We regularly speak with a number of CEOs and business owners who are considering outsourcing their inbound marketing efforts. The conversation usually begins with a phone call from a harried executive who has begun to see the benefits of inbound marketing but is finding it more and more difficult in splitting her time between running her business and marketing her business. In light of this common pain point, I thought it would be useful to point out some triggers for outsourcing your marketing efforts. You know you need to outsource your inbound marketing when...
- You're the CEO and are more worried about writing a blog post than the growing your company - I'm not saying writing blogs and creating content isn't important, but as a CEO, your primary role is to lead your company and assure your firm is aligned with a growth-focused strategy. Don't forego the forest for the trees, as they say.
- Your opportunity cost of aggregate inbound marketing activities is high - expanding the first point, your opportunity cost or, put another way, the activities you sacrifice when you are your own marketer shouldn't be activities that could provide more benefit to your company than inbound marketing. For example, whether you're a CEO or COO or even a Director of Marketing, is your time better spent creating advanced content or meeting with investors to discuss funding for a new product or service? Are you more valuable if you're creating a call to action or addressing a service delivery issue that your customers have brought to your attention.
- You're hiring an inbound marketing/social media expert - in my opinion, no single person can be an expert, and hiring any single resource always has its liabilities. Even with careful screening, there are acquisition, insurance, and ramp up costs for a new employee - and that new employee could leave voluntarily after 6 or 8 months. An inbound marketing agency provides an entire team to support your inbound marketing needs - from strategy to design and development. An agency typically will also offer different levels of service to meet both your marketing budget and needs.
Are you juggling too many activities? Are your activities providing the optimal benefit for your company? How long can you maintain your juggling act?
