Companies who are interested in increasing their brand awareness, and feel as though they need to keep up with the digital world in order to continue gaining new customers each month, might be concerned about the idea of ‘outsourcing’. But what does it really mean? And is it really such a bad thing? You know you’ve employed a marketing agency, and you did so for a reason — you felt confident that they were going to deliver the high standard that they put forward to you. But did you consider the concept of outsourcing?
I mean, I’d be surprised if you said yes because not many businesses working with a marketing agency will know it even goes on. However, you’ve got to look at it in the perspective of the fact that your marketing agency is going to know all of the specialists in the marketing world. You may have agreed to work with a specific agency because they specialise in content and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and they’re the main things you were looking for.
But did you think about social media or making your business’ website ten times better? Well, your marketing agency might not be quite as good at this, but as they’re networking in that sector, it’s likely that they know someone who is an expert in this area, and has their own business.
This is something I’m going to discuss in this blog, exploring why a marketing agency is outsourcing, and whether or not it’s a cause for concern.
Who Are They Outsourcing?
As I’ve mentioned above, marketing agencies work in a dynamic environment which means they have got to keep up to date with the latest trends and skills. This is so they stay on top of their game as this will attract clients and offer new services, which is going to benefit your business in the long run.
Marketing agencies have gained often niche expertise in marketing for similar businesses in various industries, meaning they have added knowledge to bring to the table, which is obviously going to be great news for your business. A lot of the time, marketing is shunned due to restrained internal resources, which means members of staff aren’t able to handle the amount of workload, but this doesn’t have to be the case.
By the marketing agency outsourcing to other experts in the field, but in a different area of expertise, it means they’re able to relieve the pressure on what they’re not so good at, and do what they specialise in, which is most likely the reason that you decided to work with them anyway.
The Same Principle Applies
Perhaps, the sole reason you made the decision to work alongside the marketing agency of choice, was because you knew what their strengths were, and that’s what you and your business needed. For example, you want long-format blogging done, twice a week, every week and posted on social media. You’d also like to do an email marketing campaign once every two weeks, as well as a revamp on your current website. So, the marketing agency can do the blogging, and post it on your social media accounts. However, they know that they haven’t quite got the capability or expertise to perform the other marketing requirements as their business networking friend ‘Mark’, who is happy to take this project on.
If you think about it, it’s all a matter of networking to the right people, and however gets the best outcome for the client in question, that’s what your employed marketing agency is going to do for you.
They Can Keep Their Team as It Is
This is a particularly important point, especially for smaller marketing agencies, who may not have the money, or even the space to employ someone new. This is similar to how we work at Strawberry Forge, as we’re a four-man band, we think in this industry, it’s important to network, and exchange business with those in the sector.
For example, we will recommend a business or individual who is a specialist in Conversion Rate Optimisation, if that’s what our client wants as a part of our marketing deal. Nine times out of ten, we know, that the business will return work for us to us, in return as well. It’s about who you know, remember. This is particularly important to you because you may have already got to know the staff pretty well at your chosen marketing agency, and are at a point where you’re able to be open and honest with them about your wants, needs and expectations.
Trust Your Agency!
We can tell you, that marketing is a pretty personal industry, and is only going to work if your agency has an absolute thorough understanding of your business and what you want. So the most important part of your on-boarding process and throughout your time working with the agency, they know what they’re doing, and at the end of the day, they want happy clients — the only way they can do that is by fulfilling your needs.
This might mean working with another business who specialises in something which you desire, and they know that’s not their forte. Chances are if you didn’t ask, and they didn’t tell you they were outsourcing you wouldn’t know any different…
Take a Deep Breath and Relax
We are speaking from experience when we tell you, for the majority, you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to your marketing agency outsourcing. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, if you’re somehow finding out that they’re outsourcing, coincidentally at the same you’re seeing results or extra pleased with what you’re seeing, just think about your priorities. A marketing agency is likely to outsource particular elements of a project, because they know that going to a specialist is going to be a far greater option than them trying to do it themselves, only to disappoint the client, and put the future of working together at risk.
At the end of the day, results are what really matters to marketers. From our experience, and the way that we work here at Strawberry Forge, we know our strengths and we know our clients come on board and work with us for this reason. Anything out of our comfort zone will not be our area of expertise but we’re still wanting to provide this to our service.
Don’t panic, it’s all in the clients’ favour.
