Marketing is an organic part of any business, and it’s one whose responsibilities and scope can creep up on a business as it grows. The problem arises when the needs of your business that are typically solved by marketing (actively growing your business’s lead generation) can’t be adequately addressed by how you’ve done things in the past. Soon, you’ll arrive at a crossroads when your marketing department doesn’t exist, something talked about in our enVisioning Success podcast episode, Choosing Between Hiring Internally and Engaging an Agency, and further discussed here as we go over your options and their shortcomings.
Owner, Operator & Marketer
For businesses that started with a single employee or the “solopreneur” route, the owner/operator already had to take on marketing roles, and as the business grows organically, it makes sense to leave marketing strategy with those who know business strategy as day-to-day operations sift to other employees. The problem stems from time management, which is the biggest limiter for a business owner.
Marketing as Office Work
Especially for businesses that spend a lot of time on the road, as an office is formed and staffed, marketing is often left with those who have the time in front of a computer to manage a website, social media, and reviews. The issue here can be one of skill—while office managers might have the time and you might give them a budget, the lack of skill can squander those two other resources.
Sticking Sales with Marketing
If one of the major reasons to do marketing is lead generation, once you’ve got a dedicated salesperson, it can seem like an easy solution to have them do their own marketing. And while sales-marketing coordination is important, having your sales team also do marketing not only spreads them thin but tends to leave customer retention and reputation marketing (neither of which are direct lead generators) in the dust.
Outsourcing Your Marketing
If you need specialists and don’t want to hire a full department, outsourcing can be a great move—if done right. Make sure to view this as a marketing partnership—here are a few tips to get started. Even if you hire for a marketing position internally, they probably aren’t going to be able to wear all the hats of marketing, from graphic design to website management to paid ads, and will need to augment their department with outsourcing anyways.
About the enVisioning Success Podcast
This article is based on topics discussed in enVisioning Success, our weekly podcast hosted by Vision Advertising CEO Laura DiBenedetto and COO Julia Becker Collins. In it, they discuss all things business and marketing, from lead generation to leadership. Find us on PodBean to download from your platform of choice, or subscribe to our mailing list to get new episodes and other news delivered directly to your inbox. Interested in working with Vision Advertising? Learn more about our services and contact us today.
