Common outsourced marketing mistakes to avoid.
Outsourcing your marketing can give you access to expertise, capacity, and strategic direction without the cost of building a whole team in-house. But it isn’t a magic ‘fix’.
Like any business partnership, it works best when both sides are clear on what they’re trying to achieve and willing to make the relationship work. Here are six mistakes we think you should avoid.
1. Choosing based on price alone.
Of course budget matters. But the cheapest marketing agency isn’t necessarily the most cost-effective. As with most things in life.
A low monthly fee means very little if you’re getting limited expertise, minimal strategic thinking or marketing that doesn’t contribute to growth. Look at what you’re actually getting for your investment: the people, skills, ownership and capability behind the price.
2. Not defining clear objectives.
“Do some marketing” isn’t much of a brief, right? Your outsourced team needs to understand what success looks like. Are you trying to generate more qualified leads? Increase sales? Build awareness in a new market? Support a growth target?
Clear objectives give your marketing somewhere to go and give everyone a way to judge whether it’s getting there or not.
3. Expecting immediate results.
Some marketing can produce quick wins. Sustainable growth usually takes longer. Ketchup does both, but we digress. Building awareness, improving organic visibility, developing campaigns, and converting your prospects takes consistent work, testing and optimisation. Be wary of anyone promising overnight transformation.
A good marketing partner should be focused on progress and momentum, while being honest about what can realistically happen and when.
4. Poor communication with your agency.
Outsourcing doesn’t mean disappearing. If your agency only hears from you when something goes wrong, or you have no regular conversations about priorities and performance, the relationship will suffer.
The best partnerships have open communication. Your marketing team should know what’s happening in the business, and you should know what they’re working on, why it matters and what’s happening next.
So, make sure your marketing partner values straight-talking honesty.
5. Not giving your agency enough information.
Your marketing team can bring the expertise, but they can’t know your business by telepathy.
The more your partner understands about your customers, sales process, commercial priorities and challenges, the better decisions they can make. Share the useful stuff, especially things that might affect the marketing plan.
Treat your outsourced team like an extension of your business, and they can start thinking like one.
6. Failing to measure results.
If you don’t know what your marketing is achieving, you’re making decisions in the dark.
Please agree meaningful KPIs from the outset, and review them regularly. Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics if the real goal is generating qualified opportunities, customers or revenue.
Your marketing should be accountable to the business, not just to a content calendar.
How to make outsourced marketing work.
So, here’s an overview: get the foundations right, be clear about your goals, communicate openly, and give your marketing partner the information they need. Trust their expertise, but stay involved in the right places.
Then, keep measuring, learning and adapting. Marketing shouldn’t be set-and-forget, and neither should the relationship behind it!
When both sides take ownership, outsourcing becomes a proper marketing function working in congruence towards the same commercial goals.
Get more from your marketing.
If you’re going to outsource your marketing, do it properly. Find a partner who will understand your business, challenge your thinking and take ownership of making things happen.
Ready to get sh*t done? Let’s talk.