Contract marketing staffing offers a way to get more high-quality marketing when you need it—and a way to cut costs when you don’t.
Almost every business operates cyclically, with periods of high activity and profitability between relatively quiet periods of low activity.
However, most marketing employment strategies don’t match this pattern of high and low business. Instead, companies pay full-time marketers once or twice a month every month of the year regardless of whether those workers are producing profitable work at that time.
If you find yourself in a situation where you only need a lot of marketing talent for short periods of time, consider shifting to flexible workforce solutions—including contract marketing staffing, interim executives, and statement of work project management—to maintain the quality you need in a cost-efficient manner.
The Hills and Valleys of Marketing
Your marketing needs rise and fall ahead of your business cycles—often weeks or months before. Seasons, holidays, specific events and certain business models can all affect your profitability at any given time.
Many retailers, for instance, rely on a big holiday season and have their marketing laid out months in advance of that critical period. Some companies survive by serving just a handful of huge client contracts per year and spend the rest of their time marketing their services and looking for more work. Others are small enough that they can accumulate enough marketing assets in a few months to last them a whole year.
Whatever the reason, your business almost certainly has busy and slow periods, both predictable and not. And your marketing strategy accounts for and preemptively reflects that (or at least, it should). So why doesn’t your marketing employment strategy do the same?
Cut Costs without Sacrificing Quality
Smart companies find ways to keep their marketers busy during slow periods. They create content libraries, plan ahead, test, train and strategize. Even so, there’s often not enough value to be gained at these times to offset the costs of a good marketing team.
Instead, what if you had access to that marketing talent for the few months a year you really needed, then released it to work for someone else at other times? How much could you save in your marketing budget if some of your staff worked during the six most important marketing months of the year, then left for other projects during the off seasons?
I say “some” of your staff because you don’t have to commit entirely to contractors to make full use of them. A good strategy is often to maintain a strong core of strategically essential marketers experienced with the brand throughout the year. They can perform baseline marketing tasks and planning during slow times and direct your temporary assistance to execute projects and campaigns when needed. This way you get the best of both worlds:
- Consistent supervision of your most important marketing projects by an experienced team.
- Savings in your marketing budget during slow periods when you don’t need an entire marketing team or department working at full steam.
Marketing Staffing Isn’t a Dirty Word
Over the years, contract staffing has accumulated less-than-perfect reputation in popular media. Though marketing staffing is becoming a standard employment tool for many successful companies, some organizations are still reluctant to hire contract workers for a variety of reasons, most of them unwarranted.
They offer comparable quality to full-time marketers (or even better, since you’ll have extra budget to hire better talent). Through good marketing staffing agencies they have access to healthcare and other benefits.
Contractors offer unique advantages that are difficult to get anywhere else. They give you access to uncommon specialties that you normally wouldn’t hire a full-time person for. They provide an outsider’s perspective and fresh ideas. And while a full-time employee may stagnate over time, you can always ensure you’re getting the most innovative and talented contract marketers with any given business cycle.
There is undeniable value to an experienced and established marketing team that works for you (and only you) all the time. But as fast as marketing is changing now, there’s something to be said for a regular stream of knowledgeable and modern experts continuously on top of the latest strategies and technology and available as needed.
Getting the Right Marketing Contractors
Flexible workforce solutions are great employment tools when used with discretion. But haphazardly hiring freelancers and temps whenever you need some work done will earn you an ineffective marketing program and waste your money.
In order to make the most of this resource you must be strategic about when and whom you hire. You’ll often find the best results when hiring contractors for work that’s planned out weeks or months ahead of time.
Partnering with an experienced marketing staffing agency will ensure you’re getting reliable, talented marketers on schedule. If you choose to do so, make sure that you work with a staffing agency that specializes particularly on marketing—not a general staffing firm that lacks experience in the field.
Considering marketing staffing to better adapt to your business cycle? You’re in the right place. We can help you develop a more efficient hiring strategy and find the best marketing talent for your situation. Fill out a form now and we’ll get started!
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