How you outsource your services can have a major impact on your marketing department, and on your entire company, for that matter, so before making a move, educate yourself fully on all of your options and their related risks. When you hire an agency, go with a specialist. Outsourcing your company’s marketing program doesn't mean you’re left with no options. Specialization means agencies say “no” to certain opportunities, but more importantly these agencies can better execute on the campaigns they say “yes” to. That’s a major reason why specialization outperforms full-service more often than not. Here are some other key benefits of working with a specialist agency: A boost for your campaign performance First and foremost, specialist agencies get programs up and running faster than their full-service competitors. Not only is this data-driven approach the antidote to generic campaigns popularized by bigger, full-service agencies, but specialized agencies also work with additional specialists to help SMBs "out-measure" the competition. An agency guarantees performance regardless of turnover, and it costs less than hiring on your own full-time (pseudo) expert. Moving forward, agencies will even be able to help SMBs automate common, routine tasks and provide stability as workforces change. Every SMB must decide for itself what its best marketing future looks like.
How you outsource your services can have a major impact on your marketing department and your entire company, so educate yourself about the pros and cons.
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As a decision-maker at a small-to-medium sized business (SMB), perhaps you’ve started to consider taking your company’s marketing in-house. You’re not alone.
An array of large brands are moving their own marketing programs in-house, with major names like United Airlines and Procter & Gamble leading the pack. In fact, 64 percent of advertisers now follow the in-house agency model according to Forrester research;, that’s up from 42 percent just a decade ago.
The trend toward discontinuing agency partnerships is happening for many reasons. Our economy is doing well, and recent slashes to corporate taxes have freed up resources that businesses can use to move their outsourced activities internally. Some decision-makers, moreover, are feeling pressured to offer a crystal-clear expression of their brand across social channels and other outlets. They see in-house marketing as the best way to take back control over consumer perceptions of their brands.
But for an SMB like yours, there’s no need to divorce yourself from your agency networks overnight, if at all.
What you should do, however, is consider an agency’s specialties when you consider that agency as a future partner. How you outsource your services can have a major impact on your marketing department, and on your entire company, for that matter, so before making a move, educate yourself fully on all of your options and their related risks.
When you hire an agency, go with a specialist.
Outsourcing your company’s marketing program doesn’t mean you’re left with no options. Rather, many decision-makers opting whether to go with an agency may even feel overwhelmed by the choices: Work with a full-service agency? Or a specialty agency?
There are two sides to every coin, of course. Full-service agencies support a more streamlined customer experience. However, big-name agencies may glide by on legacy alone and produce generic, less compelling marketing campaigns. What’s more, full-service agencies often don’t go as deeply into specific service categories, such as PPC or SEO. So, what you gain in efficiencies you may sacrifice in performance.
Conversely, you earn greater value and new capabilities when you leave…
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