The hiring decision can be a daunting one, especially for the marketing team where it’s more difficult to measure effectiveness as compared to a sales team. However, few will argue that marketing, especially online, must be a top priority.
So, how do you invest in your marketing team staffing in a way that is appropriate for your budget? How do you scale the content production? When is it right to outsource versus increase in-house staff levels? These are questions that are unique to every integration company.
Let’s take a look at 4 benefits of outsourcing to a content marketing team.
Understanding Buyer Personas
Marketing firms that specialize in the systems integration industry have a wide breadth of knowledge about technology, trends, and buyer needs. The wide knowledge base can provide perspective that does not exist in-house. Plus, hiring a new in-house person may take more than six months to learn the basics of the technologies and the impact of the tech on customers.
Pro tip: leverage a marketing firm to elevate the vision of the internal team in place if you already have one or more people handling marketing.
Campaign Success
Marketing firms have the industry experience required to best avoid campaign fails. They have been there and done that and can apply those lessons learned to your systems integration business. Not only do they understand your industry, but they also understand the latest digital marketing strategies that get attention online and result in sales.
Pro tip: While it is easy to say, “we’ve already tried that,” it is important to fully understand the timing and context of a prior marketing initiative. Keep an open mind and look to history for old ideas that could be modified to work well in a new market environment.
Cost Savings
A quick conversation with human resources will uncover the cost savings involved in outsourcing marketing efforts. Adding a new team member will include more than payroll. Also consider benefits, computer equipment, software, and other related expenditures.
Pro tip: Have your HR team participate actively in your decision-making process to provide a wider vision of what would best serve your company. With sales, HR, and management involved, the decision to outsource or hire in-house will be owned and embraced by all involved.
Scalability
If you have an in-house marketing person or team already, outsourcing additional skills and resources can help you scale your marketing efforts until it’s time to add an in-house staffer. Blogs, social media posts, lead magnets, videos are all content assets that can be added through an outsourced effort.
Pro tip: with or without an in-house marketing person or team, working with an outsourced marketing firm does require an internal stakeholder that can provide direction and perspective to the outsourced firm.
Leverage for Growth
Whether hiring an external marketing firm or supplementing internal staff with outside resources, having a clear and concise marketing initiative and aligned strategy is critical to your systems integration company’s success.
An external marketing firm can assist with strategy, content creation, content promotion, and more. The goal is to evaluate which parts of the marketing firm’s capabilities will align with your company’s current capabilities. Once aligned, your marketing efforts will improve and scale as you grow.
