Entrepreneurs often try to look after every part of the business, from project management, to customer service, accounting, design and marketing. Although it’s good to keep your finger on the pulse, some activities are best outsourced so that you can maximise your productivity and focus on what truly matters.
Marketing is one of the most important aspects for any organisation, and particularly significant for entrepreneurs or startups who want to grow their company faster.
Successful marketing initiatives and campaigns rely on great strategy and planning. However, it doesn’t often require a huge team throughout the entire process, but rather just the implementation towards the end.
Entrepreneurs should consider online outsourcing to support and amplify marketing efforts. The rise of sharing economy platforms like Airtasker has made the process of outsourcing simple and fuss-free. You can hire an army of ‘marketing assistants’ to help you achieve maximum exposure and get things done, in a low-cost and efficient way.
Here are five marketing tasks entrepreneurs should outsource:
1. Marketing promotions
With online marketing becoming more competitive, more businesses are turning to fail-proof ways of getting their message into the hands of their target customers. One of the most effective marketing tactics is having ‘small armies’ on the ground, handing out flyers or samples in high traffic areas such as train stations, festivals, conferences or events.
Outsourcing the task to individuals online means you can target your customers directly by planning the distribution in targeted areas only. You can also better manage your budget because outsourcing allows you to allocate the exact amount you’re willing to spend, rather than paying a set fee to a third party supplier.
2. Data collection
Smart businesses and entrepreneurs collect data and interpret them meaningfully, to devise marketing tactics and campaigns that will deliver results.
Whether it’s monitoring your competitor’s stores and activities or collecting survey responses at a shopping centre, outsource these tedious and time-consuming data collection tasks to focus on the strategy side of things instead. Similarly, if you have a significant amount of data available but no time to sort through it, hire someone to tackle the job for you.
3. Customer research & user testing
For entrepreneurs and startup companies who are building a new website or creating a new mobile app, the most effective way to gather user feedback is to invite a sample from your target market to try your product right in front of you. You can observe actual reactions, note down their on-screen behaviour and get live feedback.
If you’re looking for opinions on a new idea or marketing concept, it’s also worthwhile hosting focus groups and interviews so that you can collect qualitative data. Simply post these tasks online and you’re bound to get a bunch of people who will sign up. The great thing about outsourcing is, you can screen people for suitability and you’ll only ever pay for the people that you actually need.
4. Event assistance
Marketing campaigns often involve consumer or media events, where you may need all hands on deck to cover set up, logistics management and pack down. As with most events, there’s almost always a massive rush just before the guests arrive.
Instead of getting everyone in the office to help with miscellaneous tasks or errands, outsource it to a group of ‘event assistants’ instead.
You can find suitable people with hospitality experience without paying a hefty price, and allow the rest of your team to do what they’re good at. The benefits of outsourcing far outweigh the costs when you consider the time and stress you save from delegating.
5. Creative design and content development
Whilst we’d all like to have an in-house design team or a full-time graphic designer, sometimes it’s not feasible for entrepreneurs who are just starting out. Whether it’s a one-time banner, poster, website template or infographic you’re looking to create, it’s wise to outsource it to a professional designer, so that you can get the high level of quality you need in the final result.
After all, there’s only so much your intern can do from Googling ‘Photoshop 101’. Similarly, if you have a lot of content work that needs to be developed for your website, blog or social media channels, consider outsourcing some of the tasks. Writing content is time-consuming and your time can be better spent editing instead of developing a piece from scratch.
This post was written by Katie Hume. Katie is the Marketing Communications Manager at Airtasker – a trusted community marketplace for people and businesses to outsource tasks, find local services or hire flexible staff in minutes – online or via mobile.
1 comment
Informative Post, online outsourcing of these marketing tasks will support and amplify marketing efforts.
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