Five Digital Marketing Outsourcing Lessons I’ve Learned
Today’s marketing landscape is complex: you need a solid marketing strategy, a competent team of individuals that work within proven processes, an understanding of marketing technology and the hundreds of tools that are available, a comprehensive content calendar, a winning website, and the adroit ability to execute your digital marketing programs and measure their success. It’s a complex process that requires a LOT of expertise, something that your company likely cannot afford without hiring a myriad of internal marketing resources.
That’s where outsourcing comes in. You may need to outsource pieces – or even your entire digital marketing program – to really be a world-class marketer.
If you are considering outsourcing part of all of your marketing program, you can’t afford to go with just anybody. Here are five key lessons about what makes a good outsourced partnership.
Lesson 1: You’ve got to have clearly aligned goals and plans.
How will your outsourced partner help you reach your goals? You’ve got to have a way to communicate your goals and plans with them so that you are on the same page. Start with a planner, and make sure you review your goals and plans on a regular basis.
Lesson 2: You’ve got to have strong collaboration.
This means you’ve got to have a way to easily communicate on an as-needed basis. Email communication is not enough. The best way to formalize your collaboration is by using a strong project collaboration tool. We use Basecamp in our agency to keep everybody alerted and on track.
Lesson 3: You’ve got to work with trained experts you can trust.
It’s not good enough to just outsource your work to smart people . You need to measure your outsourcing partners based on multiple factors. This could be quality, responsiveness, results, and price/value – or whatever the factors are that are important to you.
Lesson 4: You’ve got to have productive, regular meetings.
We like to have quarterly and weekly meetings with our clients and daily huddles internally so we’re always on the same page. We also have a predefined structure for our client meetings that covers all the data action plan, and issues. If you are not having these kinds of meetings, beware of project slips.
Lesson 5: You’ve got to have excellent tools, data and dashboards.
If your partner does not utilize good technology, it’s really hard to get things done. Small technology problems can shut down a major campaign. We use a rating tool to make sure we have the right set of technology in order to execute all of our digital marketing campaigns well. We also use dashboards in our weekly meetings with clients, so that the right data is easy to see and decipher.
In sum, it’s likely that you are either considering or are already outsourcing a piece of your digital marketing program. If so, take these five key lessons I’ve learned to heart. It can make all the difference between a mediocre and great outsourcing experience.
Want to learn more about how you stack up when it comes to providing digital marketing in the zone? Check out my 30-question Digital Marketing Checkup and see how healthy your current digital marketing program is.
