Angelfish Marketing Blog

Which should I choose for my business?

Deciding whether to insource or outsource inbound marketing can be a tough decision for business owners. In fact, we get asked this question a lot when we’re talking with our clients and new prospects here at Angelfish!

Often, these businesses are either new and considering how to get the most bang for their buck, or they’re established and want control but are concerned about escalating marketing costs.

The reality is, there isn’t a one size fits all approach, and businesses really must consider their internal skill set and working culture when making a decision.

For example, if you or people in your company have strong sales experience and have a leaning towards digital marketing, then you might consider putting them in charge of your new marketing division. You might also consider hiring a Marketing Manager from outside of your organisation.

On the other hand, if you have a business full of individuals with a very specific industry skill and have had no marketing or sales experience, then outsourcing could make more sense. You can see how this would look for your business by arranging a free marketing report and one-hour consultation with our own experts here.

In the meantime, we’ve broken down the three main things we think you should consider when deciding between insourced and outsourced inbound marketing, in order to help you make your decision:

Did you know...

Inbound marketing costs 61% less than outbound marketing, and has a greater return on investment - fact.

The digital marketing industry is constantly changing, and as a result of both its cost-saving benefits and other advantages over outbound marketing, inbound marketing seems to be the most effective way to go. But if outbound marketing worked before, why doesn't it work as effectively now?

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Put simply, the preparation of any business marketing strategy is just as important as the implementation of it; a detailed and strategic digital marketing plan sets the foundation to successful marketing and, therefore, better results.  

Cold calling to gain leads and generate revenue is a thing of the past.  

People do not want to be pummelled over the head with unsolicited and scripted sales pitches. No, today’s customer is brand-savvy and does research. He or she must feel connected to whichever company is offering the product or service required.  

Customers want to hear you, but they will also want to be heard by you. To achieve that rapport, you need to start thinking like inbound marketing service providers do! Our free Guide to Inbound Marketing will help you achieve this (download it here), as well as the following tips... 

Inbound marketing uses a subtler set of strategies compared to traditional outbound marketing techniques. It’s also a necessity for businesses that want to build a successful brand and stand apart from the competition.

Inbound marketing draws your customers to your products and services through the creation of content and campaigns that delight your target audience and transform them into brand advocates. For example, social media campaigns, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and content marketing are all core strategies under the inbound marketing umbrella.

Outbound marketing, on the other hand, tends to use more direct tools such as direct mail, telemarketing and events. However, research reveals one-third of marketers think outbound marketing tactics such as paid advertising are a waste of time and resources.

You already know the benefits of content marketing, right? As buyer behaviour continues to change, content marketing has emerged as a preferred way to build long-lasting relationships with potential customers over time. In fact, as the UK enters its fourth week of lockdown, this is more true than ever before as customers across the world consume record-breaking amounts of content. And it is these relationships that lead to sales, with content marketing having been proven to generate over three times as many leads as outbound marketing, all the while costing a whopping 62% less.  

If your business doesn’t have a blog, it might be time to reconsider. 55% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority and B2B marketers who use business blogs receive 67% more leads than those who don’t. What’s more, marketers who prioritise blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI.

The starting point

As a recruitment agency, getting the right candidates from the right areas is a tricky task in itself, not to mention attracting and retaining the right clients. Throw in a lack of social media presence, sporadic marketing campaigns, poor site optimisation, and an over-reliance on traditional, interruptive marketing techniques, and this task becomes even more of a challenge.

This is the situation our client found themselves in before they came to us. They weren’t hitting their business goals and their website traffic wasn’t as high as most of their competitors’ were. Basically, they needed a marketing plan for a recruitment agency that would boost candidate acquisition - and they needed it fast.

If you’re wise to the inner workings of the methodology of inbound marketing for recruitment agencies, you’ll know that relevant, engaging content is the key to attracting prospects to your website. As a recruitment agency, however, you’ll also be aware that UK recruitment is now the world’s most competitive market - which means that your content is going to come up against a lot of competition!

Without question, SEO’s impact on business today is considerable. While more people than ever are turning to search engines such as Google to find relevant information and the internet becomes ever-more saturated with competitive content, employing SEO good practices is now fundamental to your business success. So how can we keep our heads above the vast body of water that is SEO?