The Benefits of Outsourcing Creative and Marketing Services
Marketing and creative services such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, digital advertising, and content marketing have all grown in value as businesses have increased their use of digital platforms to connect with customers. This can create problems, especially with smaller and mid-sized businesses as they must decide between distributing those tasks to existing staff, hiring new people just for those tasks, or outsourcing their needs. This is not always an easy decision, especially if you aren’t sure what can be gained from outsourcing. As a top Long Island SEO Company, we wanted to share our thoughts on the benefits of outsourcing creative and marketing services.
While detractors might point out that as an SEO company, of course we are going to say outsourcing is the best decision, however, that decision is up to each business facing the question. Company goals and direction, budget, existing staff, and availability of qualified applicants all play a part in that decision. We just wanted to share our view regarding the benefits that an experienced SEO firm can provide.
Benefits of Outsourcing Creative and Marketing Services
- Start Immediately – The biggest benefit of hiring a firm to handle your marketing and creative needs is that they are already staffed, trained, up-to-date on current techniques, and ready to get started on helping you achieve your goals. It is a different process when you need to interview, hire people, get them on-boarded before they can get to the work you need to be done.
- Different Perspective – There is immense value in a fresh perspective. Often a business can get in a rut regarding how they approach problems and develop solutions. While new hires do bring fresh eyes, soon they assimilate into the existing group. Hiring an outside team means not only getting a bunch of different perspectives, but the group also stays on the outside and isn’t going to get caught up in office politics.
- Efficiency –A new marketing campaign can be a lot of work, with deadlines that need to be met if you want good results. In-house options can get overwhelmed which can require the reallocation of staff to meet needs. When you hire a firm, they have a staff with multiple teams that won’t need to work longer hours or bypass other job functions to get your jobs completed on time.
- Technologically Current – Along with investing in people for in-house needs, there is also an investment in technology as there are thousands of creative and marketing tools to choose from. Identifying which options will provide the best results for your needs is a big job in itself whereas an experienced digital firm allows you to benefit from their tools and knowledge.
- Lower Costs – In most cases, the cost of hiring an outside firm to perform work ends up being a lower cost. While there can be “sticker shock” when discussing projects or regular services, the true cost of hiring internal labor is often overlooked. The true cost is not just payroll expenses and a slight amount of overhead; there are also benefits, taxes, office space, equipment, and training. According to the S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, salaries only account for about 70% of an employee’s wage package. Additionally, there is not a concern about sick and vacation days interrupting critical points of business. Firms can be used on an as-needed basis while in-house options either need to be downsized or re-assigned if needs lessen.
Downsides of Outsourcing
These risks can be directly related to the agency that is chosen which is why hiring an experienced, well-reviewed firm is important:
- Lack of Control – In-house employees are right there, under your watch which makes them more accessible. An outside firm might not communicate as well as you wish, be as accessible as you want, or provide the level of control for the situation you are looking for.
- Company Reputation – A creative and marketing company will be interacting and connecting with current and prospective customers which means they can directly affect your business reputation. If those you hire are not well-trained, experienced, and good at meeting customer expectations it can reflect badly and cost you business.
- Lack of Competency – This argument can go both ways for hiring in-house employees as well as outsourcing. The important takeaway is that whomever you choose to hire for whichever option is being pursued needs to be competent and perform as expected. In the case of outsourcing, reviews and customer feedback can provide a good picture of their ability and competency.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that there are many benefits to outsourcing creative and marketing services. Even for those businesses that do have in-house personnel, it can make sense to outsource certain marketing activities, content creation, or short-term projects. Numerous industries and verticals outsource work of all types because it is practical and efficient to do so when you find the right firm to partner with. We’re recognized as a top Digital Marketing Company on DesignRush.
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