Outsourcing A Marketing Director: Everything You Need to Know
What is outsourcing?
In simple terms, outsourcing means hiring a contractor rather than performing the work internally within your company. Almost all businesses outsource some services, including manufacturing, accounting, legal, HR, and marketing.
When To Outsource A Marketing Director
Deciding whether to outsource or not is a big decision and is not always the right choice for you. Almost all companies outsource some type of marketing service at one point or another, but replacing a director or any fundamental marketing role requires specific criteria. Here are 3 indicators you can use to determine if you should outsource for a marketing director.
1. Scope Of Work
2. Size Of Your Company
3. Temporarily Filling A Role Vs. Indefinitely Filling One
What to look for when outsourcing a marketing director
Make Sure They Provide The Services You Need
Quality Is Key: Be Careful!
- Make sure the company you go with has an established portfolio of work under their belt and can show its results. Look for case studies or ask for their previous work
- A high-quality marketing agency will generally write you a beautifully designed and written proposal for any deal above $40,000 annually. Some will do it for much less. Make sure the proposal is customized and not just reused every time. Agencies are moving away from proposals, so don't assume no proposal means low quality. Instead, assume a great proposal means high quality.
- Make sure they can answer all your questions confidently (and correctly). If the person you are talking to can’t answer your question directly, they should direct you to someone on their team who can help you find the answer.
- Pricing. Look up industry pricing for the services you are ordering. If an agency's pricing is way below market value, they probably are not very experienced at what they do. It is important to note that high prices don’t mean high quality, but if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- If a company promises they will get you to the top page of Google or that they will increase your revenue by a specific percent, run. Marketing is not so clear-cut.
- Listen to your gut. If you feel something is off, you might be right.
Look For Additional Functionality and Flexibility
- If you are starting with no marketing team, outsourcing is a cost-effective way to get all your marketing needs met, but you have to be careful not to outsource a specialized role. Find an agency that will give you access to experts in multiple areas and work alongside you to grow your business effectively. In this case, you may not want a marketing director, but rather to outsource your marketing department. Both services cost roughly the same, but with a director, you may not get access to solutions for all your needs.
- If you have a marketing team of fewer than 7 people (ish) you may be looking for something specific such as a specialization in strategy and planning, management or to fill in the gaps of your team. These are all important things that outsourcing can help with, but knowing the difference and finding the right fit for you is important.
- If you have a large team you may be looking to temporarily replace an employee to avoid long hiring processes in a busy time. Outsourcing is great for this and can really help speed things along, but it can also delay the inevitable and requires onboarding twice. Keep this in mind when deciding what is best for your company.
Ask About Integration and Communication
Ask About Replacement
Pros and Cons of outsourcing a marketing director:
Pros Of Outsourcing A Marketing Director
- A broader range of skills
- It allows for flexibility
- Hiring an agency is generally cheaper than hiring a marketing team.
Cons Of Hiring A Marketing Director:
- Onboarding your own team
- It means two onboarding processes for temporary work
- It can be more expensive for larger companies
If you are looking for a marketing director take a look at our outsourced marketing team services. If you want to learn more, feel free to book a meeting with us to discuss your needs in more detail.