Raising Up a Marketing Clone Army – Knowing When to Outsource Marketing Activities

The results are in… we have found no answer to the “How do I clone myself to get more done” question. (Stem cell research is under way- so maybe we can talk about marketing clones in the next 10 years)

The purpose of this post is to discuss when outsourcing your marketing to get more done is appropriate.

We did discover the secret habits that enable those all-star marketers to get better results and do more in less time. You can grab the free report here.

Whether you’re a b2b marketer in house, a freelance marketer, or a marketing agency- we all face the same limitations. Time and money.

What do the experts say on the topic?

- Time management experts argue for managing every minute of your day with an iron fist

- Software developers will tell you there is a tool or app that will make you 10x more efficient

- Lifestyle experts tout the benefit of outsourcing and automating tasks where possible

We’ll focus on topic C. from the the list above.

In the survey I mentioned above by the Optify marketing team- All-Star marketers DID outsource! Interestingly the most common outsourced marketing activities included- web design, SEO, and PR.

So what activities should you and your agency outsource?

Know Thyself and Thy Strengths

When considering outsourcing- first, let’s analyze your bandwidth, your marketing strengths, and the type of margin you want to make.

If you’re seeking to cover all your bases ranging from seo, lead generation, content, PR, social, and email then let’s assess which of those you can do effectively and then by elimination identify areas to outsource.

Let’s consider the following 5 questions to weigh the benefit of outsourcing -

1. Is it a common service that most clients request?

Should you own this service and take control the quality of your offerings? If only a couple clients have interest, it may be best to keep it outsourced.

2. Internal Skill/Bandwidth?

Does your staff have the ability to own this skill or master it? Or do you need to hire to acquire the skill?

3. Expertise?

How knowledgeable is the staff on the subject? Can you deliver the quality? Sometimes outsourcing to someone with specialized experience can help keep your client happy rather than try to do it in-house.

4. Efficiency?

Do you have the process and technology in place to perform this efficiently? Track your time spent on the work and decide based off your efficiency in completing the work.

5. Profitable?

Can you earn high enough margins on the work or does it suck up bandwidth and resources that could be focused elsewhere on more important activities.

Inevitably when considering outsourcing you’ll have to consider a learning curve to get your contractors or freelancers up to speed with your own process. This is usually the most looked over aspect of outsourcing work. You’re working with people after all and it’s important to realize you can get what you pay for.

Network, Network, Network

Building up a Rolodex … who uses these anymore? Building up a list of industry contacts will never be something you regret.

A personal philosophy of mine- a rising tide floats all boats- you and your competition may be able to help each other out. Find specialists and keep them on file for a time when you REALLY need the help.

Feel free to share your outsource success secrets or horror stories below. I know you’ve got ‘em. Like those crunch time- I need someone to wave a magic wand and delver this for my client-right-now-stories.

Did you hit the ball out of the park?

Did you crash and burn?