When To Send Online Outside

Published In The June Issue Of Target Marketing Magazine
Written By NETexponent CEO, Peter Figueredo

By: Peter Figueredo, CEO NETexponent

Deciding whether to outsource online direct response efforts or to build an in-house marketing team is a decision every advertiser faces at different stages in their development. Some advertisers need to outsource immediately, others establish a marketing practice internally before outsourcing, and still others find that building an internal marketing team is best for the long term. Determining the best course of action requires an evaluation process based on:

(1)goals
(2)timing
(3)staffing.

Today advertisers can select from a variety of specialist agencies offering outsourced solutions for services such as affiliate marketing, media partnerships, search marketing, direct response creative, CRM, and email. In order to start the evaluation process, every advertiser must take into consideration their unique Goals, Timing, and Staffing when trying to answer the outsourcing question.

Goals
Goals mean a variety of things to different advertisers For those marketers dependent upon an aggressive online strategy, with clearly defined goals. it often makes sense to outsource the program. Similarly, outsourcing is less important when goals are not aggressive and even difficult when goal metrics are not clearly defined or frequently changing.

Specialists offer the greatest capacity to deliver on aggressive online goals because they begin the program with extensive knowledge of what works and what doesn't. Knowledge of the most current best practices is a compliment to the negotiation leverage and network of established relationships. Additionally, outsourcing to a specialist allows the marketer to shift internal resource decisions and staffing needs to their partner for a fixed period. Ultimately, if the program's goals are not being met within an appropriate evaluation time, the advertiser has the added benefit of severing the outsourcing relationship in a less costly and interruptive way than if an in-house team was used.

Timing
Time to market is normally a challenge for every advertiser building an in-house marketing team. Advertisers with aggressive time to market goals benefit significantly from outsourcing partners that get efforts up and running quickly on an established learning curve . For marketers choosing not to outsource, the most common roadblocks to speedy setup include; hiring time, planning, learning curve, technology integration, etc.

It often takes several extra months to launch an online direct response program in-house. This could be shorter if qualified staff is available internally, but even in such cases, even the smoothest resource transitions rarely match the speed of an experienced outsourcer. If a quick start time is not a priority then an in-house solution may still be a viable option, provided that other externalities don't hinder program uptake.

Staffing
The beauty of online marketing is the degree to which technology has increased the efficiencies at the baseline of all interactive programs. Even so, technology cannot replace the honed thinking of experienced staff. Most online Direct Response efforts show a direct correlation between staff time and results. Staffing resources must be deliberately allocated with the aim of achieving aggressive volume, quality, or efficiency goals.

When dealing with new marketing practices, essentially all online marketing must confront issues of quality staffing. Hiring qualified staff is increasingly difficult and costly…just try to hire an experienced search marketer or affiliate manager for less than a six figure salary! Complex efforts require a diverse team dedicated to achieving aggressive goals. Unless resources are available, it may not be cost effective to hire multiple people for an in-house effort, and a single mid/high level hire will not maximize their value when performing necessary low level tasks. Outsourcing provides advertisers the ability to quickly acquire an experienced team of professionals with diverse skill sets.

After the in-house vs. outsource question has been answered it is beneficial to revisit the decision periodically in order to determine if it is still the best option.

PETER FIGUEREDO is co-founder and CEO of NYC-based NETexponent (www.NETexponent.com), an online direct marketing agency for companies looking to maximize their online customer acquisitions.