The outlook for startups in 2018 was quite positive, with 61 percent of startups reporting that they expect business conditions to be better than in 2017 and 34 percent reporting that they expect conditions to at least stay the same. Despite the generally positive outlook, though, startups are still facing many challenges including cash flow and other financial troubles—77 percent of startups rely on personal savings for initial funding, and although 40 percent report being profitable, 30 percent only break even and 30 percent report continually losing money.
Financial troubles aren’t the only struggles that startups face, either. Everything from product storage and shipping to finding employees can be challenges that startups have to deal with regularly. Marketing, for example, can become an issue for startups if they don’t have the money to hire a full team in-house. Luckily, there are alternatives, (like outsourcing), that can address the issue and still provide them with the services they need.
If your startup is debating whether or not you should outsource your marketing, here are a few reasons why it’s a good idea:
It Can Save You Money
Although reputable firms, like 180fusion, do charge fees for different services and service packages, those fees are often cheaper than the cost of onboarding a new employee or employees to create an in-house marketing team of your own. It is estimated the average company spends about $4,000 to hire an employee and that a new employee being paid $50,000 a year will cost the employer up to $70,000 per year. In many cases, outsourcing will give you access to an entire marketing team for a monthly fee that is less than the cost of hiring one employee.
It Can Give You a Head Start
Certain aspects of marketing, like SEO, are a slower process and take time to master and build up momentum, especially if you don’t already know what you’re doing and have to learn by trial and error. By outsourcing your marketing, you can trust that the individuals running your campaigns know what they’re doing and they can help you get your marketing efforts going full-speed right away, giving you a head start on where you otherwise would have been if you were trying to do your marketing on your own.
You Will Have Access to Industry Experts
While you may have a good understanding of certain marketing concepts, others are a bit trickier to understand and master. For example, PPC can be complex and difficult to get right. When you outsource your marketing, you have access to industry experts who understand and know how to make the most of their efforts and therefore make the most of your marketing campaigns.
Your Marketing Will Stay Current with Trends
As is the case with most industries, technology changes, practices change, and trends progress and marketing is no exception. All of the changes can make it difficult to keep up with what’s current and prepare for what’s coming, especially if you don’t have a background in the marketing space. Outsourcing your marketing means that the industry professionals handling your projects will also be able to keep up with existing and prepare for future trends, helping you stay on top of things and make the most of the money you put into your marketing efforts.
You Don’t Have to Worry About Someone Being Gone or Leaving
Just like hiring an employee can be expensive, so can a sick employee or someone who goes on vacation or losing an employee to another job opportunity. Not only can it cost you money to have an employee out sick or on vacation, but not having them there means that projects will fall behind and they will have to play catch up when they get back. When you outsource your marketing to a professional firm, you can trust that your campaigns will be run on time and your projects will be completed by the deadline, even if someone goes on vacation, takes a sick day, or takes another opportunity elsewhere.
You May Be Able to Increase Your ROI
If you’re running your own campaigns, you may be doing alright, but without expertise and background in the industry and in certain practices, you may not be getting the biggest ROI that you could be. By outsourcing your marketing to a professional firm, you may be able to increase your ROI since they will know how to make the most of your budget and the campaigns that you need to have run. And since you may be able to get a free analysis, there’s no reason not to look into outsourcing your marketing to a trusted, professional firm.
In Conclusion
There are a lot of things you have to worry about and a lot of issues you’ll face as a startup, but marketing shouldn’t be one of them. Even if you can’t hire an in-house marketing team right now, finding room in the budget to outsource your marketing to a trusted, professional firm will help you get a head start on your marketing, make the most of your campaigns, and help you more effectively grow your business.
What are some other reasons you’re considering outsourcing your marketing?