Being one of the less risky growth hacking techniques, outsourcing is quite a trend right now. Among its many professional benefits, outsourcing also inspires international collaboration and it helps developing countries by boosting their economies.
Many companies are still doubtful about this new method and I understand why – placing the future of your company in the hands of an unfamiliar business sounds like a risky move to take. However, if done properly, both parties included will have a chance to prosper together.
It’s recommended for any business to outsource three types of work:
- highly repetitive tasks,
- highly paid job positions,
- and tasks out of your area of expertise.
And, considering the fact that email marketing is back in the big game, if you outsource this task, and if it’s done properly, statistics show that you can earn over forty dollars for each dollar you invest in this kind of advertising.
Define Your Goals
Before you actually begin your quest for a perfect outsourcing candidate, you should primarily resolve this matter internally. So, call a meeting and do some brainstorming in order to create a list of goals you need to cover with your new email campaign. Whether it’s a collection of brand new products you want released, or you’d like to promote your seasonal sale, this meeting, or several of them, should serve the purpose of creating transparent points.
Create a Realistic Budget
This is another topic you should discus and you need to be realistic about it. For a high quality email marketing campaign, you’ll need a team that consist out of a copywriter, a graphic designer, an HTML developer, and a data analyst.
Naturally, all these people need to be skilled professionals who are capable of meeting your terms – obviously, this will require a nice budget. However, businesses in this niche have different types of service packages, so I’m sure you’ll be able to work something out.
Outsourcing Requires the Right Timing
Speaking of the budget – because gathering the right numbers may take a while, you should time the whole operation properly. First of all, make sure that your goals justify outsourcing and that you do have a nice offer that should be advertised.
Also, if your business is in some kind of a transition, and you’re working on its internal structure, a good idea is to wait for everything to be completed before you get in touch with an external business.
Think about Credentials
This depends on the business, but you should have in mind that some businesses would like their signature on this project. This topic will most definitely come up during your negotiations, so you should prepare your offer so you don’t get surprised when credentials are mentioned.
You need to understand that it’s advertising you’re dealing with; a potential partner that insists on leaving their mark on this campaign of yours is smart and experienced – they will use your email to spread the word about themselves as well. However, the fact that they want their name written also means that they are prepared to do a good job, because they will simply lower their success rates otherwise.
Risk Assessment
Before you sign anything and make a final version of your agreement that’s legally binding, you should ask yourself one last question – what have you got to lose? You should focus on risk assessment (if this isn’t something in your area of expertise, you can outsource this too) and see if it’s worth your while and your money.
There’s one more thing I’d like to mention here – although you should have a concrete list of objectives in front of you before you start your negotiations, you should also leave room for compromises. Considering the fact that email marketing isn’t familiar to your business, you should leave an open mind for fresh ideas your potential partners will most certainly suggest. So – this is another risk to consider.
If it sounds complicated and way too uncertain, it’s because you have no previous experience with outsourcing. Have in mind that email advertising is a cheap way to attract new circles of customers with a high ROI; don’t rush into any kind of deal if you’re uncertain and consult professionals when in doubt, and you’ll be just fine.