Mike Parry — October 30, 2019 Why is it more expensive to do something in house?
Just recently our sales team have come across a number of potential small business accounts which have said; We manage email marketing ourselves… It’s become a part of my role and I fit it in when I can… We’re too small to outsource… We use the DIY email builder for our emails… We can’t afford to outsource.
The answer to all of these is simple: You can’t afford not to outsource and here’s why:
As a small business you need to leverage every penny of your resource to it’s maximum. If you’re an SME you probably don’t employ a marketing manager, a designer, a coder or a database administrator. This means someone on staff is muddling through, it might even be you.
Whoever it is has a value beyond just their salary.
The Marketing managers role (or your role)
Whilst they are conceiving an idea, writing a brief, writing copy, designing and then trying to build an email they are almost certainly not doing what you are paying them for. The same is true whist they are maintaining an email database and trying to segment your list for more targeted mailings.
And it doesn’t stop there. Once they have managed to do all these things are they then going to test that your email renders as it should in all the major browsers, on all the main smart phones and tablets and finally all the major versions of Apple Mail, Outlook and other office based email clients?
What if they find a rendering issue, which if you’re using a WYSIWYG editor to build and update templates you almost certainly will? How long will be spent trying to fix it before giving in and sending the email despite its issues? Below is an example of a simple 2 image and a few lines of copy email and a bunch of code spaghetti added by a WYSIWYG. Imagine then having to try and edit that!
All this code spaghetti added by a WYSIWYG Editor
How much is a poorly rendered email going to impact your ROI from the campaign? What perception will your recipients have of your brand if the email is difficult to read, is missing images or just plain broken? Below is an example of an email built with a WYSIWYG rendering in Outlook 2013 and Apple Mail, as you see the first one is a brand car crash!
How Hypnos email rendered is Outlook 2013 and Apple Mail
Are they likely to engage with that email or future emails you send them? What is the cost of losing an engaged user because their experience with your emails is poor.
If you add up the physical cost in terms of time, the opportunity cost of lost sales today and lost customers tomorrow and weigh that against the cost of outsourcing – which could be as little as £250 a month – the question becomes not can I afford to outsource but can I afford not to?
Associated benefits
There are other benefits too. Outsourcing your basic email broadcasting also allows you to outsource the clever stuff, such as triggered emails which have higher open and click through rates.
You are able to automate welcome programmes, birthday messages, anniversary of purchase, the cross sale, order confirmations and dispatch notices.
Getting these and other automations right give your business a more professional look and improves customer confidence because you’re sending the right messages at the right time.
The benefits outweigh any physical cost, with hard earned customers staying and paying for longer whilst helping grow your database and increase profits.
Digital & Social Articles on Business 2 Community
(26)
