Outsourcing Internet Marketing: Is It Right For You?
Small business owners are often forced to wear many hats. Should you add another for Internet Marketing? The decision to bring your online marketing in-house revolves around two questions. One: Will you really be saving money, and Two: Do you or your employees have the time to properly run an Internet Marketing campaign? I personally believe that anyone can teach themselves anything. I like to joke that if you give me a couple dozen books and a scalpel I could perform brain surgery. The question isn’t can you run your Internet Marketing campaign, the question is should you.
The True Costs of Internet Marketing
When most of us think about outsourcing, we think of it as adding an expense. Its true that outsourcing costs money, but so does bringing your marketing campaign in-house. In-house campaign costs are often overlooked. These costs need to be uncovered and factored in to discover what’s the best fit for your company.
The first factor to consider is who will run your Internet Marketing Campaign. Depending on the size of your company, that answer could be you, a single employee, or a whole team of employees. For most businesses, employees are one of the largest expenses. Your employees should be working on whatever projects will be the most profitable for your business. That may or may not be Internet Marketing. If Internet Marketing isn’t the most profitable project for your employees, then taking them away from those projects doesn’t make sense.
Another cost that needs to be considered is the cost of running an inferior campaign. Depending on visitor volume, often the smallest improvement in conversion rate can mean large increases in revenue. If your specialty isn’t Internet Marketing it is reasonable to expect that your results may not reach peak performance. It would also make sense that your campaign will take longer to see results than if a professional was managing it. The extra time needs to be factored in as an opportunity cost in addition to the physical costs of an in-house campaign.
Finding the Time
Properly running an Internet Marketing campaign takes a considerable time commitment. If you or your employees are new to Internet Marketing, you will need training. There are plenty of resources available to learn Internet Marketing and yes it is a lot easier than brain surgery. However, to run a campaign correctly it requires not only taking the correct actions, but meticulously tracking your results. Successful online marketing campaigns are built on a quality tracking system. Successful Internet Marketing companies are able to take the raw data from website results and put it into a format that has meaning. If you or your employees don’t enjoy math, outsourcing may make the most sense. You should also know that this industry is constantly changing. For you to stay up to date takes an ongoing commitment to learning.
Now that you have spent the time and money to train your employees to run your campaign, how do you keep them on your staff? Internet Marketing is a growing business. Talented marketers are in demand. There is a real possibility that you will train your staff and some of them will take their new added value and find higher paying positions. This shouldn’t prevent you from bringing your online marketing in-house, but you should consider it.
Lastly, you will want to work out scheduling ahead of time. A successful Internet Marketing campaign will take a full-time commitment. If you or your employees will be pulled away or distracted from the campaign on a regular basis to handle other tasks, then the campaigns results will suffer. Make sure that your staff can handle the additional work load before you decide to bring your online marketing in-house.
Putting it Together
The most important step in the process is putting your decision into action. If you will be marketing in-house, start reading up on the subject. I have included some suggested reading below. If you will be outsourcing, contact an Internet Marketing firm today. My firm, MetaLOGIC Design is always happy to help.
