Can flexible outsourcing provide the resources you need to deliver marketing impact?

The number of businesses outsourcing their marketing has risen dramatically over the past year, with 21% of B2B businesses using outsourced marketing in 2023 (this is up from just 8% in 2022). Another 35% of businesses are using a mix of in-house and outsourced marketing to keep the team dynamic and agile enough to meet the needs of the business [1].

Some of the key drivers behind the increased growth of outsourced marketing include the need to launch a new product or service, to access additional expertise, or to meet project-specific needs.

So how can outsourced marketing help meet the changing needs of your business?

Outsourcing can help CMOs address the resource challenge they face – with the majority of CMOs (61%) reporting that their teams lack the capabilities required to deliver their strategy [2]. Using a mix of in-house and outsourcing enables businesses to retain a core team with great marketing people but scale up and down as needed.

Outsourcing not only gives marketing greater flexibility but can also improve the effectiveness of the team to deliver real growth in terms of customer acquisition, retention and increased loyalty. It will reassure CMOs that 93% of companies who outsource their marketing find it effective [1].

Introducing adaptive hiring is a great way to tap into cost-effective resources, quickly gain specialist knowledge, and flexibly adapt to shifting needs. The ability to ramp up for specific adhoc projects or to quickly meet the shifting or specific needs of the business is key for a marketing team fit for the future.

Areas where outsourced marketing can benefit your business:

1. Accessing specialists and gaining the right skills quickly. Being able to quickly bring in the specialist you need – this may be a particular skillset you don’t currently have within the existing team, but could also be someone in a more senior role 
2. Flexibly tapping into the right people, when needed. To be able to bring in requirements as and when they are needed – this could be to work within limited budgets, overcome headcount freezes, or just to deliver adhoc projects flexibly
3. Acting as an interim solution if there are team changes. Recruiting full time replacements when people leave is an investment that takes time to get right. Outsourcing is a great solution to keep the lights on and keep things moving
4. Expanding the time and resource available by delegating out. Sometimes the team are just at capacity due to the multiple priorities being asked of them – you can give them room to work effectively by delegating out projects, or entire specialisms like strategy
5. Adapting to shifting needs by scaling up and down. You can retain core knowledge through the core team but stay lean and add further skills (and people) as required to meet shifting demands as they arise.

How can you decide if outsourcing is right for you?

If budget, knowledge, time, scale, or costs are an issue for your marketing team, then outsourcing may be the ideal solution.

There are four simple steps to consider when starting the process:

The first step is to start with the objective – what is it you are hoping to achieve that you can’t already? Are there particular blockers or challengers that you face that it is impossible to overcome with the current team and skillsets available?

Secondly, working out what capabilities you may need that you don’t already have – this can cover both skills and capacity levels in the team.

Thirdly, considering what timeframe you may need to bring in external specialist support. For example, you may need to outsource strategy in the long-term because you’ve invested in in-house creative teams but not strategists to work with them.

Finally, what budget do you have that can be used to build agility into your team. It’s critical to determine the KPIs upfront so that you can measure the effectiveness of the outsourced team – this can subsequently be used to support further investment.

There are a few models that exist which why they may suit your needs.

Working in partnership with the CFO and finance teams you can determine what type of outsourcing model may work best for the business. You will need to analyse and discuss the following outsourcing models – ideally conducting a light cost/benefit analysis and discussing any constraints that may exist:

1. Full time – a fully committed extension to your team
2. Part time – a longer term option with greater flexibility
3. Project based – ad hoc specialists to meet a specific need

All the above models can be delivered through either outsourcing or interim. Outsourcing will mean you are relying on an external partner that is accountable for success. Interim will give you a temporary solution to demonstrate that the role is required and/or temporarily support whilst you recruit for a full-time candidate.

If the above sounds interesting to you, and your business, let's chat.

Magnus Consulting is a B2B growth consultancy, we increase the effectiveness of marketing to deliver sustainable growth.

Read the Magnus case study for Acacium Group to see how we built a best-in-class marketing organisation by providing outsourced marketing, including acting as the interim marketing director and appointing new full time employees within the new team structure.

With M:Talent (the Magnus outsourced marketing solution) we can provide interim Marketing Director cover through to ongoing strategy team outsourcing and CMO advisory. We provide expertise precisely when it’s needed, whether that’s bridging a gap through a marketing transformation project or retainer-based partnerships.

[1] Sagefrog Marketing Group, B2B Marketing Mix Report 2023

[2] Gartner, The State of Marketing Budget and Strategy 2022