Picture the scene. You’re a SME owner and you want to promote your brand. Perhaps you’re looking at marketing your business online, improving your website or running paid advertising campaigns. So is it time to hire a digital marketing manager for your business, or should you consider outsourcing?
Hiring a staff member
Hiring a staff member has its perks – you’ll bring someone in who will integrate into the business, be fully dedicated to the role and work day in, day out covering all aspects of your digital marketing strategy.
But think about the implications of a staff hire – there is good reason that, for many SMEs, it’s a big decision to take that step:
- Costs – can you afford to hire a full-time digital marketing manager? According to the latest stats from Adzuna, the average salary for the role in Scotland is over £41,000. You could consider a junior level – but will you really get the skillset you need? Also, aside from salary costs, you need to consider pension contributions, holiday pay and National Insurance. If you outsource your recruitment, that’s another additional cost consideration.
- Permanency – as an SME, there’s more risk involved in making that permanent hire, particularly if it’s a new role.
- Training and management – it’s easy to underestimate how long this will take, or how much of your already busy schedule you’ll need to devote to get new candidates up to speed. This can also be an issue if you are bringing in someone in a junior role to tackle tasks that you may not fully understand yourself.
Outsourcing
Bringing in an outsider to work with your business can understandably be daunting, and it’s often assumed there will be large costs, particularly when you are considering hiring a larger agency. But the benefits of an external marketing consultant can be sizeable:
- Enhanced skillset – outsourcing often means you’ll get a higher levels of skills for a similar price, especially if you are looking at a part-time contract.
- Timesaver – no time for training, no-one to manage, no appraisals or lengthy recruitment processes. Outsourcing means you can minimise the time you spend (it may even be just one meeting or call a week) so you can focus your efforts on your business. Also with an outsourced service there’s no downtime, so you can be sure you are getting your money’s worth.
- A contract to suit you – whether it’s three months or a year, an outsourced solution can adapt to meet your business goals and budget, so there’s none of the risk associated with permanent hires.
- Consultation – bringing in an outside source to your business allows you to really assess business goals and work on long-term strategy.
Overall, an outsourced digital strategy can bring huge benefits to businesses of all sizes, and particularly SMEs. Want to discuss outsourcing for your business? Why not contact us today and see how we can help your brand.