Consultants have been around forever. The option to outsource your marketing has been available for just as long. However, the percentage of marketing created by outside professionals has leapt in recent years. Adoption of content marketing strategies and steadily rising social media usage requires more time spent by marketers, and the overwhelming response by businesses is clear: outsource it.

Why, you ask? Great question—let me break it down for you:

1. You don’t know if your internal marketing works.

Without an experienced, well-oiled team, marketing can seem like a black box for small businesses; money and effort go in and you hope (fingers crossed!) that sales come out. You’re probably not sure what happens in between. It’s hard to track the return on your efforts when most businesses don’t have the tools to do so. (Speaking of which, check out my friends at Docalytics if you’re looking for a new way to track the stickiness of your content.)

A marketing consultant has the experience to understand what works and what doesn’t for your business. In addition to the high-quality product you’ll receive from a consultant, it's likely that you will also learn a thing or two. That knowledge will stay with your business long after the marketer leaves.

2. You can get an experienced marketing professional with entry level money.

Do marketing consultants often cost more per hour than hiring an entry-level marketing straight out of college for, say, $45,000 per year? Yes. Absolutely, they do. But, consider this:

You only pay a consultant for the hours they actually worked. Studies show that full-time employees spend 60% or less of their workday productively. Ouch. In the typical 40-hour week, that adds up to 16 wasted hours each week.

So the $22 per hour that you’re paying the entry-level employee actually costs you $36 per hour of productivity. That money could easily be used to hire a more experienced, part-time marketer. And since you probably won't pay your freelance marketer for 24 hours of work year-round, that $45,000 will get you much further.

An experienced marketing consultant may cost more per hour, but will get more done, in fewer hours. And, another bonus: you don’t have to pay for employee benefits, which get more and more expensive every year.

3. Outside perspective is really important.

There’s a reason that failing businesses bring in outside consultants to question every decision, form a new plan and save the day. Outside perspective is an integral piece of nearly every successful strategy. Whether that perspective is from a mentor, a consultant or your business-savvy dad, getting help from outside the four walls of your business is proven to work.

Let’s examine a common scenario: your business is run by a handful of executives—you might have a CEO, a salesperson, your product guy and perhaps a single marketer. Everyone has a different idea about how your product marketing strategy should be carried out. Your CEO wants to market at trade shows and other events, your salesperson wants a larger sales team and just a little bit of content, your product guy thinks you should concentrate on SEO to sell on the web and your marketer wants to do a full-out content campaign including ebooks, blogs, emails and more. 

So what do you do? Here’s where an outside perspective comes in handy. A marketing consultant will come in and evaluate all of the desired strategies—then come up with a plan. It will be easier for every party to buy in when the plan is presented by a consultant (and let's not forget: the outside perspective knows nothing of your personal biases or sacred cows).

The benefits are clear; outsourced marketing is a trend that’s here to stay. If the above scenario rings true in your business and you’re looking for an outside perspective, contact MIlwaukee marketing agency, Accelity Marketing, today.