As organizations strive to digitally empower their processes, they are coming face-to-face with the vast spectrum of MarTech and how they can leverage it for their marketing. And while marketers know that the organizational structure of their teams needs an overhaul, they are simultaneously struggling to escape technological chaos and implement a new operational framework for tasks.
The big question remains, even for those who have already succeeded in adopting MarTech: “Should we award a contract to a MarTech partner, invest in new hires, or reallocate existing human resources internally to get the job done?” Today we’ll answer this question within the context of Inbound Marketing.
Inbound Growth—Is Additional Help Necessary or Not?
Most blog posts that stand out for their organic search rankings typically focus only on pros and cons or advantages and disadvantages. However, we believe that more important than making an informed decision is knowing in advance if and when it will be necessary to bring this issue to the table.
Fortunately, anticipating the need for extra guidance to achieve better results in terms of sustained Inbound growth is something that can be done relatively quickly by answering these 8 diagnostic questions we’ve prepared for you:
Now for the diagnosis: if you identified gaps in business scalability in more than one answer, it might be time to start considering some extra help—whether by strategically strengthening your internal team with a Marketing Operations Manager or by hiring an Inbound Marketing Agency.
Inbound Marketing Agency vs. Hiring Internally
If the need is real, now is the time to make the best possible decision regarding who will manage and implement the entire Inbound Marketing strategy. To simplify the process, we’ve created this table that highlights the key points of each option:
| Inbound Marketing Agency | In-House Hiring | |
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Overcoming the decision-making dilemma
The adoption of MarTech technologies tends to represent an ongoing trend that stays ahead of the innovation curve; however, contrary to all expectations, the Marketing Technology Survey Insights 2022 found that marketers today utilize only 42% of their MarTech platforms’ potential—compared to 58% in 2020.
We may not know the cause, but this stalling of progress in the use of MarTech seems to be a widespread issue that needs to be addressed. If you see yourself as part of these statistics and feel that the end users of your company’s MarTech tools are overwhelmed, ask an agency to step in, rethink your budget allocation, and negotiate the flexibility of a potential partnership. The truth is that you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised, since most Inbound Marketing agencies advise companies on what can be achieved with the available budget.
On the other hand, if you don’t face a budget challenge or if your company operates in an overly complex industry, perhaps the most viable option is to hire and establish an in-house Inbound Marketing team—in which the Head of Marketing Operations will be a central figure, but not the only one.
But not all situations involve the pressing need to choose one option over the other; it’s also possible to combine the best of both worlds. Achieving marketing goals can also involve combining both approaches— in-house and outsourcing —which is what the overwhelming majority of multinational companies already do, and the success is plain for all to see!
In any case, don’t lose sight of the goal of ensuring that your marketing automation software delivers value, unlocks data, and represents an active asset for business growth.