In a digital age where everyone is vying for a spot in the mind of the consumer, it is so difficult to stand out. You only have seven seconds to make a first impression, so you need everything from your messaging to brand colors to define your business quickly. However, many internal teams don’t have the bandwidth to both properly run their business and excel at marketing; one usually has to be compromised for another. That's why many brands decide to outsource marketing.

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Outsourced marketing is one of the most cost-efficient ways businesses can scale and drive growth. By handing over the reins to a gritty, solution-oriented, and creative outsourced marketing team, you’ll find that achieving unmatched ROI and revenue generation while managing the internal operations of your business is finally possible.

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In this blog, we’ll dive deeper into our five essential strategies for finding the best outsourced marketing agency to work with. But first, let’s look closer at the benefits of outsourcing marketing. 

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Benefits of Outsourcing Marketing

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When you’re thinking about why you should outsource marketing, remember this: it can save you money, time, and headaches.

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Saves Money

I can hear you now. “Aren’t I paying more when I decide to outsource marketing?” Actually no, you’re not. Here’s the math:

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$68,000 is how much you have to pay each of your four employees in an internal marketing department. That comes out to $22,800 per month. When you outsource marketing for the same price, you can get a team of fourteen marketing experts to help you expand your marketing efforts and increase your ROI. Moreover, you can save from 70% to 90% on labor costs when you choose to outsource your marketing.

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With more than a dozen additional team members by your side at a fraction of the cost, there is nothing stopping you from developing a fruitful digital marketing strategy.

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Saves Time

Another important benefit: outsourcing your marketing efforts saves time. Rather than spend all of your time on marketing, you need to focus on running and improving your business operations. The best way to do that is by giving the marketing responsibilities to someone else; someone who does outsource marketing.

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Although it takes time for an external marketing agency to adjust to the voice of your business and the way you operate, in the long run, it makes for a more efficient marketing process that drives long-term growth.

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Saves Headaches

When you decide to outsource marketing, you get access to a team of experts who can solve problems for you—that you may not have known you needed to be solved. Often, marketing professionals have knowledge of the latest trends and access to skills and software that you may not.

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This not only helps you remedy your headaches, but it also helps you achieve high-quality results from the work you produce. Yes, it can be hard to turn over your business to an external source, but the majority of them have your best business and creative interest in mind.

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How to Outsource Your Marketing Operations

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1. Set Clear Goals

The first step whenever you want to outsource marketing is to define clear goals for what you want out of the partnership. These can be Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like revenue growth, engagement on social media, generated leads, etc. Or, they can be more broad: increased visibility brand awareness, positive attitudes, and more.

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In this step, you should consider what you can do yourself versus what you need to outsource marketing for. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

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• Do I have enough content writers to establish a solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy?
• Do I have the capabilities or know-how to set up effective PPC campaigns?
• Do I have a flexible team of savvy social media strategists who can keep up with the latest trends and capitalize on them quickly?
• Do I have a robust creative team that can build a unique brand identity for my business?

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With these goals in mind, you can start compiling a list of agencies that have expertise and proven results in these areas. But how should you go about building this list?

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2. Compile a List of Potential Agencies

There are many ways to go about compiling a list of outsourced marketing agencies to work with. However, one of the most tested and trusted ways is by staying within your network. Asking peers or contacts whom they’ve worked with in the past can be helpful in gauging who is legit and who isn’t. 

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You can also look at current marketing campaigns that appeal to you. Find who did that work, or find other agencies who have completed similar campaigns and reach out. However, you should make sure that clients you’re contacting have proven results in your industry. Look at their testimonials, any case studies of their work, or any awards they’ve won that decisively prove they are leaders and experts in marketing.

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3. Consider Sending an RFP

Once you’ve compiled a list of agencies, one way to narrow down your outsourced marketing search further is by sending out Requests For Proposals (RFPs). An RFP is a document that details a project and the goals you want to achieve. This proposal gets sent out to the respective agencies on your list. The agencies send back the document filled out with answers to how they can help and what their approach is to the goals you want to reach.

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While an RFP is not a full-on marketing strategy and it’s not always a necessary component in your search, it can be very helpful in defining the mission of the agency you want to work with, their unique approach to marketing, and how they work with clients. Essentially, it provides a gauge for what working with this agency will be like, without signing onto a partnership just yet.

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4. Provide Ample Information

When you start to use outsourced marketing, you need to provide whoever you’re working with as much data and information as you can. In addition to quantitative data like access to your existing tech stack and available reporting, give examples of the kind of work you’re envisioning, how you think your brand voice should sound, and most importantly, who your target audience is.

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This combination of quantitative & qualitative information will give an outsourced marketing agency ample room to be themselves while still defining the unique aspects of your brand look, feel, and voice. And, if you don’t have any of this brand messaging established yet, you can let the agency help you out with that. Usually, they are experts in curating a brand’s story; they can build your brand from the ground up with sales personas and all.

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5. Make Sure Your Cultures Mesh

Finally, you need to make sure that when you outsource marketing, your culture and values align. When there is friction between you and the agency you working with, it can create frustration amongst your team and the production of ineffective work. This can lead to mismatched branding, inconsistent messaging, and a whole heck of a lot of cleanup on your end.

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Here are some tips for establishing a cultural fit between you and the agency you work with:

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• Review their vision and mission. This will usually come with the RFP you sent out and can be a clear indicator of where their values lie.
• Ask behavioral questions in the interview process. How do they handle tough situations and do they align with your business’s way of doing things?
• Review their digital footprint on social media platforms. How they present themselves to the public will be similar to how they are in private.

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Outsource Your Marketing With Marketwake

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If you’re ready to outsource your marketing strategies to an agency that is experienced, capable, and has proven results, then you’ve come to the right place. Marketwake is a full-service growth marketing agency that turns consumers into champions of brands and helps businesses make their mark on the world. And it’s not just fluff; we’ve seen real results. As an outsourced marketing team, we’ve helped brands like Yamaha and Machete see growth multiple times over, and we’re committed to doing the same for your brand.

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Ready to get started? Let’s dive into what our outsourced digital marketing services can do for you and your business.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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What Is Outsource Marketing?

Outsourced marketing is where an external entity like an agency runs marketing efforts for a brand in an attempt to improve revenue, awareness, and other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for said brand.

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What Is an Example of Outsourced Marketing?

An example of outsourced marketing could be a full-service agency like Marketwake creating search-engine-optimized content, PPC ads, social media content, and brand-development pieces such as logos, color palettes, or brand messaging guides.

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Why Do You Outsource Marketing?

Outsourcing marketing saves businesses money, time, and potential headaches. For one, marketing agencies are usually more efficient than internal teams because they are experts in their field. Plus, you don’t have to pay outsourced marketing agency employees individually. Instead, you pay a flat fee at a reduced rate.

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When Should I Outsource Marketing?

You should outsource marketing if you are looking to increase your business's revenue, improve brand awareness, and scale your marketing operations. Outsourced marketing is an efficient and cost-effective way of doing this because you get a dedicated team of marketing experts to assist in the marketing efforts for your business.