Outsourcing vs In-House Marketing for Print Businesses?

Marketing is something we all know is essential for our print business to grow. We need to stand out in a very crowded marketplace and win those ideal clients I often speak about. The ones who return time and time again and recommend us to other people. The challenge I witness many print company owners experience, though, is the time to do it well, and in today's article, I want to explore whether keeping it in-house or outsourcing it is the best fit for you. 

There are clear benefits and drawbacks to both. Understanding them will hopefully help you choose the right solution for your business, goals, and budget. 

The Case for Outsourcing Marketing

Outsourcing gives you access to people who already know what they are doing and likely have a track record of success, if you pick the right ones, of course. It's also a far more affordable solution than hiring a full-time person to do the work. With that said, it can act as a stepping stone towards building up the justification for hiring someone, and you can use this opportunity to build a strategy that a full-time employee can then pick up. 

Another benefit to bringing on an agency or a freelancer is that they are more likely to have people who specialise in different areas of marketing, SEO, Social Media, Content Marketing, Paid Advertising, etc. All are vital, and any good marketer will have a good understanding of all, but typically, you find people tend to dive deep into their knowledge with 2 or 3 of these. If a lack of time or in-house skills in your business is the case, outsourcing can provide quick wins and scalable solutions. 

As I often find when print business owners bring me into their business, one of the key things they are looking for is a fresh set of eyes, a different perspective. Often, someone looking in on your business from the outside can identify clear issues or opportunities that you can't see, simply because you are too close to it. This can apply from a marketing perspective, too. 

However, outsourcing can have its downsides. Whilst that third party might be an expert in marketing, their understanding of our Industry may be lacking. They might never fully grasp the nuances of your brand, your products, or your customer relationships. Communication lags or misaligned messaging can hinder results. Plus, good agencies are rarely cheap, and ongoing retainers can add up. With that said, don't try and do this on the cheap, as we all know, you get what you pay for. 

The Case for In-House Marketing

Keeping your marketing in-house offers greater control, quicker turnaround times, and a deeper alignment with your brand and your values. It's always going to be much more authentic if the person doing your marketing is immersed in the day-to-day business. That's not to say an outsourced marketer can't achieve this through time, however, when looking to showcase real jobs and behind-the-scenes processes, etc, your content is always going to be more on time and on point if it's being managed in-house. 

Keeping it in-house allows you to be more agile, allowing you to respond quickly to trends as they happen. This month's action figure meltdown on social is a prime example of this, although I do hope we've seen the end of that! 

With that said, doing it in-house isn't always efficient. It can strain existing staff, especially if marketing is only part of their overall job description. Often, from what I see, they are not fully trained marketers, and in many cases, only landed the job because they know more about social media than anyone else in the business. Hiring a dedicated marketing person means salary, tools, and training costs, something not all print businesses are ready to absorb.

What's Right for You? 

At the end of the day, it comes down to your resources and your goals. I see many print companies find success with a more hybrid approach. They might outsource things like SEO and Paid Advertising, and retain elements like social media, content marketing, and Email in-house. My main advice would be to play to your strengths and plug the gaps. All of these disciplines are important and key to the growth of your business. Sadly, when times get tough, marketing is often the first thing to get pulled back on; however, when done right, marketing shouldn't be seen as an expense. It's an investment!