As marketing budgets become leaner and expectations higher, B2B companies struggle searching for ways to stretch their dollars while still providing the best marketing communications plan that optimizes brand awareness, increases lead generation, and sells products and services.
One way is utilizing the services and talents of an outside firm for specific projects, which are managed and directed by one to a few in-house employees. Benefits to working with an outside agency, verses hiring within, include:
Focus – Keep your in-house marketing team focused on creating the best strategy by steering marketing programs to line up with the overall goals of the organization. This maximizes their time, talents, and energy to address other corporate needs.
Expertise – If you have chosen well, your outside agency employs a diverse team filled with experts in their fields. They are up on the latest trends in the marketplace and have the talent to deliver programs that are fresh, on target, and successful.
Trends – A good firm will be up on the latest news, trends, and tools in the industry as a whole, keeping your employee entrenched in trends in relation to the company’s specific product and service offerings.
Working in a Bubble – Company employees can get bogged down by the day-to-day drudgery and office politics, which can sometimes dull the creative juices needed to come up with new marketing programs. An outside firm will approach the project with enthusiasm and fresh ideas.
No Overhead – It takes time and resources to hire, manage, and maintain employees. It’s possible that your current staff does not have the skill level, experience, or talents for specific projects that could be taken on by the outside firm, such as creating a website, SEO, social media, advertising campaigns, public relations, etc.
Most small and mid-size organizations can’t afford the management and cost of maintaining a fully integrated marketing campaign to support lead generation and sales support programs. Instead, they turn to an outside firm to create targeted, innovative, and creative solutions.
