DaveyDavey Award

PowerMark
Awarded Davey

This month, PowerMark won a silver Davey, an international award that honors outstanding creative work from the best small firms worldwide. Take a look at our award-winning work.

doted line


"Outsourcing among high-tech companies has spread to the marketing realm, and is ripe for expansion, according to a study by Stage 4 Solutions, a California-based consulting firm. The study predicts that marketing outsourcing will jump by 14%, from 29% in 2005 to 33% in 2006. It has also found that executives who outsourced marketing domestically did so primarily to gain bandwidth and access to expertise."
- Vivek Seal,
Global Services writer

The PowerMark Group, Inc
31411 Camino Capistrano, Suite 300
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
phone: 949.481.4100
fax: 949.388.0717
email: info@thepowermarkgroup.com
www.thepowermarkgroup.com

© 2006 The PowerMark Group
We value your privacy and preferences. This message was sent to you based on your interest in technology and marketing. If you received this message from a colleague and would like to be added to our mailing list, please send an email with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to subscribe@thepowermarkgroup.com.
To be removed from our mailing list, please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

 
The outsourcing of marketing activities is catching on; in fact, in a recent poll of marketing executives, 53 percent reported plans to outsource most of their marketing activities.
--Gail McGovern,
Professor, Harvard Business School

Young blonde lady on a computer explaining a pie chart to an older executiveIs outsourcing part of your 2007 plans? Outsourcing some, or all, of your marketing can help you achieve your business goals if you don’t have a marketing department, or it gives you more hands and fresh ideas if you do.

Why should you consider outsourcing this strategic function? Outsourcing can:

  • Fill skill gaps. Since media is increasingly fragmented, communications programs are more complicated. You can’t be an expert in every medium and understand the needs of each of your target audiences if your products are sold across vertical industries or have key purchase influencers from several departments.
  • Reduce overhead. You don’t need to hire an individual or team for a specific program. Just outsource an expert. That way you don’t bear the hidden costs of recruiting, training, furnishing an office, and employee benefits. Salary is just a fraction of employment costs.
  • Eliminate bias and leverage a broader, different perspective. Outsourcing eliminates the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality. You can access the strategic thinking and creative expertise of a marketing professional free of internal political baggage.
  • Improve your focus. Outsourcing helps you to focus on the core competencies of your business. Talk to your customers, or your Sales team. You can then provide strategic, insightful direction and play to your strength. You’ll help to reduce your risks and maximize the return on investment in your marketing programs with input from the front line.
  • Jump start your marketing instantly. Outsourcing gives you access to experienced marketing professionals who can quickly develop plans and campaigns on the tightest of schedules. You can just say “run with it” and start focusing on the crush of your other competing priorities.
You can outsource the whole enchilada or parts of the marketing function—research and strategic development, planning and infrastructure support (writing the marketing plan, developing schedules and budgets, etc.), public relations or creative development. It is a Chinese menu; you choose what you need when you need it. Your requirements will change over time and by project.

One final note: how does outsourcing change your role? You, as an internal marketing guru, assume the role of band leader or ring master. You must understand the skills you need, source them, and project manage your internal and outsourced resources. When you decide to outsource, nurture an ongoing relationship with a marketing professional or firm. The most successful outsourcing arrangements are partnerships. You create a shared value. You both hold a stake in the success of everything you do. And, you both have the opportunity to shine.