Outsourcing Digital Marketing During a Pandemic

Our entire world is changing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Retail stores, restaurants, stadiums, and movie theaters are nearly empty while people stay at home under social distancing policies, leading to a fundamental shift in how our marketing messages reach consumers. As a result of plummeting sales and economic uncertainty, many businesses have reduced staffing levels, including in-house marketing teams. Marketers are having to completely re-think their strategies while at the same time cope with a shrinking staff, essentially “doing more with less.”

Now more than ever, it’s critical to focus on new and creative ways to reach your target audience at the right time and the right place with the right message. By outsourcing your digital marketing, you can benefit from the expertise of a firm that knows how to how to best manage your budget and has the skills your company needs. A marketing agency can work as an independent agent or fill in the gaps your team may lack due to staffing cuts.

Why Should You Outsource Your Digital Marketing?

  1. Outsourced firms do not require the additional expenses of health insurance, payroll taxes, or benefits that are required for full-time employees. If your company is not expecting to regain lost profits, at least in the short term, outsourcing your marketing could be a money saver. Do the math: Compare your firm’s expenses against the average hourly cost of Houston marketing firms, between $75 and $200 per hour, to see how much money you could save.
  2. Marketing firms can provide insight and recommendations on how to adjust your marketing strategy during times of uncertainty. Your in-house team may not have the experience or skills required to pivot your marketing towards digital-specific or other new advertising channels. An agency can share their expertise and develop a strategic plan for how to maximize your marketing budget.

    This spring, The Women’s Resource of Greater Houston had to cancel all in-person classes and quickly pivot to an online strategy, instead providing classes via Zoom webinars. This meant coordinating a never-before-needed social media marketing strategy with email marketing, landing pages, and paid ads across multiple platforms. They didn’t have an in-house team member to take on the task. To hire a marketing professional and a graphic designer would have cost over $90,000 a year. By partnering with Padron Design Studio, they were able to implement a strategy in a month for less than the salary of a high-level marketing person.
  3. Outsourced firms can provide a temporary boost to your marketing efforts until you can secure a Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) loan or other source of financial support. A marketing agency can help fill in the gaps until you’re able to bring your in-house team back to full strength. If a company is waiting on a 20,000 loan, it will eventually need to use 75% of it on payroll or have to repay it within two years. However, hiring an outside firm, even in the interim, would mean requesting a smaller loan and spending less of it on payroll.
  4. Outsourcing your marketing will be less expensive in the long run than losing momentum toward fundraising or sales goals. If your company is successfully achieving its goals, or if you’re in the process of launching a new campaign, it’s imperative that your marketing efforts reach your target audience. Outsourcing your marketing will ensure that your message is communicated clearly, directed appropriately, and managed properly.

    In the world of performing arts, non-profit organizations spend the entire year fundraising. In-person events such as galas and luncheons often bring in the most donors. When the Houston Theater District was forced to shut down in March, the cancelled seasons meant millions of dollars in lost earnings, but their biggest loss was the cancellation of spring gala season.

    Though large in-person events are currently off limits, organizations can still reach their goals by sending direct mail campaigns, printing newsletters, email marketing, and online crowdfunding campaigns. A savvy marketing firm can develop a strategic plan and implement it in half the time of an in-house team.

For businesses to survive, and maybe even thrive, in this tumultuous new world, marketers must remain agile and quickly adapt to the ever-changing marketplace. Don’t be afraid to question the status quo. Rethink your strategies, and ask yourself whether your organization could benefit from the help of a marketing agency.