy, then engage them for quarterly reviews and adjustments. This would provide you incredible value without paying an annual salary.
It’s efficient
A highly skilled worker assigned the wrong tasks will dilute the effectiveness of your team and reduce your overall efficiency. (Not to mention increasing talent dissatisfaction.) Bringing in an outside expert to take care of your marketing strategy means you and your employees can dedicate more time and energy to your areas of specialty.
It gives you access to more expertise
Outsourcing allows you to tap into highly specialised expertise. Not only can you engage someone who has spent their whole career building their skills in this one specific area,you can also find people with specific skills that match your industry, geographical needs, target audience, or campaign type.
Is outsourcing marketing strategy cost-effective?
Yes! One of the primary concerns for organisations is the cost associated with hiring a full-time marketing strategist. You may not have the resources or need to hire a senior marketing strategist. By outsourcing the strategy work only, you benefit from highly skilled work without the expense of a salary. Executing in house saves you the additional costs of engaging an agency to run your marketing end to end.
The best of both worlds: combining outsourced strategy with in-house execution
Introducing the hybrid approach. This is when you outsource your strategy work and handle the execution in-house. Internal teams, familiar with the brand and its operations, can efficiently execute marketing plans while benefiting from the strategic direction provided by an external agency.
Smaller organisations, particularly those in the non-profit space or those with limited resources may worry about the financial feasibility of outsourcing strategy. However, by carefully selecting a value-driven agency that understands their unique needs and budget constraints, these organisations can still benefit from expert strategic guidance without overextending their resources.
In summary, leading with a strong marketing strategy is essential for achieving business success. While many organisations may struggle with the resources to hire a full-time strategist, outsourcing this role and executing in-house can provide a cost-effective solution. By partnering with an experienced agency, B2B business and non-profit organisations can ensure their marketing efforts are strategic, targeted, and effective.
Ready to enhance your marketing strategy? Book your free 30-minute consultation today and let’s make it happen.