You know you need to grow your business online, and you have two basic options to accomplish this: invest in an in-house team to handle your online marketing efforts or outsource to an agency. For many businesses, outsourcing to an agency is the best option.
If you choose to outsource content marketing to an agency, you don't want to trust your business with just anyone. There are a lot of agencies out there that claim to be a one-stop shop for all of your online marketing needs. However, I can't stress enough the importance of understanding if all of the marketing services will be handled under the agency's roof or if the agency will be doing some outsourcing of its own.
Yes, some marketing agencies outsource work too. According to a recent study, more than half of boutique agencies outsource a portion of the work that they do. In some scenarios, it makes sense for an agency to select a strategic partner that's local, capable, and responsible to occasionally refer work to. When work is outsourced locally, the marketing agency is still able to have a hand on the client's project and uses the outsourced work to compliment the overall strategy.
On the other hand, there are some agencies that choose to outsource work overseas. This is NOT okay. There are a number of challenges associated with outsourcing work overseas. However, my biggest objection to "agencies" that choose to outsource overseas is that they aren't actually doing anything but selling. What I mean is that these agencies become disconnected from the work that they're doing for the client. As a result, projects that are outsourced overseas are poorly planned, badly executed, and not aligned with the needs of the client.
Businesses overseas thrive on the work that they receive from agencies here and do it for pennies on the dollar. While many businesses are budget conscious, it's important to remember that you get what you pay for. Depending on which aspects of your online marketing are outsourced overseas, it's not uncommon to see low-quality link building strategies, spelling and grammatical errors in content, and even plagiarized content. These overseas partners have little to no knowledge of your brand's product or service and are not focused on building a relationship with your business.
I firmly believe in always doing right by the client, which is why my agency will never outsource work overseas. Doing so would be an injustice to our clients. Sadly, a number of marketing agencies do choose to outsource overseas as the cost savings are attractive. Plus, many marketing agencies are hounded regularly by agencies overseas looking for work that they ultimately give in. Personally, I'm contacted almost daily from overseas agencies that want us to outsource work to them. However, I give you my word that we will never outsource overseas as it would compromise the quality of our work.
There is much to be said for agencies that have their personal touch on the work they sell. Unfortunately, though, the temptation to outsource work overseas has made some marketing agencies forget the value of doing business the old-fashioned way.
As I mentioned before, you wouldn't want to trust your business with just anyone. This is why it's so important to carefully vet any marketing agency before choosing to partner with them. One of the most important questions to ask a prospective agency is if they outsource work. If the agency outsources locally, make sure you understand how the agency would handle your project in conjunction with the outsourced partner. However, if you learn that the agency outsources work overseas, I encourage you to walk away from any partnership with that agency. Trust me, it will be one of the smartest business decisions you'll ever make.
Yes, some marketing agencies outsource work too. According to a recent study, more than half of boutique agencies outsource a portion of the work that they do. In some scenarios, it makes sense for an agency to select a strategic partner that's local, capable, and responsible to occasionally refer work to. When work is outsourced locally, the marketing agency is still able to have a hand on the client's project and uses the outsourced work to compliment the overall strategy.
On the other hand, there are some agencies that choose to outsource work overseas. This is NOT okay. There are a number of challenges associated with outsourcing work overseas. However, my biggest objection to "agencies" that choose to outsource overseas is that they aren't actually doing anything but selling. What I mean is that these agencies become disconnected from the work that they're doing for the client. As a result, projects that are outsourced overseas are poorly planned, badly executed, and not aligned with the needs of the client.
Businesses overseas thrive on the work that they receive from agencies here and do it for pennies on the dollar. While many businesses are budget conscious, it's important to remember that you get what you pay for. Depending on which aspects of your online marketing are outsourced overseas, it's not uncommon to see low-quality link building strategies, spelling and grammatical errors in content, and even plagiarized content. These overseas partners have little to no knowledge of your brand's product or service and are not focused on building a relationship with your business.
I firmly believe in always doing right by the client, which is why my agency will never outsource work overseas. Doing so would be an injustice to our clients. Sadly, a number of marketing agencies do choose to outsource overseas as the cost savings are attractive. Plus, many marketing agencies are hounded regularly by agencies overseas looking for work that they ultimately give in. Personally, I'm contacted almost daily from overseas agencies that want us to outsource work to them. However, I give you my word that we will never outsource overseas as it would compromise the quality of our work.
There is much to be said for agencies that have their personal touch on the work they sell. Unfortunately, though, the temptation to outsource work overseas has made some marketing agencies forget the value of doing business the old-fashioned way.
As I mentioned before, you wouldn't want to trust your business with just anyone. This is why it's so important to carefully vet any marketing agency before choosing to partner with them. One of the most important questions to ask a prospective agency is if they outsource work. If the agency outsources locally, make sure you understand how the agency would handle your project in conjunction with the outsourced partner. However, if you learn that the agency outsources work overseas, I encourage you to walk away from any partnership with that agency. Trust me, it will be one of the smartest business decisions you'll ever make.