In today’s competitive landscape, companies often allocate a significant portion of their budget to marketing and sales. According to industry research, businesses typically spend about 37% of their revenue on digital, marketing, and sales operations. Yet, despite this hefty investment, many businesses aren’t seeing the returns they expect. To maximize ROI and cut unnecessary spending, it’s crucial to evolve your marketing strategy with a clear focus on efficiency and alignment with revenue goals.
Why Spend Less to Achieve More?
It might seem counterintuitive, but cutting back on marketing and sales expenditures can sometimes drive more impactful results. As highlighted by Atomic Revenue's Tara Kinney, businesses can save up to 60% on marketing and sales operations by prioritizing planning and efficiency. One key reason for this approach is that many companies overspend without a clear plan, often due to last-minute decisions or lack of cost-effective practices. By adopting a strategic, budget-conscious mindset, businesses can reduce expenses while still achieving—or even improving—results.
Planning is crucial here. By implementing a budget and sticking to it, companies can lock in lower costs on essentials and ensure a streamlined, consistent approach. This approach reduces the need for urgent, high-cost purchases and leads to more productive execution across campaigns. For instance, booking travel in advance saves on last-minute fees, and planning digital campaigns allows time for optimization, ensuring that every dollar spent contributes effectively to reaching your goals.
Learn more from CEO Tara Kinney about why you should reduce your marketing and sales budget.
Understanding the Value of Outsourcing
Another key element in a modern marketing strategy is understanding when and how to outsource. For many companies, hiring an in-house team to manage all aspects of marketing is not cost-effective. The complexity of today’s marketing landscape—from SEO and social media to data analytics and content marketing—demands a range of expertise that can be difficult to find in a single team member or even a small in-house team. This is where outsourcing can offer considerable value.
Learn more about the complexities of developing a content marketing strategy for revenue operations.
By working with a specialized marketing agency, companies can access a team of experts, each with deep knowledge in a specific area. This specialization allows for high-quality outputs without the expenses associated with hiring and training a full in-house team. Agencies also offer the flexibility to scale services up or down as needed, ensuring that businesses only pay for the services they require.
Why do I need to hire a marketing agency?
Pros of Outsourcing Your Marketing Team
- Lower Labor Costs: Outsourcing often costs less than maintaining a full in-house team, especially when projects are handled on an as-needed basis.
- Access to Specialized Experts: A well-rounded agency will have a diverse team, allowing you to tap into expertise in areas such as SEO, graphic design, and social media without having to hire each role individually.
- Management Time Savings: By handing off marketing to a trusted partner, management can focus on core business areas rather than day-to-day marketing oversight.
- Risk-Sharing: Outsourced teams bring experience and risk management strategies, helping to mitigate potential pitfalls that an in-house team might overlook.
Cons of Outsourcing
- Less Control: Outsourcing means relinquishing some control over marketing processes. It’s important to set clear communication expectations and trust your partner agency to execute.
- Data Security Concerns: Sharing confidential business data with external vendors can raise privacy concerns. Selecting a reputable agency and establishing strong data-sharing policies are essential.
- Dependence on Vendor Timelines: External partners may not work on your timeline. To address this, be proactive in scheduling and build in time for agency processes.
- Potential for Misalignment: If an outsourced agency doesn’t align with your brand or goals, it can lead to subpar results. Vetting potential agencies thoroughly can help ensure cultural and strategic alignment.
Learn more about the pros and cons of hiring a marketing agency.
Knowing When and How to Hire an Agency
If your company decides to hire a marketing agency, it’s essential to begin by understanding your goals, budget, and in-house capabilities.
Before choosing an agency, answer these questions about your own company:
- What specific marketing goals are we trying to achieve?
- What is our realistic budget, and how does it compare to our expected revenue increase?
- What is our desired timeline for seeing results?
- What resources do we currently have, and where do we need support?
- What can we handle in-house versus what requires external expertise?
With clear answers, you’re in a better position to find an agency that aligns with your brand and objectives. Ask agencies for references and inquire about their experience working with businesses like yours. Knowing how they measure KPIs and communicate with clients will help set expectations from the beginning and foster a successful collaboration.
Focusing on Revenue Operations for Sustainable Growth
The primary aim of evolving your marketing strategy is to reduce costs while driving revenue growth. A vital way to achieve this is by refining your revenue operations to support customer acquisition and retention at every stage. A comprehensive revenue operations approach ensures that all departments—marketing, sales, and customer success—are working towards common goals. By streamlining these functions, companies can optimize their marketing spend, reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC), and maximize customer lifetime value (CLV).
At Atomic Revenue, the approach is to diagnose before resolving larger revenue challenges. This involves auditing your current spending and processes to identify areas where cost savings and productivity improvements are possible. By focusing on revenue operations, companies can build a scalable, sustainable growth engine that’s equipped to deliver results even when resources are tight.
Learn more about the difference between Atomic Revenue and a Marketing Agency.
Moving Forward with a Lean, Impactful Marketing Strategy
The evolving landscape of digital marketing calls for a balanced approach that emphasizes efficiency and ROI. Businesses that invest in thoughtful planning, outsourcing wisely, and aligning operations will find they can achieve significant growth without breaking the bank. In the words of Atomic Revenue’s leadership, making every dollar count isn’t just about budget cuts; it’s about maximizing the return on every dollar spent.
To get started on your journey towards a leaner, more effective marketing strategy, consider a free revenue assessment. An evaluation of your current operations could reveal opportunities for improvement and cost savings, giving you the insight needed to implement a strategy that drives sustainable growth.
How does it work in real life applications?
Take a look at these two case studies:
Enterprise Bank Case Study: Marketing Attribution Metrics, Data Strategy & Budget Alignment
How Atomic Revenue Helped Quantum Solutions Exceed $1.5M in Marketing-Sourced Revenue
Interested in learning more about revenue operations? Dive in here and get in touch, or schedule your free revenue assessment.
About the Author
Rianna M. Hill has been working with Atomic Revenue since 2017 and is passionate about marketing and strategy. As a lifelong entrepreneur, and Navy wife, she is well organized balancing work and family while also managing a small, family business. With over a decade of experience in marketing and a passion for empathetic problem-solving, she has helped launch five businesses, managed millions in ad spend, and holds advanced degrees in Communication, UX Design, and Business. Rianna has been contributing to Atomic Revenue in various capacities since 2017, leveraging her expertise to drive results. Outside of work, she enjoys crocheting, gardening, and exploring life’s adventures with her family in Georgia, all while cherishing her Wyoming roots.
