If you’re a startup business and have a limited budget, you may be wondering if you should hire someone to do marketing for you or go it alone. This can be an interesting dilemma, because both decisions have their benefits, with saving money being the main one for marketing on your own. However, it gets much more complicated than that and depends on what you need done as well as the size of your company.
Here are some things to consider in making the ultimate decision. You may eventually find that you can’t make a definitive decision and require doing something a bit unconventional.
Why You Should Go it Alone
Other than saving money, you have the benefit now of mobile connectivity and the Internet in being able to market yourself. With so many ways now to get the word out about your business by merely sitting behind a computer or a smartphone, it may be all you’ll need for now.
This is obviously going to depend on what you want to do in your marketing. A small business can easily compile lists on Twitter and engage with customers to attract business through customer relationship marketing. This can help you gain a small customer following that can keep you profitable. In this instance, you don’t have to worry about hiring a marketing firm to craft a more complex plan to market to the masses.
Regardless, what happens if your company is larger? Can you still do marketing on your own, or should you hire a full-service marketing firm?
Choosing the Marketing You Really Need
Peoria Magazines did a multi-part series about marketing alone and pointed out that working with a marketing agency doesn’t have to be through one company. You may want to pick an agency that specializes in specific marketing areas to give you a leg up on an area you’re not an expert in.
Generally, the larger the company, the more hired marketing may be needed. Sometimes marketing consultants can be a good choice based on how they provide specific services that you just pay for when you need them. Other times, you may want to hire an ad agency to focus on ad placements, or a print design firm to focus on the still useful marketing process of printed design.
Also, don’t forget SEO specialists that can help you with marketing online and where going it alone in marketing can sometimes fail.
Using a Combination of Self Marketing and an Agency
Sometimes a combination of the two might do you some good if you feel you can handle some things and others not. In this case, the marketing consultant idea is a good idea where you can get the services you need and perhaps get some advice on other areas you’re handling alone.
No matter what your choice is, going with a full-service consultancy agency will cost you the most money. When you hire one of those agencies, you have to take the time to make sure they’re a right fit for you and that they understand your business objectives to the core. It’s one reason why some may attempt to take on marketing by themselves when the business owner understands their business better than anyone else can.
References:
http://www.peoriamagazines.com/tpw/2008/may/marketing-should-you-go-it-alone-part-2
http://www.peoriamagazines.com/tpw/2008/mar/marketing-should-you-go-it-alone
http://www.6pmarketing.com/articles/applied-science/72-marketing-strategy/275-should-you-hire-a-marketing-agency
