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Almost all businesses today are faced with the issue of whether they should outsource internet marketing to bigger firms (companies) or small firms (companies).

Regardless of whether you plan to outsource online marketing or get it done inhouse, most people would agree you need to get the right team or vendor to get the job done. When outsourcing, the quality of the vendor and their match of expertise to your requirements is what matters most regardless of the size of the vendor.

Let’s see some of the pros and cons of outsourcing your online marketing to bigger companies and smaller companies: NOTE: Please remember before raising any objections that this is very genralized and based on my experience and what other people have told me from their personal experience. There are bound to be many exceptions to what I have mentioned below.

Outsource internet marketing to bigger companies:

Pros: They have the resources to implement

large, complicated, difficult and expensive projects.

They have the best tools for the job. This would include hardware equipment, software tools, market research information, databases, training material, research tools, project management tools etc.

They can afford the best expertise in the industry.

They have the largest teams in the industry. This gives them versatility and lots of options.

Their size gives them stability even in difficult markets.

They have a long proven track record as a firm on several types of projects.

They have the advantage of accumulated learning from several other projects and mistakes that can be used in your project. There is a crossover of knowledge from elsewhere that would be beneficial to the client.

Cons: They tend to charge very hefty prices

for the services they offer. Some of them might not deliver as

promised since your expectations would be wrong from the beginning of the project. This is because of the exaggerated claims and false promises made by their mass marketing/advertising and aggressive sales force.

They don’t give attention to details in the project.

You are just one of their many accounts and therefore your project may not get the attention it needs since chances are, you are small when compared with their other accounts.

Even though they might have the best people (expertise and experience), they might not be the ones working on your project. It could be inexperienced new hires and you would never know.

Many people who have used large firms complain that they don’t get value for their money since they always end up paying too much for too little.

The bureaucracy within the large firms can get crippling for any project. It leads to needless delays and cost overruns.

There are also several cases of problems with communication that adversely affect the project. The bureaucracy can lead to delays in communication, lack of clarity and lack of ownership and personalizing of communications. 

Lack of personal approach when it comes to handling projects and clients. Since the large firms have too many clients and projects, they would have to take on a broad, standardized and mass approach to any project. (In the ideas, execution, project management, communications and reacting to changes in the market when implementing any strategy.)

Lack of continuation of the project when someone leaves the firm or your project or a particular position. The accountability is just not as you would want it to be.

Outsourcing internet marketing to smaller companies:

Pros: Since they are smaller, have fewer projects

and clients, they tend to be more focused on your project and give it the attention that it deserves.

They have a more personal approach to each of their projects and clients.

They have a tenancy to have more of a customized solution to their projects and clients instead of taking an assembly line approach for their projects.

They give attention to details. Their work is heavily scrutinized (more so than bigger firms since their ‘brand’ does not carry them) and they don’t have the comfort of  falling back on a long track record or a large client base.

They tend to work harder or try harder since their survival and future depends on the quality of their work, word of mouth and referrals from satisfied clients.

No bureaucracy in the firm. You can talk to the person who is actually do the work and not to any ‘manager’. Decision making is quick. Communications are direct and fast. No overhead costs that inflate the cost of the project.

They are usually quick and right to the point with communications which can save a lot of time and hassle.

The people working in smaller firms are more accountable on a personal level to their clients.

The costs of the project is lower since the expenses of the smaller firms are lower and they charge less.

Smaller firms or startups go the extra mile to make sure that they satisfy their clients.

Smaller vendors are more creative and innovative in the way they do things. They would have to be, if they want to compete (with less resources) with the larger firms in the same playing field.

Usually there are no delays in the projects. They are done on time since smaller firms tend to take on less number of projects and give their full attention to them. Added to that, there is no bureaucracy in the firm to slow things down.

Cons: You don’t know who you are dealing with.

There is very little you can find out about the firm or the people working there and you can never be sure how the working relationship is going to turn out.

Lack of experience is a huge problem with smaller firms. They have not dealt in as many projects as bigger firms. Even with the projects that they have dealt with as just not in the same size or complexity as the bigger firms.

Smaller firms might lack the expertise that is needed for implementing your projects. They may not be well staffed and have a shortage of talent which would lead to problems in the execution. Certain key skills might

They have a very small team for executing their projects.

Lack of professionalism is another issue that a few people have had to face when dealing with smaller firms. The lack of industry experience or lack of proper structure of management and processes might be the cause of this problem.

Smaller firms don’t deliver on what they promised. There is a tendency for smaller firms to overpromise results in their eagerness to bag projects and fall short when delivering results.

Smaller firms which are new don’t have much of a track record and therefore going with them might be riskier.

Smaller firms that have just a few people working might not be that stable and this would inturn hurt your chances of working with them long term.

Like I’ve said earlier, It is important to keep in mind that I have used gross generalization and I am sure that almost everyone has seen exceptions for almost everything that I have mentioned above.

So, if you are going to outsource your internet marketing, what should you do? Which route should you take?

REPORTS THAT YOU SHOULD DOWNLOAD

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