When it comes to developing a strategic marketing plan many executives, senior business managers or owners tell us they are too busy working in their business to plan next week, never mind next year. We've heard it all from handling customer problems, staffing issues and generally 'putting out fires'. 

And for those that do find the time to ‘play’ in the marketing space, we find businesses get carried away with engaging in tactics before outlining their business objectives and considering the best marketing strategies to achieve these objectives.

Unfortunately, this approach can impede and even lead to the failure of the company.

So what's the answer?

You should be spending time working on the business rather than in the business if you are looking to grow. This is where a strategic marketing plan is an important element in any business plan.

One approach growing in popularity for time-poor executives and business owners is to engage a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or senior marketing specialist to provide strategic expertise in-house either on demand, or part time.

Why hiring marketing expertise is important

Marketing expertise can be critical to the success of a growing business from establishing your brand, acquiring customers, driving sales and building the team required for success.

By creating a marketing plan, you are able to strategically plot the tactics you will employ and avoid wasting time and money on ineffective tactics. A marketing strategist is responsible for the creation of this plan.

Having established the need for core marketing knowledge in your business, the issue then becomes how to acquire that expertise. Hiring someone with expertise in marketing strategy allows you to create and implement your plans quickly and successfully. 

The right set of skills and experience will depend on your specific marketing requirements. However, these skills may not be required every day and, much like a lawyer, accountant or IT support, you should not need a CMO employed full-time.

Benefits of hiring a CMO

• Access to a senior marketing professional to give you on demand advice and recommendations
• A marketing mentor who will transfer knowledge to your team
• Provide strategic expertise as well as the ability to implement campaigns and tactics, cost effectively
• Provide an integrated marketing plan to grow your business with the right mix of strategies and media 
• tsall the latest marketing and social media best practices, tools and software
• Lower cost when compared with a full-time senior marketing manager or appointing an agency. You only pay for the time they spend on your business and there are no overheads to consider.
• Help you generate a long-range marketing strategy that delivers revenue results.

Outsourcing your marketing: How it works

Step 1: Who should be involved?

You need to decide who should be involved in your strategic planning process. Generally, it includes those who will be contributing, implementing and monitoring your strategic plan (e.g management, staff).

We meet with you and your team to determine the right amount of marketing support for your business. This typically involves understanding the key challenges, goals, plans and opportunities you see for your business. From this a detailed marketing plan of action can be developed.

Step 2: Where are we now?

To help plan for the future we review your present situation including your internal and external environment – the three big C's - Company, Customers, Competition. This may also involve reviewing (or developing) your vision, mission and values.

Step 3: Where are we going?

Once we’ve nailed your current situation and challenges, the next step is to agree on where you want to be in the future. This will involve:

• Your priorities for the next 3-5 years;
• Your long term goals; and
• Understanding how these help you achieve your mission

Step 4: How will we get there?

This is where we create your game plan for achieving your strategic objectives, including:

a. Setting SMART objectives:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Timebound

In other words, what you want to achieve by when. This could include increasing sales, building a new website or driving more traffic to your existing website.

 No activity should be undertaken without the ability to measure the results in some way. So for every campaign not only must you set objectives set but also how you will monitor and report on them.

b. Resourcing the plan including people, equipment, facilities and financials,

c. Develop action plans based on aims of the strategic plan – what will be done, who is responsible, how will it be done and with what resources – human, physical and financial.

d. Putting the right systems and structures in place to facilitate implementation of aims and objectives.

Step 5: Did we get there?

The final step is to monitor and evaluate progress.  The implementation of these plans – on time, within budget and on brief – is essential for your business growth.

• How well are we doing?
• Are our activities in line with our strategic aims and objectives?
• Is it consistent with vision, mission and values?

Summary

So is it better to hire your own marketing team, or outsource to a marketing specialist?

Pros

• A different perspective. Getting a perspective on you business from an outsider can very helpful when it comes to prioritising your business goals.
• A marketing specialist has tools you may not. Have you ever gone to change a tap washer or car filter and found you don't have the right tools for the job at hand? From current marketing software platforms to stock photo library access, these resources can be an enormous boost to your marketing results that you may not have access to or wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. 
• Hit the ground running. Any marketing specialist worth their salt will be ready to hit the ground running from day one, Whereas, hiring a full-time employee means that that person might need some time to finish training, or to get used to the way your company operates.

Cons

• Your marketer might not know your business or industry as well as you do.This unfamiliarity can result in mixed messages when you explain your goals; work that doesn’t quite hit the mark; and ultimately, poor results from your marketing investment.
• Not accessible at all times. It’s a nice to have when your in-house resource is at your beck and call. But what if the work you need done is temporary or seasonal, like a holiday promotion campaign or a website redesign. In these cases, it’s better to work with an outside firm than to hire an employee. You only pay for the time they spend on your business and there are no overheads to consider.

Ready to get started? Contact us for a free consultation.