Outsourced Marketing

When it comes to structuring the marketing department (or staffing the marketing function) at a professional services firm, there are many factors to consider.  All too often, it seems that the professionals making the decisions don’t have enough knowledge about marketing nor the firm’s objectives and growth plans.  Without this basic information, professional services firms are, for the most part, shooting in the dark and hoping for the best.  Fortunately, by learning a bit more about what marketing is and is not, and by answering some basic questions upfront, law firms, accounting firms, engineering firms, and other professional service companies can set themselves up for marketing success!

Have you ever wandered by the cookie stand in the mall looking for samples?  Just one little bite that is virtually calorie-free is all you need!  After all, the first taste is the most powerful, tickling all of your taste buds and leaving you, for the most part, pretty satisfied.  Recently, the concept of Fractional CMO has come to my attention.  This blog post explores its value proposition and whether getting a piece of a senior marketing professional has the same effect as that “oh so wonderful” bite size morsel.

In the past few years, the word “outsourcing” has gotten a bad rap.  So much, that often I hesitate to use the word at networking events—or at least I’m quick to qualify it.  When you hear the term “outsourcing,” you imagine you are getting a lower cost, lower quality alternative (usually thinking international also).  Well, outsourced marketing is a bit different. To be successful, you need to be super connected to your client and develop close relationships, so “outsourced” is an odd term to describe Marketri, because at the end of the day we strive to be part of the client’s team.

Well, the Eagles played football on Tuesday night, and ended up losing to a Minnesota team who was starting their third string Quarterback, so I guess anything is possible.

The answer to this query for small to mid-sized businesses is: Yes, Yes, and Yes!  Of course I have a huge vested interest as Marketri is a provider of outsourced marketing services but that is not the reason for my strong affirmative answer.  The rapidly changing marketing field and in particular, the growth of digital marketing, is driving companies to turn to outside specialists to strategize, plan, segment, implement and measure. 

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