As a business owner, a decision you will likely have to make is how and when to hire marketing help. Like most aspects of running a business, knowing when to make a decision like this at just the right time rather than prematurely or when it is perhaps too late is enough to keep many entrepreneurs up at night. 

While a business is in the beginning stages, it may not be producing enough revenue to outsource help.This means do-it-yourself marketing may become your best friend until you are earning enough to hire a professional to come in and work their magic. This can be a digital marketing virtual assistant or even a full-service marketing agency like Lindsey Wagnon Marketing.

(If you are still in the DIY stages, head over to The Marketing Plan Shop for help.)

Hiring a marketer to work inside of your business (or hiring anyone, quite frankly) is a huge decision to make. It is a decision that can largely impact the output of your business and can accelerate your growth if done well. 

There are several signs that it may be time for you to put the DIY to the side and move forward with hiring marketing help. Here are a few:

You simply don’t have the time

If I had a penny for every time I heard a business owner say, “I just wish I had a little more time during the day,” I would be rich! If you find yourself frustrated that you just can’t seem to get enough done during the week, you are not alone. Running a business is hard work and between serving your client/customers, handling administrative tasks, creating new products, marketing can tend to take a back seat.

Handing off your marketing to someone else can free up some of your time so that you no longer have to get bogged down with content creation, studying analytics or posting on social media every other day.

You are increasing spending without returns

This one is huge! Just like your time is valuable, so is your money. There is so much information out there when it comes to marketing, and it is easy to fall into the trap of spending money on things that your business doesn’t really need. 

As a marketer, it’s a nightmare to see business owners fork out hundreds, even THOUSANDS of dollars and then not see any returns or sales. If that sounds like you, it may be time to dive into some virtual cmo services for your business. Even if your first step is simply getting a consultation with a marketing professional, it could save you exorbitant amounts of marketing spend in the long run.

Spending money on outsourcing a virtual digital marketer can protect you from spending the same, if not more, of your business overhead on marketing gimmicks that fail to drive sales.

Your results are hit or miss 

If you find yourself in an endless cycle of “throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks” when it comes to your marketing strategy, listen up. As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot to be found on the internet when it comes to marketing. And when you try to copy and paste what may have worked for someone else, your results can be hit or miss.

This all comes down to strategy which is absolutely crucial. When you have a marketing strategy, you have the building blocks that you need to guide all aspects of your marketing. Not only can a marketing professional craft a unique strategy for you, but they can also make sound decisions on what changes need to be made to the strategy overtime by analyzing the data.

If you come across a marketing professional that doesn’t analyze or look at data…..run for the hills, my friend.

Marketing should not be a guessing game, so if you feel like you want more certainty or structure surrounding your marketing, then it could be time to hire some help.

What type of marketing help to hire.

Lastly, when you’re ready to hand off your business marketing, there are several ways to do it. Here’s some quick advice on which type of help to look into based on your specific business needs.

Marketing consulting

I recommend bringing a consultant in early – the earlier the better. This will help you make strong decisions that prevent wasted marketing money which is so typical in the business startup phase and first few years. Marketing consultations can often be one-off so they’re flexible and work with your timing. Some virtual cmo agencies like Lindsey Wagnon Marketing also offer consultative partnerships which provide more regular decision making and consultative support for entrepreneurs who want to grow more quickly, need more frequent input and want to work their way into a full-service partnership.

Marketing freelancer

This works best when you already have a small team covering a few business and/or marketing tasks but need a specific skill set that others don’t have. Graphic design, web development, copywriting or SEO services are a good example of niche skills that a marketing freelancer can offer. 

One warning I always give in choosing a freelancer is to make sure you or another teammate has the capacity to lead this person. You may be gaining a helpful skill set by hiring a digital marketing freelancer but you’ll also be adding additional communication, guidance and management to your team’s plate.

Full-service marketing agency

If you need most or all of your marketing handled by someone other than yourself or your team and you’re not ready to hire in-house marketers, a full-service marketing agency is a great option. Most agencies can scale alongside the size of your business and needs. They’ll often offer just about every type of marketing skill you need and can consult on what will work best for your business. 

Many marketing or ad agencies are larger in scale and may charge higher rates than you’re ready for. This is where a boutique marketing agency like ours can bridge the gap between handling all or most of your marketing without the expense of a bigger team.

In-house marketing hires

When a business has constant, specific marketing that needs to go out and it becomes a pain to communicate all the updates to an outsourced virtual marketer or agency, this is when it’s smart to add to your hires. A marketing hire can be fully focused on the business, attend meetings and report to the office which simply can’t be replaced by outsourcing options. You can test this option out by hiring on contract for a few months to see how it works for your business and your team.

When you’re weighing whether to hire a marketing employee vs. outsourcing your marketing, you’ll want to crunch the numbers accurately – being sure to include all hiring costs (those pesky state fees and taxes can add up), as well as thoroughly vetting the typical salary for the level of skill and experience you’re looking for.

Just like the warning about hiring a freelance marketer, hiring in-house also comes with demands on your time and attention as the business owner and leader too so you’ll also want to make sure you’re considering your own availability for them.

Full-service marketing partnership

At Lindsey Wagnon Marketing, we strive to offer a mix of the above in an effort to provide customized marketing help that many other agencies do not. We’re here to operate closely with your team, give your business focused attention, offer a much higher level of skill and experience than most young marketers on the market and at a cost that falls lower than what you’d pay to hire a full-time marketer. If you’re looking for a hybrid of the above solutions, your next step is to grab an interest guide which explains all the partnership inclusions, process and next steps.