Amidst the dilemma of a sharp decline in marketing budgets, outsourcing can save dollars
Current scenario and challenges
Downsizing, restricting and lay-offs are the domino effect of COVID-19. No industry is spared. With a lack of visibility into the future, looming economic uncertainty and decreasing consumer spending, business owners are forced to cut costs and marketing departments are a victim of this.
But, can a business thrive
- without reaching out to new customers,
- without creating brand awareness and
- without tapping into the booming digital marketing opportunities.
You can dodge marketing costs for some time, but not long. The question is when you cut costs, how do you plan your brand building and market promotion activities?
How can you create a marketing strategy for the new market scenarios that are emerging, changing consumer behaviour and extreme online competition?
Adapting to the New Normal
In these challenging times, businesses are resorting to either downsize teams or optimize costs and marketing budgets are largely getting chopped off. The impact of COVID-19 on marketing has been really pronounced.
It is a catch-22 situation, while businesses need to connect with customers even more authentically and consistently, they cannot afford to invest heavily in medium or large marketing departments.
Accordingly, to one of the latest IPA Bellwether Reports, all segments of marketing spend – market research, events, PR, brand building, sales promotions, advertising and others, are seeing a sharp decline.
Businesses have to think on their feet. Marketing experts give valuable data and insights on:
- Changing consumer behaviour and shift towards new trends and tactics
- Resetting your brand positioning and create new marketing strategies
- Gain insights with real-time tracking tools for trends and updates
- Create multi-channel brand campaigns to target wider audiences
- Give realistic budget management to get maximum ROI, at lower costs
Business owners, CEOs, CXOs and senior teams have to focus on lean management strategies to adopt a new model of marketing strategy. When you have to achieve your marketing objectives at fraction of the cost of in-house marketing teams, there is scepticism. Your option is either to lose time, wait for better market conditions and hire a team, or outsource your marketing to continue your brand’s momentum without losing your brand image.
Outsourcing doesn’t mean you forfeit strategic planning, budget management, creative control or operational efficiency. An outsourcing marketing agency, on the other hand, aids you in doing all of your marketing activities at a higher speed and higher efficiency, at fraction of the cost of an in-house marketing team.
Outsource your marketing to experienced consultancies who can work as your extended marketing department.
The average cost of employing an experienced senior marketing manager to lead your team can vary from AED 25K to AED 70K depending on the size of your operations, geographies covered and business size. And, on average business owners/ marketing teams spent 20 hours per week on marketing activities. (Source: Constant Contact). With an outsourced agency, you save time and money.
Advantages of Outsourcing
Marketing teams engage with multiple agencies where a lot of roles overlap. Instead of grappling with multiple agencies without an experienced marketing leader, businesses must take bold decisions to change their models of marketing.
Businesses should partner with outsourced marketing consultancies who provide:
- high-level of agency coordination
- expertise in working on client-side
- experience of managing multiple agencies
- an understanding of business strategy
- support to senior leadership teams
- budget management
- internal dynamics management
The outsourced model gives you cost-effective access to a CMO-level business and marketing expert, who has the ability to manage the big picture and provide actionable strategies that deliver results.
Outsourced marketing consultancies bring not just in-house experience and expertise but give businesses a breather on their budgets and the satisfaction that they are still connected to their customers.
As an extension of your business, an outsourced marketing manager helps you manage your entire marketing function, deliver a specific marketing project or handle a particular aspect of your day-to-day marketing. It saves you from the burden of managing multiple agencies, contractors, or freelancers. A win-win model in these current times of slowdown in the world.
Shifting to digital is wise, but it is a vast ocean to swim. You still need a captain to steer the marketing ship. And, with literally no budget, owners are looking for ways to reach customers and new markets without a marketing department or marketing leader at the helm, or even scarier is putting the burden on already challenged sales and business development teams.
Conclusion
Successful marketing is vital if the business has to prosper. In today’s times outsourcing your marketing needs is worth considering. It offers dividends not seen in traditional hiring situations. You get a large pool of high in-demand digital skills professionals, decreased cost and quality results. In short, when you choose the right professional digital marketing agency, it can give your company an edge and scale your brand to the next level.
