The Importance of Hiring Outside Marketing Support for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

The Importance of Hiring Outside Marketing Support for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) play a crucial role in the economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and fostering competition. However, one of the biggest challenges that SMBs face is the lack of resources, knowledge, and capabilities when it comes to marketing. Many SMBs operate with limited budgets and do not have dedicated in-house marketing teams to help them promote their products or services effectively. In such cases, hiring outside marketing support can be a game-changer for these businesses looking to grow their sales and revenue.

The Need for Marketing Support

For SMBs ranging from sole traders to those employing 10 to 50 employees with a turnover of £1 m to £8 m, investing in marketing support is crucial for several reasons:

1. Expertise and Experience

Most SMBs do not have the luxury of hiring experienced marketers or specialists due to budget constraints. By hiring outside marketing support, SMBs can tap into the expertise and experience of professionals who understand the intricacies of marketing strategies, trends, and best practices. These experts can provide valuable insights and guidance to help SMBs create effective marketing campaigns tailored to their specific needs and target audience.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

Outsourcing marketing services can be a cost-effective solution for SMBs compared to hiring and training an in-house team. Outsourced marketing agencies often offer flexible pricing models, allowing SMBs to scale their marketing efforts based on their budget and requirements. This cost-effective approach enables SMBs to access a wide range of marketing services without the overhead costs associated with hiring full-time employees.

3. Strategic Planning and Execution

Marketing is not just about creating eye-catching advertisements or social media posts; it requires strategic planning and execution to drive meaningful results. Outsourced marketing agencies can help SMBs develop comprehensive marketing strategies aligned with their business goals and objectives. From market research and competitor analysis to campaign implementation and performance tracking, outsourcing marketing support ensures that SMBs have a well-defined roadmap to achieve their sales and revenue targets.

4. Access to Cutting-Edge Tools and Technologies

In today’s digital age, marketing is heavily reliant on technology and data analytics to measure performance and optimize campaigns. SMBs often lack the resources to invest in expensive marketing tools and technologies. By partnering with a marketing agency, SMBs can leverage the latest tools and technologies to streamline their marketing efforts, track key performance indicators, and make data-driven decisions to improve ROI.

5. Focus on Core Business Activities

Running a business involves wearing multiple hats, from managing operations and finances to customer service and product development. Outsourcing marketing support allows SMBs to focus on their core business activities while leaving the marketing strategies and tactics to the experts. This division of labor enables SMBs to allocate their time and resources more efficiently, ultimately leading to increased productivity and profitability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, hiring outside marketing support is a strategic investment for small and medium-sized businesses looking to accelerate their growth and increase sales and revenue. By partnering with experienced marketing professionals, SMBs can benefit from expertise, cost-effective solutions, strategic planning, access to cutting-edge technologies, and the ability to focus on core business activities. As the business landscape becomes increasingly competitive, outsourcing marketing support is not just a luxury but a necessity for SMBs to stay ahead of the curve and achieve long-term success.

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Don’t Call Me Frank

It’s always great when clients say nice things about you.

Here’s one client that took to video to say a few words about how we’ve helped him grow his business.

Don’t call me Frank, though, eh?

Click here to watch the short video testimonial.

Have You Tried Google Apps For Work?

It’s not that well known in the UK, but we love it.

What are we talking about? Google Apps For Work.

It has so many benefits – for businesses of all sizes.

From working better and more efficiently with colleagues, to saving on the cost of licences for MS Office and the ‘obligatory’ server for your emails or documents, to integrating a whole host of other applications to make your working life and business run and perform better, we think it’s the next ‘garlic bread’. Did we mention it makes protecting your data – such as information about your customers – easier too?

Check out all the benefits and features .

 

Get More Work Done – Go On Holiday!

Christmas is now under a week away, and it’s nearly time for everyone to have a well-earned rest!

However, regardless of when you decide it’s time for a short break, a long weekend, or even a proper holiday abroad, it can actually be a time where your productivity increases.

I’m aware this is going to make me sound either mad or miserable, but bare with me on this…

For me, bizarrely, going holiday actually makes me more productive because I’m in a relaxed mood, which allows me to free my mind, think creatively, and plan ahead.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should surrender your holiday to your business – it should first and foremost be for relaxing. I never deliberately set out to work more on while I’m on holiday, but out of habit I always take a hardback notepad and tend to find that I scribble lots of information down, which I can implement when I return.

Prior to going on holiday, I’m usually extremely busy trying to finish things off for clients, and I don’t start to relax until I’m on the plane, train, boat etc. But once I do relax, it gives me the opportunity to delve into a more laid back and creative state. Once this change occurs, I find myself filling up with ideas and I use the notepad to make a lot of notes.

Some of this can be prompted by reading good books relevant to marketing, or listening to audio programmes that include experts talking about various aspects of marketing. Personally, I’m currently reading “Email Persuasion” by Ian Brodie, which is an excellent book on email marketing and well worth checking out.

As a result of my holiday, I find that I ironically get more work done than at times when I’m at work, and under the day-to-day pressures of running my own business.

So, my personal suggestion to owners of businesses is to take regular breaks throughout the year (they don’t all have to be full blown trips to Hawaii, maybe just a nice long weekend away in the Lakes), and see if that results in a rise in your productivity and creativity in a similar way.

For now though, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Cross-selling – Why Existing Customers Are Just As Important As New Customers

When sales fall, most businesses instinctively decide that the best course of action is to go after new customers.

bullseye

While logically it’s a sensible call to make, the reality is there are three options available to counteract the fall:

  • Increase the amount of customers i.e. get more customers,

  • Increase the frequency of purchases of your existing customers, and/or

  • Increase the average spend per purchase from your existing customers

However, research shows that it is eight times more expensive to try and get more customers than it is to get more sales from existing customers.

Look at it this way. It’s easier to sell a football shirt to a fan, than it is to someone who doesn’t care about football or, even worse, supports your rivals. You should be selling to your fans who, in this particular analogy, are your existing customers.

If you look at your existing customer base, as well as your current list of products and services, you will be able to identify opportunities to cross-sell to existing customers, as well as attracting new business. You can do this by creating a simple table, with existing and new customers/clients’ needs down the left hand side, and your products and services across the top.

This helps give you a visual representation of what and where you will be able to cross-sell. Simply tick off what you provide to each customer, and at a glance this table will show you where the opportunities to cross-sell or upsell new or existing services to your existing client base are.

In our experience this is often a quick win for clients to grow the business before going out into the market and looking for new customers or the extra resources that can entail.

You may wish to try it for your business.

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