Outsourcing elements of your business is an ever increasing trend in the UK. Within the marketing industry alone, outsourcing is the second biggest employer behind retail. Numbers don’t lie: all members of the FTSE100 outsource elements of their marketing requirements. The reasons for the outsourcing of marketing vary greatly according to the size and type of business.
In large companies close to 53 per cent of CEO’s regularly outsource as a means of tapping into innovation and a staggering 92 per cent of Chief Marketing Officers see outsourcing as a way to more efficiently analyse trends and buyer-behaviour to better understand their customers’ needs. SMEs behave differently: small and medium sized companies opt to outsource marketing to minimise their marketing spend while retaining control of their business message.
They also tend to outsource a single one-off project or choose to co-ordinate their entire programme of marketing activities through an external Outsourced Marketing Department. The following is a list of the Top Five benefits companies will receive by Outsourcing their marketing function:
1) First-Class Marketing Delivery & ‘Best Fit’ Tariff for Control of Costs
Statistics show that by outsourcing marketing requirements (versus in-house hiring), companies will save up to 50% on their marketing budget. Outsourcing is an effective way for small, medium sized and start-up companies to get the improved marketing performance they require, while managing costs in line with their budget.
2) Contractual Flexibility of an Outsourced Marketing Department
In today’s fast-moving commercial environment, the flexibility to adapt quickly to changes is key to remaining competitive. By outsourcing your marketing department you can strip away the burden of long-term staff contracts and other HR spending while retaining (and improving) the marketing expertise you need to explore a larger range of markets and effectively launch new brands and products.
3) Access to Cutting-Edge Marketing Knowledge and Latest Technological Trends
Staying up to speed with the latest updates in technology trends and expert marketing knowledge can be costly and time consuming, diverting focus and resources from the important task of expanding your business. By completely outsourcing their Marketing Department, small and medium sized companies get access to experts with up-to-date industry knowledge and information on the latest technological trends. If you take this approach too, the wide range of knowledge and advice at your fingertips will help steer the best course for your business.
4) The Marketing Expert acts as Account Manager
A one-to-one relationship is important in many areas of life but the benefits of a personal touch are often over-looked in the business environment. Companies offering outsourced marketing services are acutely aware of the importance of a dedicated account manager from a strategic perspective and also for the client’s peace-of-mind. An outsourced marketing provider will view the time and money spent on account management as an investment in the relationship between them and the client, delivering an improved marketing service.
5) Business Consultancy
Outsourced Marketing Agencies begin their work by understanding the client’s business vision and objectives, then choose the right marketing tools and activities to deliver the optimum marketing service. This process will be overseen by a Senior Business Consultant who offers an extra edge to the client’s business in a competitive and commercial world. It is forecast that the next few years will witness a boom in the outsourcing of marketing both in the B2B and B2C field. More so than any other business activities, it is the Outsourcing of the Marketing function of SMEs and new-start companies that will see the biggest increase.
BBSA Associates Marketing is a full service agency that provides marketing support to SMEs that are keen to move forward and develop their marketing activities but lack the resources, time or know-how to do it themselves. We support a whole range of B2B and B2C companies; from enabling you to manage your own Outsourced Marketing Department to helping out with a single solution for projects. Find out more
