Is DIY Marketing the Answer?

In house marketing can be a great way to save costs; you could assign a staff member to undertake marketing activities or hire a Marketing Manager either temporarily or for the long term. An important consideration is who will do it and whether they have the time, skills and expertise to maintain your marketing at a professional level. Another consideration on internal marketing is combating the strong influence of your organisation's existing culture to make sure your marketing resource is always open to new ideas and change.

Alternatively, outsourcing your marketingcan help you tap into a new well of fresh ideas and expert advice. Marketing professionals are experts at what they do, and are there to help you get your business name out there. The downside of outsourcing your marketing is the higher costs involved, the difficulties of communicating with an intermediary that may arise, and the fact that the marketing company may function differently to your business.

You can probably see that the decision is dependant on the internal structure of your business, the available resources (including budget), and the time you are willing to spend on your marketing. The best starting point is to ask yourself this: what do I want to achieve from marketing? What resources do I have available?

You might be able to do some of your marketing work in house and then use your available budget to bring an expert in at key points in your strategy.