Marketing masters leverage blogging, SEO, branding, and design to captivate their audience and put themselves miles ahead of the competition. But harnessing the many hands of marketing takes a little time and a lot of support. Chances are, you do everything you can to magnify your marketing and stretch its positive effects on your business. However, if your company isn’t in the business of marketing, you might not have the luxury of having a full-fledged marketing team in-house.

Your Marketing Manager might be killing it with your social media strategy, SEO, and keeping up with the company blog, but what happens when you’re ready to take your marketing efforts to the next level? This talented employee is already doing the job of three people! So it might be a bit of a stretch to assume they have the bandwidth and skills to build a new website, shoot and edit a new promo video, design an updated company logo, and so on, so forth.

When you’re daydreaming of keeping up the marketing momentum and continuing to soar in your brand awareness efforts, that dream can suddenly lead to a rude awakening when you realize the lack of marketing bandwidth available within your organization.

It is at this very moment you might consider investigating outsourced marketing services. As you should! No matter which business function or department you’re looking to outsource (marketing, IT, accounting, etc.), getting more hands-on-deck allows your internal employees to continue focusing on what they do best. All the while avoiding the pressure of being stretched too thin. You can also leverage a wider pool of incredible talent and skillsets when it comes to:

• Social Media
• Content Marketing
• Advertising
• Email Marketing
• Paid Ads
• Messaging/Branding
• Graphic Design
• Web Design
• UI/UX Design
• SEO
• Web Development
• HubSpot
• Business Strategy

Let Us Get To Work For You

What Is Outsourced Marketing?

Our workloads are ever-evolving, and there are times when we can barely keep our heads above water. Outsourced marketing is one of the smartest ways companies can expand the temporary marketing power they have under the hood. For instance, if your company only has two graphic designers working on multiple projects that require a hefty illustration workload, you could take on outside help without having to hire another permanent graphic designer. Additionally, outsourced marketing can add some much-needed skills to your teams. None of us are good at everything. So, hiring an outside agency to provide expertise in a particular marketing niche is one of the best ways to get stellar deliverables in front of your clients or customers. Outsourced marketing broadens your horizons. And it allows you to seek more opportunities with a greater project scope. Companies today are adapting to new workflows and a unique talent pool. Luckily our new ways of working have made it easier than ever to hire outside of our companies in a growing pool of freelance, contract, and agency talent. Most simply put, outsourced marketing provides the advantage of temporary and expert help when it comes to working on a variety of difficult marketing tasks.

Why Consider Outsourced Marketing?

Outsourcing marketing efforts is one of the best ways to reduce burnout while helping to maintain an intensely focused workforce. It can bring in knowledgeable new talent to provide fresh insight into your marketing efforts with more specialized experience. If your staff is struggling to service accounts during high-volume seasons, it may be the best idea to start looking for partnerships with marketing agencies that specialize in providing top-notch overflow help. This could be a much more cost-efficient option than taking on more permanent salaried positions.

In-house vs. Outsourced Marketing: Pros and Cons

What are some of the benefits and disadvantages of outsourced marketing? We’ve highlighted some of the main advantages and pain points we’ve experienced ourselves and have heard from our clients over the years.

Pros:

• Can provide specialized and dedicated relief to certain areas of your marketing plan
• Less overhead expenses and baggage than hiring more full-time employees
• Offers the increased flexibility of by-project personnel with fresh insights
• Provides calculated, expert help when you need it, with no strings attached

Cons:

• The marketing agency doesn’t understand your culture or brand as well as a full-time employee. However, with branding guides and project briefs, you can communicate your company message well.
• It can be expensive to hire a reputable marketing agency — expert help comes at a premium. But it is much less expensive than burning out your existing teams and hiring new talent on staff.

Is Outsourcing Just Working with an Advertising Agency?

Outsourced marketing isn’t just a fancy term for hiring an ad agency to take care of the creative customer-facing workload. Although marketing and advertising share a few services like graphic design and copywriting, they are different in a few major ways. Advertising agencies are very good at creating advertisements, jingles, copy, and other creative deliverables. However, they can’t provide the same benefits as a full-service marketing agency. Marketing agencies specializing in outsourced work, like Direct Online Marketing, can deploy specialists to work on email campaigns, paid ads, SEO strategy, web design, and the nitty-gritty details that advertising pros won’t touch. Marketing agencies go beyond providing the loose assets that are a part of marketing campaigns. They build strategies, monitor data, code websites, manage outcomes, and much more.

When is the Best Time to Outsource Your Marketing?

The answer to this question will be different for every company. If your teams have too much on their plates and are struggling to meet project deadlines, it could be time to consider outsourcing a particular task to a marketing agency. Here are some other key indicators that could mean it’s time to hire some outside marketing muscle:

• Your in-house marketing team doesn’t have experience in a niche specialty such as web development or email marketing.

• Your marketing team isn’t able to keep up with the workflow during a particularly busy season.

• You want to hire on a contract basis for projects to keep your company as lean as possible.

However, outsourced marketing can also help keep a consistent marketing effort year-round for companies with smaller in-house teams. The flexibility of outsourcing is one of its key benefits.

What Projects Call for Outsourced Marketing?

When your marketing team has too much work to handle reasonably, it’s time to seek out targeted relief. If you have team members working long hours on SEO and content marketing, but they don’t have the bandwidth to write a series of blogs, it’s time to outsource a content team. The same could be said for website design, UX overhauls, or almost any other time and labor-intensive project. If you aren’t seeing the kind of results you like from a project, it could also be time to hire expert marketing help from the outside. Maybe your staff doesn’t have a decade of SEO experience, and that’s okay. You can hire an outside SEO master that can show them a thing or two while boosting ROI for your business.

Is Outsourcing Cost-Effective?

Outsourcing is not only a smart play when your teams are backed up — it’s a cost-effective solution that you can use to free up your MVPs. Often, marketing agencies will package services in a way that will reduce your costs and provide a more holistic solution. This is a great way to avoid charges for any add-on items that quickly stack up. Of course, you will have a variety of cost options when it comes to choosing a marketing service. You will want to choose a company that provides quality results at the lowest possible price point, but this can be tricky. Not every outfit will be able to handle your project. Chances are, if you are the marketing department for a high-profile tech company, a small-time agency won’t cut it—as much as they would love the opportunity. It’s all about the balance of marketing aptitude and cost savings. Direct Online Marketing has some of the brightest minds in marketing working to bring you marketing solutions. We have competitive pricing for any project and work with you to provide the best mix of time and budget.

Doing Your Research on Outsourced Marketing Providers

It’s important to do your research on outsourced marketing providers to find the best fit. It’s ideal to find an agency that has worked with similar companies in your industry as they will understand some of your unique problems. Perhaps the biggest drawback to outsourced marketing is a lack of product or service understanding. You will want to make sure that if they don’t already have a rock-solid understanding of what you do, they will study up on what your company offers.

• Online searches will be able to tell you a lot about an agency. Their website should be clean, modern, and most importantly, it should include case studies and a portfolio of past experience that should impress you. However, if you are looking for a quick project fix, you might just need an individual freelance marketer.
• Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tools there is. When marketing agencies do a good (or bad) job, word gets out. Ask around for recommendations from your peers. Chances are they will be able to provide you with help they’ve used in a pinch when it comes to copywriting, graphic and web design, or any other services.
• Social media and review sites like Clutch will sometimes give you a great lead on an outsourced marketing agency. Also, it’s possible someone has already tried to reach out to you via LinkedIn or email with their services! Now could be the time to revisit your inbox to take an agency up on an offer.

Don’t make the mistake of going with the first outfit you find, unless they really are the best fit. The only way to be sure is to consult with a few companies and ensure you get the best deal when it comes to a balance of price, time commitment, and experience.

How Will You Know Good Marketing Help When You See It?

When you know, you know. Good marketing help will fight for your business and show you all the ways that they align with your project. They have all the credentials, experience, and knowledge to run with a briefing and provide excellent deliverables. A good marketing agency will have a portfolio handy of case studies that show how they helped companies like yours in the past, the end results and ROI.

What Should You Look for in an Outsourced Marketing Agency?

You should look for a marketing agency that can provide specialized services that will help you finish marketing projects as soon as possible. Often, marketing departments will come to an agency with a tight deadline. A good agency will be able to take on the project quickly and get deliverables to you as soon as possible. Turnaround times are a big part of projects. There are always drafts and redrafts and edits that need to take place to ensure a finely finished product. You should ensure that the agency you are looking at can work within your time constraints. Of course, you may need to pay a premium for a bump up on their priority list, but that can be expected.

Keeping An Eye On ROI

ROI is one of the biggest terms in marketing. Word coming from above always wants to hear about return on investment. Outsourced marketing teams can provide a better ROI while keeping costs low and providing more insight and expertise than your in-house teams originally had. An outsourced marketing team shouldn’t only be able to provide you with the results you need, they should be able to measure them and give you numbers that reflect the value of your decision. At Direct Online Marketing, we carefully measure project ROI so you can see your results in hard data and plain English. Once you find the stellar ROIs that we offer our clients, we are certain you will come to us again when your projects demand it.

Final Thoughts

Outsourced marketing can be the perfect way to free up your in-house marketing teams to perform at their peak. It is a cost-effective strategy to improve your workload while bringing extra expertise onboard to provide their secret sauce. There are a huge number of projects that are ideal for seeking outsourced marketing. If you have a large marketing department or a small in-house team, outsourced marketing can help you deliver better results faster and more cheaply than hiring on more permanent staff.

Everything You Need To Know About Strategic Marketing

Download Direct Online Marketing’s free guide full of expert, insider advice on everything you need to know about strategic marketing. Use our insight to plan for success and create a lasting impression on your audience.

Download The Ebook

The post Your Guide To Outsourced Marketing appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.

Choosing the right outsourcing partner can be one of the most challenging tasks businesses face today. However, since it is a cost-effective, reliable, and flexible solution, business owners often make the mistake of rushing into agreements and settle for a partner who offers nothing more than a standard set of solutions.  

That’s why, before deciding on a marketing partner, analyze your business, and your marketing needs to make the best decision.

Keep in mind the following pointers when selecting an outsource partner who can help you achieve your goals. 

Industry Experience

Anyone you’re considering must have experience in dealing with the specific tasks and processes you plan to outsource, as well as offer new ideas and strategies. So, for starters, ask about the number of projects they’ve previously completed and the level of expertise these projects required. Don’t be afraid to ask for work samples across different areas of marketing. 

Make sure that you know their management team, project managers, and anyone else who will be working on your marketing. Learn more about them, their qualifications, and expertise to make sure that they are capable of executing your business projects.

Client References

A background check of your prospective outsourcing partner can help you better understand the kind of work you can expect from them. Ask for testimonials from previous and existing clients to help you gauge the quality of services they received. Also, refer to online reviews or case studies to get familiar with how others perceive their services. 

Technical Expertise

So when they look for prospective outsourcing partners, they are mainly looking for an extension of their team – experts who could complement their products, services, and existing areas of expertise. 

That’s why it is crucial to conduct a thorough check of technical competency and market know-how. It is essential to understand the processes it follows and the methodology it employs to manage projects, track results, and resolve issues.

Your ideal outsourcing partner must possess expertise in areas like project management and quality control.

Communication

When you work with an outsourcing agency, you are putting the success of your business in their hands and sharing confidential information and ideas. You require a team that is responsive and responsible, one that facilitates timely communication, feedback, and exchange of information. 

Dedication to Their Craft

You need a team with the right set of skills, experience, and dedication–and the passion for it all. The success of your company largely depends on the team you have in place, so you must know that they not only understand their craft but also that they are dedicated to absorbing the knowledge and technical skills your business requires. Also, you must consider company culture, values, visions, and communication styles to know that they are the best fit.

Above all, it’s important to choose a rebranding agency that will do the best job based on your needs, so you can be confident you’ll get a strong return on your investment. Keep in mind that the best partner is one whose values align with yours and who prioritizes your business output and efficiency above all else.

That’s where C-leveled comes in. We’re proud of a dedicated team that is focused on fulfilling every need and achieving success for every single client. When it comes to generating business, driving revenue, and building long-standing relationships, we’re experts. Let’s talk about what makes the most sense for your business. Contact us anytime. 

The post What You Need to Know About Choosing the Best Outsourced Marketing Partner appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.

Marketing gives you your brand the power to be front-and-center with your potential clients, build loyalty with existing and new audiences, and create a strong bond with old consumers–but that only happens when it’s expertly executed. In the era of COVID-19, that’s more important than ever. 

By outsourcing your marketing, you can achieve great results, reduce costs, and increase profits–all while focusing on what you do best. Here are just a few ways of how outsourced marketing can help you generate a healthy bottom line for your business. 

Get Expert Help & Access To Latest Technology

If we compare an in-house marketing department to an outsourced marketing agency, an agency’s expert knowledge and access to resources can’t be surpassed.

Outsourced marketing professionals are up-to-date with the latest developments in the industry. Their job is to educate themselves, explore new technologies, and create innovative solutions that deliver proven results. Marketing companies also have the tools to analyze competition and customer sentiment, so they can help you stay on top of the latest algorithms and updates.

Conducting market research is the best way to determine what new and existing customers require and their response towards your business’s and your competitors marketing efforts. But market research requires an investment in the best tools and databases to gather in-depth data for the project. Hiring an outsourced agency experienced in market research can help you achieve great results and uncover information that you might have overlooked. 

Generate Greater Profits & ROI 

By outsourcing your marketing operations, you and your internal team can concentrate on strategies and processes that generate increased ROI. Also, by cutting down on the expenses of marketing operations, you can invest those savings in other business processes that can prove to be profitable for your company.

Keep in mind, too, that returns aren’t always immediate, or in dollar figures.

Partnering with an agency can help you to get in touch with your customers and leads at a fraction of the cost of doing it in-house. This also leads to a high number of lead conversions that contributes to the generation of increased profits and has a direct impact on the company’s bottom line. But outsourced marketing can also deliver an increase in website visits, content reach and awareness, higher SEO rankings, and much more. 

If you are looking for a strategy to ensure the health of your business and your bottom line, you need to outsource your marketing efforts to an experienced agency. And now is the right time to do it.

Unfortunately, when times get tough, organizations are often quick to cut their marketing spend when budgets get tighter, and ROI is more difficult to come by. But now more than ever, businesses need to work with the experts to make the best possible use of the current landscape and position their company for a profitable (and permanent) future.  At C-leveled, we’re here to help across all areas of our expertise, from messaging and content creation and creative concepts and execution, to social media management, digital advertising, lead generation, and more. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, strategic marketing advice, or to schedule a virtual coffee or cocktail.

The post Bring More Money To Your Bottom Line With Outsourced Marketing appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.

Outsourced marketing enables a business’s employees to focus on a core product, service, or business function, as the agency comes up with marketing plans and executes expert strategies to deliver results. This way, businesses get access to professional expertise without spending insane amounts to set up an in-house marketing department. That makes good business sense. 

Outsourced Marketing is Cost-Effective

Outsourcing marketing functions can help control business costs. Think about it – you won’t have to budget or spend on hiring or training an entire department. By outsourcing, you can eliminate these costs and create massive savings that you can invest in other business processes.

Outsourcing Increases Efficiency

When businesses expect too much of their employees without providing them the right resources, this can be disastrous, especially for marketing functions. Often product managers are tasked with creating a marketing plan, HR is regularly called upon to help strategize the promotions, and sometimes sales teams are left to their own devices to come up with an advertising strategy.

Asking specialized teams to multitask is bound to decrease their productivity – and the simple fact is that they don’t have the expertise to work on marketing. 

By outsourcing your marketing functions, you can bring the latest insights, trends, and industry research, benefiting your company’s marketing and allowing your existing employees to focus on what they do best.

Outsourced Marketing Offers Authentic Strategies With Expert Advice

The right agency will have you working with highly seasoned professionals who possess the necessary experience to create and implement strategies that work.

Your outsourced marketing team can open opportunities for your business by giving you access to new and unexplored marketing channels. This can bring in new audiences and qualified leads from brand new avenues, giving your business the traction it needs to succeed.

Outsourced Marketing Gives Businesses Access to Better Tools

It can be challenging to keep up with new tools, tricks, and trends that make marketing strategies more effective. But for outsourced marketing agencies, they are experts in leveraging the best technology and tools to create high-quality campaigns for you. They have access to the necessary resources to help them make informed decisions on how to develop and optimize your marketing material for maximum effectiveness.

By collaborating with outsourced agencies, you benefit from the latest tools and software for marketing automation, data reporting, content creation, video marketing, and more. 

Partnering with a marketing agency that provides a fresh new perspective can stimulate new revenue-generating ideas for your company. They can give you valuable insights into new strategies and unique selling propositions that you and your team might have missed.

If you plan to survive economic challenges and turbulence, you need to differentiate and stand out from the competition. This means that now is not the time to skimp out on marketing expenses or expertise. And while we understand that not everyone can build a full-fledged in-house marketing team, it is essential to get the help you need to carve a niche out for your business. Outsourcing is one of the ways to do this right.

You have a lot on your plate in focusing on the business of your business. Why not leave the marketing to the marketing experts?

All of our team members are eager to help you across our areas of expertise, from messaging and content creation and creative concepts and execution, to social media management, digital advertising, and more. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, strategic marketing advice, or to schedule a virtual coffee or cocktail.

The post Top 5 Benefits Of Outsourced Marketing appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.

How Does Outsourced Marketing Maintain Your Business?

Marketing requires expertise, specialized skillsets, creativity, organization, and a team of experts to work effectively and deliver results. Outsourced marketing can augment business functions, save money, and deliver better performance. It supports companies in several ways and even offers additional support in many areas, such as ramping up marketing activities to ensure that emerging opportunities don’t go unrealized.

Here are some ways outsourced marketing can keep your business be successful, especially during COVID-19.

Outsourced Marketing Ensures Regular Communication With Customers

Customers expect companies to be responsive and connect with them in meaningful ways. But often, critical business operations take priority. 

Outsourced marketing can deliver personalized and effective communications that keep customers engaged and loyal to your business. Also, an outsourcing agency can attend to prospects or site visitors and communicate effectively to convert them into leads.

Outsourced Marketing Helps You Grow

Partnering with marketing experts gives your business access to in-depth industry knowledge and expertise to generate qualified leads for new revenue opportunities, and to take advantage of current opportunities.

Moreover, they help you stay focused on what it is that you do best. So, instead of losing valuable time and resources, you get to target your marketing efforts on avenues that are bound to deliver results. This way, you get to reduce overhead costs and help your business grow.

Outsourced Marketing Helps Maintain Business Momentum

It can be very challenging for small or mid-sized businesses to keep up with new and innovative ways to sustain momentum while remaining within the restraints of marketing budgets.

An outsourced marketing agency can supplement and support your internal operations. They help you maintain pace in challenging times.

Outsourced Marketing Helps Bridge the Knowledge Gap

The best way to generate qualified leads and find more buyers is not to do it at all! Leave it to the experts at outsourced marketing agencies because, as a business leader, you may be capable of things other than marketing and lead gen. 

Outsourcing makes sense if you believe that your business deserves to benefit from the value only an expert can provide. It is in a better position to help you bridge the gap between your business and what your market requires.

Outsourced Marketing Keeps Your Team Focused 

Marketing isn’t a one-person show, so if you’re trying to bring it in-house, you’ll need a team of professionals working full-time to deliver quality results. But an outsourced marketing agency can provide you with those experts or help enhance the efficiency of your in-house team if you have one. Having them as an extension of your business can be the source of support you need for your company.

Additionally, you won’t have to deal with overburdened and stressed-out employees. Your in-house team stays focused on their areas of expertise while the agency handles all aspects of marketing, ensuring high productivity and increased output for your business.

Outsourced marketing is how you sustain your business during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how you move forward after. We’re here to help. All of our team members are eager to help you across our areas of expertise, from messaging and content creation and creative concepts and execution, to social media management, digital advertising, and more. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, strategic marketing advice, or to schedule a virtual coffee or cocktail.

The post Continue Business As Usual With Outsourced Marketing appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.

Now though, as businesses deal with COVID-19 and wait to see what the short- and long-term effects will hold, it may seem like a prudent financial move to pull outsourced marketing and other outsourced services in-house–or to cut them entirely. We’re here to tell you: Resist the urge to curb or cut your marketing! Your business cannot afford to lose the expertise or momentum. 

There are incredible benefits to outsourcing your marketing activities, especially now. First and foremost, you’re the expert in what you do for a reason–so why wouldn’t you leverage professional expertise to manage your marketing efforts? Most importantly, with a professional marketing team, businesses can hold onto customers in a time of crisis, expand digital footprints, position brands, and explore ways to increase sales and revenue for once COVID-19 passes.

Gain Expert Insights

A marketing agency employs experienced professionals who possess the expertise, insights, and creative energy to develop successful, personalized marketing strategies and approaches that will best position your business and your brand. Again, you’re the expert in what you do…so let the experts handle your marketing.

Save Time And Money

Hiring or training internal teams is not a cost-effective solution and can absorb most of the company’s resources. You could wait for the right hire, or for the right internal employee or team to become productive, or you could deploy experienced professionals immediately to drive strategy, implementation, and results for your business.

Identify Better Communication Channels

Your outsourced marketing team will identify key marketing channels that not only increase your exposure but also provide you with opportunities to connect and engage with your customers. They can come up with a strategy to keep your products and services top-of-mind and aligned with your consumers’ preferred communication channels.

Access to New Growth Opportunities

While you’re wondering which platform offers the maximum ROI, where your target audiences are spending their time, and what upcoming marketing trends you need to capitalize on–a marketing team inherently has the right tools, resources, knowledge, and experience to promote your business, attract new customers, and open up new channels for growth.  

Integrate the Latest Technology

An agency makes use of the latest innovations and tools for marketing, and they are already equipped with software and resources for data analysis, market segmentation, strategy, and more. Instead of allocating a separate budget to improve your company’s marketing department and expand your resources, you can outsource these initiatives to a dedicated and experienced team, with the advanced tools, knowledge, and the latest technology you need. 

Reduce the Workload of Internal Teams

Now more than ever, you need your employees to focus on the company’s day-to-day operations and broader objectives. With outsourced marketing, your internal teams can focus on your most essential business, while you leave the strategic marketing to the experts. 

Outsourcing your marketing is your best pathway to achieve business goals in today’s competitive landscape–and to maintain the momentum you’ve built up to this point. You need a strategic marketing partner now more than ever, so you can keep your relationships with the customers you have and create opportunities to grow. Most importantly, you can’t afford to sit back and wait for this crisis to pass.  Let’s talk about what makes sense for sustaining your business now and in the future. Our entire team at C-leveled is maintaining business as usual, so you that can too. Contact us anytime.

The post Outsourced Marketing Is The Best Decision You Can Make Right Now. Here’s Why. appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.