Last year, 46% of UK companies outsourced some or all of their marketing. The figure increased to 50% for companies who operate business-to-business (B2B).

Choosing to outsource any role or function of a business is always a nuanced decision, based on specific circumstances.

Whilst many businesses outsource nothing more than their end-of-year accounts, others may outsource various everyday functions in favour of focusing their time squarely on the thing they do best.

So, we thought we’d take a look at some of the pros and cons of outsourcing your business’s marketing and when it is – and isn’t – the right solution.

Why outsource marketing?

First, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why businesses – large and small – often state they have outsourced their marketing to an external agency.

Bear in mind that it is often a mixture of two or more factors…

1 – To avoid employing someone

This is often most relevant to small businesses but can affect medium and even larger companies too.

Particularly for long-established businesses, active marketing can sometimes be quite a small part of their current success. Instead of active marketing, they might rely on their reputation and existing relationships.

As such, the organisation’s marketing perhaps doesn’t warrant employing a full-time team.

Alternatively, an employee could have been the business’s preferred option but they struggled to find someone with the required skills and experience. This can be particularly challenging if the individual needs to be skilled in all areas of modern marketing.

Sometimes, members of the senior leadership team may themselves feel relatively inexperienced in managing a marketing team. Though they want someone with knowledge, experience and ideas, they are unsure on how to support them and direct their efforts.

In these and other circumstances, outsourcing to a skilled marketing agency can enable businesses to quickly and easily engage all the skills and resources they need.

Rather than the day-to-day costs of recruiting, managing and paying an employee, they can delegate responsibility to an external marketing agency with all the capabilities and experience to deliver the marketing they need.

2 – To access greater marketing skills

Modern marketing is increasingly complex and multi-faceted.

Within a marketing agency there are typically a range of specialists, each devoted to delivering specific areas of marketing, such as social media, digital marketing, content marketing, graphic design, strategy etc.

Within a business, it is often not feasible to build an internal marketing team that can handle and deliver all a company’s marketing needs.

Whilst budget may exist for a number of marketing professionals, it might not be sufficient to fund a team with all the required talents.

Likewise, there may not be enough requirement within each particular specialism of marketing to warrant team members with those individual skills. For example, graphic design is involved in many elements of marketing, but the need might be quite sporadic depending on the marketing plan.

Outsourcing to an external marketing agency can provide access to all the skills, knowledge and experience needed – as and when they are required. Individuals with specialist skills can be used to contribute to the clients’ marketing as the agency delivers everything agreed.

3 – Gain an external perspective

This is perhaps the biggest benefit of outsourcing marketing!

Industry experience is vital in providing effective marketing. It is critically important to understand the technicalities of the product or service and the nuances of the marketplace and its customers.

However, a career spent within a specific sector can sometimes make it difficult for a company (and their marketing team) to have an objective perspective.

Marketing can become staid, overcomplicated and no longer connect with customers. Barriers can become exaggerated, too much importance can be put on technical aspects of what the company does and marketing can become too focused on overcoming customer objections which rarely arise.

An external perspective can thus shed new light on customer needs and behaviour, leading to new ways of thinking and more successful marketing.

An external marketing agency can be a source of both clarity and ideas. It can be a sounding board, able to provide a more objective view of what a company’s customers may value and require.

4 – More accountability and results

Marketing is all about results – especially boosting sales!

Managing others is one of the hardest roles any person can undertake. Within any organisation, shared experiences, emotions and ingrained culture can all make it difficult to challenge ideas and improve performance.

Outsourcing marketing to an external marketing agency creates a more transactional relationship, based on results.

Rather than being weighed down by day-to-day supervision and unforeseen challenges, a company can simply make an external marketing agency responsible for delivering the outcomes they need.

And, with a higher level of dedicated resources, experience and expertise, a company can rightly expect an external marketing agency to deliver better and faster results.

5 – Cut costs and increase efficiency

It’s sometimes thought that hiring a marketing agency is more costly than handling marketing in-house.

However, due to their specialist nature, marketing agencies can typically deliver more marketing, to a higher standard, in a much shorter time (and cost) than an internal team.

Marketing teams can often become caught up in office politics and delayed by slow internal decision-making. Tasks can swell to fill time and motivation can become low as the marketing department becomes part of the status quo.

As all marketing agencies exist to deliver agreed marketing to the satisfaction of their clients, they are focused on being productive and effective.

Using a marketing agency can thus achieve greater output in a shorter time, with much lower costs than employing an internal marketing team.

Is outsourcing to a marketing agency right for your business?

So, having looked at some of the reasons which can convince companies to outsource their marketing to an external agency, it’s perhaps time to put it into context for your business.

Some questions you might consider, are:

• Is marketing key to your success?
• Are you happy with your current marketing?
• Do you have the in-house skills to deliver successful marketing?
• Can your existing team change or develop?
• Could you recruit and support a skilled marketing person or team?
• Do you know where your marketing efforts should be directed?
• Would you benefit from fresh ideas and perspective?

The choice to outsource marketing is often based on the acknowledgement that current efforts aren’t working and the desire to try something new.

A common scenario is a successful and established company which is keen to grow and has identified marketing as the missing ingredient. The right marketing agency can thus provide the expertise and focus to turn this ambition into reality.

If you are a larger business and marketing is an intrinsic part of your success, it is likely that you will wish to retain marketing control within the business. As such, an external marketing agency could help develop the right strategy or expertly deliver key elements of digital, non-digital and creative marketing.

How do you choose the right marketing agency to outsource to?

Assuming you’ve made the decision to outsource, how do you go about choosing the right marketing agency?

If you’re reading this blog, we can perhaps safely assume that your organisation operates business-to-business (B2B)!

Businesses behave differently to consumers when sourcing the products, services and suppliers they need, so it’s important to choose a marketing agency which specialises in B2B.

‘Full service’ is the term commonly used to describe a marketing agency which can provide all elements of modern marketing – including digital, non-digital, creative and strategic marketing.

A full service agency can support you with any long- or short-term marketing needs, as well as helping you identify the right marketing strategy. Compared to a digital marketing agency or other specialist, a full service agency can often deliver better results by ensuring every element of your marketing mix works better together.

Full service B2B marketing

Full Mix Marketing is East Anglia’s leading B2B marketing agency, supporting business across the UK.

We specialise in B2B marketing for clients in sectors including manufacturing, engineering, technology, logistics, construction and business services.

As a full service marketing agency, we can deliver all elements of digital, non-digital, creative and strategic marketing – often acting as our clients’ entire outsource marketing department.

Whether outsourcing your marketing is new – or your preferred way to work – we’d be delighted to help. Find our more here.