Sometimes, those of us running our own businesses can’t see the wood for the trees. We are often so focussed on trying to do everything ourselves that we become ‘busy fools’ and don’t do anything to the high standard we would deliver to our clients or would wish for ourselves.
When your business reaches a certain point (and this will be different for each business depending on your stage of growth, income level etc) there becomes a time to think about outsourcing certain functions and one of those is marketing.
It is widely accepted that large and/or long-established companies might employ someone in a permanent role entitled ‘Marketing Director’. That individual is usually a member of the senior management team and develops and delivers a marketing strategy for the business through an internal team or a network of agencies.
Many businesses often don’t have the resource to take on such an individual on a permanent basis but that does not mean you should miss out on the opportunity to have someone provide direction to your marketing efforts.
So, what are the benefits of engaging an external ‘Director of Marketing’?
- You benefit from a senior-level individual without the salary obligations and other overheads associated with permanent roles – you only pay for the days/hours you use
- All businesses benefit from an external perspective and someone who is not directly employed by you is more likely (within reason!) to challenge and ask the difficult questions needed to do things differently and achieve your ambitions
- Many external Directors of Marketing will have held various in-house roles either in businesses or agencies and will have a wealth of experience to bring to bear in order to advance your company. They will used to be managing campaigns/projects/teams which will reduce the burden on your time
- Flexibility – by identifying peaks and troughs in activity through the year, you can increase/decrease the level of input you need accordingly. External providers with integrity will not wish to charge you for times when their expertise is not needed
- Marketing consultants have (or should have) excellent networks of other professionals who can help move your business forward both within the many areas of marketing and in other business disciplines. It’s not a case of ‘getting your mates in’ but having a pool of experts from whom to seek advice or to look to potentially engage as and when their services may be required
In order to yield results, marketing requires consistency and focus and if you are unable to deliver those for your business, perhaps it’s time to look for someone who can. If you would like to find out more about how I can provide direction to your marketing, please contact me.
*perhaps it shouldn’t be you!