Outsourcing is a great way to grow your business. It helps you expand your portfolio of services, reallocate your qualified workforce by taking off their hands repetitive but critical jobs, and it can also help you free up more time to handle core business and managerial matters, while qualified personnel handle the nitty-gritty of your daily operations. However, sometimes, it’s not all champagne and oysters.
Let’s unravel the pros and cons of outsourcing for a business like yours.

Basic facts about growing a digital marketing agency by outsourcing

Years have passed, and you have managed to start up a decent digital marketing agency. You are very proud of the fact that you have a lean team, a proficient group of professionals who can multitask, take on different roles if needed, and they have learnt to make the most of their time and resources. You have survived the pandemic, and now you are navigating the present bumpy and not always so easy economic scenario. You’re truly some sort of superhero. Really.
However, even the Avengers came across their Thanos. A change is needed, and you find yourself in one of these situations: either it is impossible for you and your current structure to take on more business without hiring personnel, either in-company or freelancers; or you are just wanting to offer a wider variety of services, which perhaps has already been demanded by your current customers.
There’s a lost opportunity, which somebody else will take upon, but not your company. You simply don’t have the means.
Outsourcing can be the just the answer. Don’t worry, it’s not as difficult to implement as time travelling, gathering the Infinity Stones, and assembling them in a gauntlet.
A reliable and dynamic outsourcing company might just be the right partner for your business, without relinquishing equity or having someone else managing what took you so long to build.
There are a few key questions you should ask yourself before making the decision to outsource:

1. What is your company’s core competency? Can you diversify your portfolio of services, opening the way for more business, and still deliver the quality and customized services which constitute a great part of your differential values?
2. What are your company’s strengths and weaknesses?
3. What are your company’s goals? Are you engaged in a true strategy of growth, or are you ok with just surviving?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can begin to look at what, when and how to outsource for your digital agency.

What to outsource

The ideal services to outsource are those which really need a specific skillset to be carried out successfully, and also, demand lots of time of your own staff. A clear example is social media management. Ask yourself, how many social media accounts can one person manage before losing quality and delivering a sloppy job. You notice this. Your clients too.
In addition, more social media accounts, more graphic assets and video production needed, more analysis and more strategy required. And you don’t want to be one of the lot, providing a mediocre service. If quality in the delivery is you goal, you need a constant, reliable, findable and accessible provider, in your own time zone, and fundamentally, in your clients’ time zone.
Website development. Enticing, yes. Great margin, but, again, you will need at least one or two developers, a graphic designer and a UX/UI expert, to say the least, not to mention copy creators, and a SEO expert to optimize the new website to truly deliver a great product. Not a chance you can incorporate that kind of personnel, and at least achieve a break-even in this business. And hiring an anonymous developer in some corner of the world is out of the question. Accountability and ownership of the project will be dubious, to say the least. And there’s always the danger that, if needed for an upsale, or future modification he or she might become unreachable. Tutorials, technical literature on the product and brand documentations are, at this point, a fairy tale.
It is in these situations when outsourcing to a dependable, responsible, and committed supplier becomes invaluable. And highly profitable.

When to outsource

The next step is to determine when it makes sense to outsource, at least, some of the activities that are too costly in terms of resources, or that you simply don’t have. For some businesses, it may make sense to outsource from the start, while others may want to wait until they’ve reached a certain growth milestone.
The fact is, the more you wait, the more lost business opportunities you will encounter. And nowadays it is no time to accrue too many lost business opportunities. Your competitors will snatch the client, and carry them away, along with the services you already provide for them. You see, your clients are just like you. They are also seeking for a good, strong provider to fulfill ALL of their digital marketing needs, and, no matter how fond of you they are, they’ll value more the idea of having all their needs centralized, and their digital requirements to be managed in a wholistic, seamless way.

How to outsource

Once you’ve decided what and when to outsource, the next step is to figure out how to make it happen. There are a few different options to consider, including working with freelancers and independent contractors, or hiring employees in another country, or hiring an outside company to handle all of your outsourcing needs. We’ve seen how it goes with remote independent workers, who are located perhaps many time zones away from you. Good luck reaching out when an emergency arises, or quick action is needed. Not to mention trying to locate a developer or a team of developers some time after delivering a product to make them explain what on earth is that variable or that command about. The reverse engineering trying to figure out how an app or a digital product is built will be almost like rebuilding the darn thing again.
Building a better business with outsourcing takes time and effort, but the rewards can be well worth it. By taking the time to figure out what you want and need, you can ensure that you find the right partners to help you grow your business.
If you’re a digital marketing agency owner, you know that you can’t do everything yourself. You need to delegate tasks to others, so you can focus on your core business: getting more happy and satisfied clients. The problem is, it can be difficult to find reliable providers who can do the work you need, when you need it, at a reasonable price. That’s where we come in. We’re a team of trustworthy, experienced professionals who can help you with a wide range of tasks, including:
– Web and app design and development
– Graphic design
– Content creation
– SEO and SEM
– Social Media Management
If you’re looking for a reliable and all-including comprehensive digital marketing and product development agency, you’ve come to the right place. We have over 20 years of experience in the industry and are committed to providing high-quality results. You can count on us to deliver in time and give you the best possible experience.