Feel like you don’t have the time or energy to put your all into marketing efforts? You’re not alone.
56% of SMBs say they have an hour or less each day to spend on marketing.
When you don’t have the resources or bandwidth to drive marketing efforts yourself, one solution stands out: outsource marketing.
56% of SMBs say they have an hour or less each day to spend on marketing.
When you don’t have the resources or bandwidth to drive marketing efforts yourself, one solution stands out: outsource marketing.
Outsource Marketing: What Does It Mean?
Outsource marketing is when you hand over a portion of your marketing efforts to a third party.
Many businesses outsource their marketing efforts to external partners like social media agencies, freelance designers, SEO specialists, content and copywriters, paid media consultants, etc.
Many businesses outsource their marketing efforts to external partners like social media agencies, freelance designers, SEO specialists, content and copywriters, paid media consultants, etc.
Why Is Outsourcing Marketing Beneficial for Small Businesses?
Small businesses don’t have an abundance of resources to spend on marketing; they are focused on keeping their business running and optimizing their existing strategies.Â
Outsourced marketing, however, lets small businesses use some of their resources on marketing without having to train, hire, and maintain a full-fledged marketing team. It’s a cost-effective and efficient way for small businesses to have a steady marketing output without excessive costs.
Let’s dive in and talk through more of the benefits you can see from outsourcing marketing.
Benefits of Outsourcing Marketing
1. Cost-Effective Marketing Solutions
Here’s the truth: you’re not paying more when you outsource marketing. Let’s look at the math:
- How much you pay a member of your internal marketing team in a year (on average): $68,000
- How much you pay 4 members of an internal marketing team in a year: $272,000
- How much you pay for 4 members of an internal marketing team per month: $22,667
Now, let’s say instead of paying $22,667 per month on internal marketing, you outsourced marketing to a digital marketing agency for the same price.
You’d receive access to a team of 8-14 marketing professionals with expertise in SEO, social media, paid media, branding, content marketing, and more!
TL;DR: When you outsource marketing, you get more bang for your buck.
You’d receive access to a team of 8-14 marketing professionals with expertise in SEO, social media, paid media, branding, content marketing, and more!
TL;DR: When you outsource marketing, you get more bang for your buck.
2. Saving Time
Another truth? Outsourcing marketing can save your team from dealing with tedious marketing tasks. How? Here’s a breakdown of the hours it takes to complete marketing tasks from Whittington Consulting:
- Strategy and Planning – 4 Hours/Month
- Blog Posts – 10 Hours/Month
- Premium Content and White Papers – 5 Hours/Month
- Video – 2 Hours/Month
- Social Media – 15 Hours/Month
- Email Marketing – 14 Hours/Month
- Analyzing and Reporting – 20 Hours/Month
That’s 70 hours per month you’re saving when you outsource marketing.
By outsourcing marketing to a dedicated team of experts, you instantly free up bandwidth for your internal team.Â
Instead of juggling endless marketing demands, your team can focus on what they do best—running daily operations, innovating your products, and strengthening customer relationships.Â
Meanwhile, your outsourced marketing partner handles the heavy lifting and tedious tasks holding your business back from reaching its fullest potential.
TL;DR: When you outsource marketing, you save your team 70 hours per month.
By outsourcing marketing to a dedicated team of experts, you instantly free up bandwidth for your internal team.Â
Instead of juggling endless marketing demands, your team can focus on what they do best—running daily operations, innovating your products, and strengthening customer relationships.Â
Meanwhile, your outsourced marketing partner handles the heavy lifting and tedious tasks holding your business back from reaching its fullest potential.
TL;DR: When you outsource marketing, you save your team 70 hours per month.
3. Access to Marketing Specialists
One of the problems with internal marketing teams, especially small ones, is that they usually consist of marketing generalists; they have dozens of marketing outlets to manage, but they don’t have time to get into the nitty-gritty of specific marketing tactics.
As we said earlier, when you outsource marketing to agencies, you get a team of over 14 marketing specialists, all with expertise and specialized tools in a specific discipline.
Having specialists on your side is actually way more efficient; it goes back to the theory of economies of scale.
When you have more people who focus on an individual task (like SEO, social media, paid media, etc.) it takes less time and less money to produce a unit of that thing because it’s all they have to focus on.Â
When you combine the efficiency of outsourcing marketing with deep knowledge of marketing tactics, you get better marketing materials in less time, ultimately leading to greater results.
TL;DR: Outsourcing marketing = access to specialists = better marketing strategies in less time = greater results and ROI.
As we said earlier, when you outsource marketing to agencies, you get a team of over 14 marketing specialists, all with expertise and specialized tools in a specific discipline.
Having specialists on your side is actually way more efficient; it goes back to the theory of economies of scale.
When you have more people who focus on an individual task (like SEO, social media, paid media, etc.) it takes less time and less money to produce a unit of that thing because it’s all they have to focus on.Â
When you combine the efficiency of outsourcing marketing with deep knowledge of marketing tactics, you get better marketing materials in less time, ultimately leading to greater results.
TL;DR: Outsourcing marketing = access to specialists = better marketing strategies in less time = greater results and ROI.
4. Easily Scalable Marketing Operations
Traditionally, scaling your marketing efforts meant adding new hires to your team—a process that requires time, resources, and significant capital investment.
Scaling becomes much simpler and more cost-effective when you outsource marketing. Instead of recruiting and training new team members, you get immediate access to the talent and resources needed to execute a new campaign, add a service, or break into a new market without delay.
For example, imagine your business is gearing up for a product launch. Instead of hiring additional in-house marketers to handle campaign creation, content development, and ad placement, you can outsource marketing instead.
They’ll already have the expertise, tools, and systems to scale up your efforts instantly. As a result, you can seamlessly increase your output while staying focused on your business priorities—all without stretching your internal resources thin.
TL;DR: Businesses can scale quickly and cost-effectively by leveraging an external team’s expertise and resources without hiring and training additional in-house staff.
Scaling becomes much simpler and more cost-effective when you outsource marketing. Instead of recruiting and training new team members, you get immediate access to the talent and resources needed to execute a new campaign, add a service, or break into a new market without delay.
For example, imagine your business is gearing up for a product launch. Instead of hiring additional in-house marketers to handle campaign creation, content development, and ad placement, you can outsource marketing instead.
They’ll already have the expertise, tools, and systems to scale up your efforts instantly. As a result, you can seamlessly increase your output while staying focused on your business priorities—all without stretching your internal resources thin.
TL;DR: Businesses can scale quickly and cost-effectively by leveraging an external team’s expertise and resources without hiring and training additional in-house staff.
Top 5 Marketing Outsourcing
1. Set Clear Goals
The first step whenever you want to outsource marketing is to define clear goals for what you want out of the partnership.Â
These can be Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like revenue growth, engagement on social media, conversions, generated leads, etc. Or, they can be broader: increased visibility, brand awareness, positive brand perception, etc.
In this step, you should consider what you can do internally and what you need to outsource marketing for. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
These can be Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like revenue growth, engagement on social media, conversions, generated leads, etc. Or, they can be broader: increased visibility, brand awareness, positive brand perception, etc.
In this step, you should consider what you can do internally and what you need to outsource marketing for. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- Do I have enough content writers to establish a solid Search Engine Optimization strategy?
- Do I have the capabilities or know-how to set up effective PPC campaigns?
- Do I have a flexible team of savvy social media strategists who can keep up with the latest trends and capitalize on them quickly?
- Do I have a robust creative team that can build a unique brand identity for my business?
With these goals in mind, you can start compiling a list of agencies that have expertise and proven results in these areas.Â
But how should you go about building this list
But how should you go about building this list
2. Search for a Marketing Agency Partnership
Finding the right partner to outsource marketing to starts with building a solid list of candidates. Here’s how you can streamline the process while ensuring you target agencies that align with your goals:
1. Start Within Your Network
1. Start Within Your Network
- Reach out to peers, industry contacts, or business groups to ask for recommendations.
- Leverage your network to identify agencies that are reliable and deliver proven results.
- Peers can also share insights into the agency’s communication style and effectiveness, giving you a head start on evaluating fit.
2. Research Campaigns That Inspire You
- Identify marketing campaigns in your industry that have impressed you.
- Research the agencies behind these campaigns and evaluate whether their style matches your needs.
- Reach out to agencies that have completed similar projects or have experience with your type of audience.
3. Validate Expertise and Results
When evaluating agencies, they must have a track record of success. Use this checklist to vet potential partners:
- Industry Expertise: Do they have experience working in your industry or with businesses of your size?
- Proven Results: Look for testimonials, case studies, and performance metrics that demonstrate measurable outcomes.
- Awards and Recognitions: Have they received accolades that reflect their expertise and leadership?
- Specializations: Can they meet your specific needs (e.g., SEO, social media, content marketing)?
- Client Retention: High retention rates are a good sign of agency reliability and quality.
4. Compare Agency Strengths
Once you’ve compiled a list of potential agencies:
- Visit their websites to explore service offerings, team structure, and past projects.
- Assess their approach—are they innovative, adaptable, and aligned with your goals?
- Check their communication methods; clear and proactive communication is key for a smooth partnership.
3. Consider Sending an RFP
Once you’ve compiled a list of agencies to outsource marketing to, narrow down your search by sending out Requests For Proposals (RFPs).Â
What is an RFP?
An RFP is a document that details a project and the goals you want to achieve. This proposal gets sent out to the respective agencies on your list. The agencies send back the document, answering how they would accomplish your goals.
Why are RFPs important?
What is an RFP?
An RFP is a document that details a project and the goals you want to achieve. This proposal gets sent out to the respective agencies on your list. The agencies send back the document, answering how they would accomplish your goals.
Why are RFPs important?
- Clarifies your needs to agencies by outlining specific goals, budget, and expectations
- Encourages tailored solutions to your marketing challenges
- Facilitates comparing approaches, pricing, expertise, and creative ideas side by side
- Demonstrates professionalism, strategic thinking, and deadline-meeting abilities
- Reduces the risk of choosing an ill-fitting agency
- Clearly defines deliverables and responsibilities for both parties.
Need to know what to ask in your RFP? Check out our 10 game-changing RFP questions guaranteed to help you find your next outsourced marketing partner.
4. Provide Ample Information
When you outsource marketing, provide as much data and information to your marketing partner as possible.
In addition to quantitative data like access to your existing tech stack and available reporting, give examples of the kind of work you’re envisioning, how you think your brand voice should sound, and most importantly, who your target audience is.
This combination of quantitative & qualitative information will give an outsourced marketing agency ample room to be themselves while still defining the unique aspects of your brand look, feel, and voice.
And, if you don’t have any of this brand messaging established yet, you can let the agency help you out with that. Usually, they are experts in curating a brand’s story; they can build your brand from the ground up with sales personas and all.
In addition to quantitative data like access to your existing tech stack and available reporting, give examples of the kind of work you’re envisioning, how you think your brand voice should sound, and most importantly, who your target audience is.
This combination of quantitative & qualitative information will give an outsourced marketing agency ample room to be themselves while still defining the unique aspects of your brand look, feel, and voice.
And, if you don’t have any of this brand messaging established yet, you can let the agency help you out with that. Usually, they are experts in curating a brand’s story; they can build your brand from the ground up with sales personas and all.
5. Make Sure Your Cultures Mesh
Finally, you need to make sure that when you outsource marketing, your culture and values align.Â
When there is friction between you and the agency you work with, it can create frustration amongst your team and the production of ineffective work. This can lead to mismatched branding, inconsistent messaging, and a whole heck of a lot of cleanup on your end.
Here are some tips for establishing a cultural fit between you and the agency you work with:
When there is friction between you and the agency you work with, it can create frustration amongst your team and the production of ineffective work. This can lead to mismatched branding, inconsistent messaging, and a whole heck of a lot of cleanup on your end.
Here are some tips for establishing a cultural fit between you and the agency you work with:
- Review Vision and Mission: This will usually come with the RFP you sent out and can be a clear indicator of where their values lie.
- Ask Behavioral Questions: How do they handle tough situations and do they align with your business’s way of doing things?
- Review Their Digital Footprint: How they present themselves to the public will be similar to how they are in private.
How Can Marketwake Help as an Outsourced Marketing Partner?
Marketwake can help as an outsourced marketing partner by offering performance marketing and creative services that drive growth and impact.
This isn’t just fluff. When you outsource marketing to us, you get results
This isn’t just fluff. When you outsource marketing to us, you get results
MACHETE
When MACHETE began to outsource marketing to Marketwake as they developed their new e-commerce store, Marketwake served as their SEO partner for the project and subsequent paid media efforts.Â
Our agency worked with multiple outsourced marketing teams to launch MACHETE’s new online presence with an innovative strategy for a seamless search experience, tailored audience reach, and successful conversions. The results:
Yamaha
As the outsourced paid media partner for Yamaha, we applied e-commerce marketing strategies and insights from their award-winning Women Run the Water Campaign to their evergreen ad placement, maximizing impressions and nurturing users through the buyers’ journey. The results:
Finally ready to outsource marketing with Marketwake? Contact us and we’ll talk through what our outsourced digital marketing services can do for you and your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does Outsourced Marketing Cost Compared to an In-House Team?
Outsourcing marketing is often more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house team. Employing a marketing manager, content creator, SEO specialist, and social media manager can collectively cost around $500,000 annually in salaries alone. Plus this doesn’t account for costs of recruitment and training, or overhead expenses.
What Is Outsource Marketing?
Outsourced marketing is where an external entity like an agency runs marketing efforts for a brand to improve revenue, awareness, and other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for said brand.
