Let’s get it. Email marketing is essential for businesses to sustain and succeed. In a world where every brand is more or less ‘forced’ to take the digital path, email marketing has been the preferred mode of communication for businesses. Why? Well, let the numbers do the talking:
- As per a 2020 Statista report, in 2019, there were 3.9 billion global email users who are estimated to grow to 4.3 billion in 2023.
- Emails offer colossal returns on investment (ROI) to businesses. To put into context, every dollar you spend on email marketing yields $42 in return, as per a report by DMA in 2019.
- Not only that, a 2018 Emarsys report suggests that email marketing is the way to go for 81% of SMBs as their primary customer acquisition channel and 80% for customer retention.
Now those are some very lucrative statistics. But the question boils down to the fact that how should you leverage this marketing wonder to the T? Should you have an in-house resource or look for outsourcing? Well, that’s why I am here today. I will lay down the highs and lows of both the options for you to decide. So, let’s get started.
Outsourcing
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The skill to kill
Well, you need it more than ever. In today’s context, digital marketing and especially email marketing stands as the thin line between a venture succumbing and succeeding. When the stakes are this high, you want to be in the safest hands possible, and no matter how good you think you or your resource is, they cannot replace an army of subject matter experts, which an agency brings along.
Usually, businesses hire one or two email marketing experts, but an agency has a trump card in every field you could ask for. Email marketing is a complicated landscape, right from content to calls-to-action; a lot goes into making that perfect email marketing strategy. Hence, the collective outsourced experience largely outweighs what in-house talent can offer in most cases.
Efficient and effective
If one thing the pandemic taught us, it was how to be efficient and make the most out of whatever we had. Efficiency and effectiveness go well with an outsourced email marketing agency. Why? Having an agency on board will eliminate your expenses for recruitment, training, infrastructure, perks, and beyond.
As much as it is about money, it is also about time. When you outsource to an email marketing agency, you have a team ready to be deployed as soon as you want. It has been practicing it over and over again. It proves to be more effective in a shorter span when compared to an in-house resource.
Competency and domain knowledge
In most cases, the ventures are limited by the marketing team’s competency and knowledge. However, things change when you go for outsourcing. In order to be competitive, agencies are bound to put their best foot forward and bring results that will eventually help their clients.
In-house email marketing specialist
All right, so is it no glory, no story for in-house email marketing specialists, then? Well, not exactly. They have their bag of goodies too. Let’s have a look!
More agility
Well, no matter how hard one tries, this is something you cannot take away from an in-house email marketing specialist. Marketing is a dynamic landscape, and hence, there would be some firefighting for sure. When you outsource to someone, an agency for that matter, they become a part of your entity, but not your ecosystem. Your in-house email marketing specialist thrives in your organization and can adapt and act as per the situations.
First-hand experience
Another thing that plays in favor of an in-house email marketing specialist is their on-ground deployment. An in-house professional can be a part of brainstorming, storyboarding, and everything which stakeholders can ask for. The in-house resource will always have first-hand experience of the vision, objective, and more importantly, sentiments around a specific campaign.
This ‘ground-zero’ experience translates into a better understanding of the brand, its campaigns, and the minds behind it, yielding a more personalized working experience and campaign messaging at the end of the day. As a business owner, it is imperative for you to bring your people on the same page first, and when you obtain clarity, put out the word at large.
Cost benefits
Before you scream “WHATTTT,” please hear me out. I know I made a point about the efficiency of an outsourced resource. However, an in-house resource is more likely to stretch their limits (read working hours) when needed. An agency might deny it because they are working with numerous clients just like you. So, when it comes to getting the most for your money, I’d prefer my own team.
Wrapping Up
As dynamic as email marketing is, it demands your approach to be dynamic as well. Email marketing is far from the ‘one size fits all’ approach. Just because something worked for your friend’s or peer’s venture doesn’t mean it will work for you as well.
Hence, to have an effective email marketing strategy in place, you need to have the right resources for your business, be it outsourced or in-house. They won’t guarantee you success, but they will make sure you come very close to it. So what are you waiting for? Make your choice today and nail the email marketing game.
Author Bio: Kevin George is the Head of Marketing at Email Uplers, one of the largest Email Templates production company which specializes in converting PSD to email templates. He loves gadgets, bikes, jazz, and breathes ‘email marketing’. He is a brand magician who loves to engage and share insights with fellow marketers.