Outsourcing - attracting third-party resources - is widely used in domestic business. However, today's level can be attributed to the initial stage, when the system has potential, but mass application has not yet been observed.
Marketing Outsourcing: Benefits
Outsourcing as a direction developed at the end of the last century in Western countries. Today, some companies give up to 80% of the company's internal activities to third-party resources. In the CIS countries, in particular in Russia, this trend is poorly developed.
According to experts, if marketing or other department outsourcing is applied at the proper level, it gives good results both in company efficiency and in terms of finances, significantly reducing staff costs.
To assess the need for outsourcing, the entrepreneur will have to dot the key issues. What are they like? This will be discussed later.
Definition of the current situation
What is the current development dynamics of the company? What are the prospects, and can the marketing department be called effective?
Successful representatives of the business world believe that everyone should do what he likes and does well. The leader in this is no exception. If he founded a company, gathered staff and set up production, this does not mean that he should be well versed in each of these types of work.
He can enjoy the process of creating a new product and burden the need to control business processes. In this case, it will be noticeable in terms of the company: a poorly organized division of labor with excellent offers for the market.
Is there an alternative?
If the company is new, then attracting highly effective specialists may not be possible, since this class requires an appropriate level of payment, has many offers from competitors and is not always ready to change its seat. But there is such an opportunity in the outsourcing industry: a new contractor may be from another country where there is a low level of salaries, but possess good skills.
If marketing outsourcing is assigned to a specialized company, then we can assume that it employs a lot of different specialists who are experts in a narrow environment.
What is outsourcing based on?
One of the conditions under which attracting third-party resources becomes popular is the small ratio of talented specialists to those who have a special education and no more.
No one will deny the fact that marketing is not limited to a standard set of theoretical knowledge. It requires a deep understanding of more subtle processes in isolation from dry digital indicators: the reaction of the public, the impact of a particular advertising process, the specifics of perception of the local audience and general trends in society.
After all, the full-time marketing department, regardless of its qualifications, has one goal - to enter the consumer’s mind in the broad sense and change it to their advantage.
Practical benefits
Here are some typical benefits of outsourcing a portion of your work:
- Low cost of services. If an entrepreneur pays full time when hiring an individual marketer or marketing staff, then outsourcing of marketing allows you to pay only for the actual amount of work done.In this case, perhaps it will be lower, even if when the head pays a full-time marketer for the piecework system. Why? Because companies specializing in providing outsourcing services have a solid base of enterprises that use their services. Their stable income is formed from a large flow of customers.
- Lower company costs. How much money is currently being spent on renting an office where the workplaces of an accountant, lawyer, marketing specialist and other specialists who are indirectly related to production processes should be located? How much does the pay for full-time employees translate into? Having calculated all these expenses and comparing with the cost of third-party resources, it is easy to understand that outsourcing marketing is much more profitable.
- Access to the services of more qualified professionals. Due to the large volume and diverse requirements, outsourcing companies gain tremendous experience working with projects of varying complexity. This allows their employees to reach a new level, strengthen their professional skills and grow as specialists. And a large amount of work always disciplines workers.
- The objective approach. Outsourcing services companies deal with different customers with individual requirements and requirements. The contractor who received the task, unlike the employee who can easily allow negligence or low-quality work, cannot tolerate poor quality work, as this is fraught with loss of income and a regular customer. Those tasks that are normally solved by a group of specialists, a professional marketer from an outsourcing company can easily be solved alone.
Who is it for?
It cannot be said that with the help of extraneous resources any company can achieve its goals. The method may be appropriate in one case, but not in another. If we significantly generalize the definition principle, we can distinguish several cases when marketing outsourcing will be appropriate.
Determining the feasibility of outsourcing for this company or at this stage is also the responsibility of the head. He must objectively evaluate all the pros and cons. If we are talking about the right choice of an executing company, then everything is determined simply. Usually in practice they work on the basis of a service contract, which can be concluded for a short period. For example, for a month.
For a start-up company
The head of inexperience can make mistakes in certain parts of business processes. If hired workers become witnesses, then such factors negatively affect the manager’s reputation. Equal partnerships are built with the representative of the outsourcing company; if necessary, they resort to their consultation and experience in solving the problems of other customers.
At the initial stage of business, every penny is important. It is still unknown whether the company will be able to achieve its goals and achieve profit or not. This is evidenced by statistics, according to which of all new companies, after 2 years, about 10% remains to work, the rest fail. As a warning to such an outcome, the marketing strategy, like all other business processes, should be built as rationally as possible.
In a small business
A small business in Russia should be understood as a legal entity or an individual who employs no more than 25 people. Such companies can operate in various sectors of the economy. But the internal business processes in all companies are subject to a single system: the cashier counts the money, the accountant prepares reports, the lawyer deals with the contracts, the marketer "conjures" over ensuring sales.
In small companies, the marketing strategy is not gaining momentum, as it costs too much. A full-time marketing staff usually consists of:
- PR specialist.
- Copywriter.
- Web developer.
- Web optimizer.
- The designer.
- The psychologist.
Depending on the size of the company, the list of specialists can be expanded. Such a marketing management system requires a solid financial investment and is only suitable for large companies.
During the crisis
The crisis is a great test not only for beginners, but also for established companies. Crisis management in an enterprise involves a wide selection of strategies and methods. Among them, one can note the optimization of taxation, cost reduction for all expense items with a reduction in staff.
Some companies in the West practice the full outsourcing of the company for a long period. In this they are assisted by information technology, conference calling and CRM-systems, allowing them to work in an organized manner with different geographical data.
If a company is considering such an option for anti-crisis preparation, then it is possible to outsource marketing directions, since in the long run this will help to avoid major losses.
Are there any disadvantages?
Processes within the company are confidential by default. Information of a financial nature in some cases is even considered a trade secret, for the disclosure of which faces criminal liability.
Giving part of the business processes to outsiders, the manager may worry about the leak of information about some information. But usually the safety of information should be provided by an outsourcing company. The contract must contain such a clause and provide for the payment of a penalty or punishment within the framework of applicable laws. If this is not the case, the customer has the right to demand the inclusion of such an item in the contract.
Conclusion
The development of market relations has led to the emergence of new trends, approaches and terms. If the older generation does not understand words such as outsourcing, advertising, marketing and social networks, then for the next generation these are the usual components of their work or life.
It should be recalled once again that outsourcing services in Russia are not sufficiently developed, experts say. Meanwhile, the organization of such a business could be a good start for a novice entrepreneur. Its peculiarity lies in the specifics of the business: the main resource, that is, “goods” are not physical goods, but people. People with good qualifications, excellent communication skills, a creative approach to work and enthusiasm.
An unusual example of outsourcing is negotiators. Some countries have this service. The bottom line is that not the leader himself comes to important negotiations and meetings, but the hired negotiator. He has a specific task: to complete negotiations in favor of the customer. And experts deal with this.