Kapil Gupta (CO. founder, OMLogic) the EMCEE for OMCAR 2009 now announces the much awaited session ‘Online Marketing : In-house or Outsource?’ by Gayatri Buddha (MakeMyTrip) and Pradeep Chopra (OMLogic) and I am LIVE Blogging the session. I can’t help noticing the enthusiasm generated at the announcement of the session.
Pradeep starts the session by thanking the audience for attending the event. He says that he will be touching upon which areas should be considered before anyone decides whether to inhouse or outsource the Online Marketing function.
He says that higher ranking does not necessarily mean more traffic. It is very important that to know who you need to reach out to. And more relevant traffic does not translate to more conversions.
He goes on to say that marketing and online marketing are still treated differently. He says that the ideal scenario is when online marketing should be a part of marketing. Online Marketing should be part of any company’s ongoing marketing strategy.
Pradeep is now citing an example of a Google ad of Whizlabs(a company that he founded), which helps prepare professionals for online certifications. He explains that any ad should provide the answers to some very fundamental questions which are discussed below, keeping the Google ad for Whizlabs as an example
The very relevant questions which are answered by the Google ad are
- What does the company offer? (Online certifications)
- What have they done so far? (since 2000, 1M+ users
- What is the credibility? (Factual details like 99% success rate)
- Will it be be valuable for me. (comprehensive report)
- Is there any call to action. Can I try it? (online mock test)
He cites this example to show that even if a page gets a lower ranking but it can get more conversions depending upon the relevancy of the ad.
Pradeep is also saying that the Online Marketing strategy actually depends on the business objective. It is very important to understand it as, if the clicks do not get converted then the whole exercise is futile. He adds that Social Media marketing can help in a brand being promoted. How much close you are to the customer can decide on conversions.
He now touches on how to decide whether to do Online Marketing in-house or outsource The reasons for doing it in house
1. Ownership and commitment – Of course nobody will be committed as one will be for your business. 2. Closest to the customer – Needless to say that only the company is the closest to its customers. 3. Organizational structural limitations. 4. Ultimate cost may be lower – It is possible that the cost is lower if done in-house. 5. Privacy of data and content.
The reasons for outsource Online Marketing
1. To learn from scratch – If anybody chooses to outsource Online Marketing then they will have to learn it. 2. The necessary tools – If the company has not indulged in Online Marketing in the past then it is unlikely that they will be having the necessary tools. There are high chances that the marketing agency will have the specialized tools. 3. Better Understanding – There is more probability that the marketing agency will have better understanding about the market. 4. Economical 5. The professional marketing agency (SEM service) will have good industry contacts and they are likely to get direct insights from Google. 6. Many times it is too complicated to track and measure in-house.
Pradeep says that which one to choose is a matter of choice as both are equally good.
Pradeep wraps up the session by saying the final words to consider for deciding whether to do Online Marketing In-house or to outsource it.
The company should analyze the commitment and passion to invest in
- people
- market
- technology
Thanks Pradeep for sharing the very useful and interesting insights.
Gayatri Buddha from Makemytrip starts the session by saying that though deciding whether to do Online Marketing In-house or Outsourcing it to an agency can be a tough decision, it can be made easy by keeping a few points under consideration.
She then proceeds to say that the fundamental question remains
What and when to outsource? The only thing that you cannot outsource is how much to spend, when to spend and where to spend.
Gayatri says that before deciding what functions to outsource, one should ask and answer a few questions like
- 1. Are you competent enough to understand the entire function.
- 2. Speed to market.
- 3. Hiring talent is never going to be easy.
- 4. Resources in-house.
- 5. Cost benefit analysis -
Before outsourcing, it is very important that you understand your business objectives so that you are able to decide the right marketing strategy.
If you want to market it fast then outsourcing is a good idea. She gives an example of her entrepreneur friend, since she is not in a desperate hurry to market, so she is learning the tricks and doing Online marketing herself.
Gayatri claims that hiring and retaining the right talent can get difficult at times. An agency will have the necessary talent and will have more functional knowledge.
She says that Online Marketing is a specialised area, SEO is no more putting up some the keywords, it is much more complicated than that.
The way to judge is if the benefit is short-term then it is better to outsource but in the long term it is better to do it in-house.
Gayatri is now suggesting a very interesting exercise. She says suppose you have outsourced the whole thing and now you want to bring it in-house, then you should go about it in the following order
1. SEO
2. Analytics
3. SEM
4. Creative design and development
5. SMM
6. Display advertising – not recommended to get this in-house at any time.
Gayatri is now suggesting some very important pointers which can make the decision making process simpler.
Analytics is complex area and availability of resource is scarce. If you are planning to do it yourself then it can be fun and easy at first but it is complex after a certain point of time. Suppose traffic is great, page views are high but conversions are not happening then you need to dig deep, then it becomes a real challenge.
She says that easiest and less complex ones are – SEO, SMM and PPC, one can do it at the base level as a lot of tools are available. But expert help can be needed at some points.
She also says that one should always outsource creative design and display advertisement. There are high chances that you will get it cheaper outside and if one has a strong guideline principle of ones’ design in place then it is always better to outsource it.
Gayatri is now exploring a very important issue. What is it that should one look out for while hiring an agency
- 1. It does not matter if the agency is big or small, what matters is if the agency is asking the right questions. If the agency is asking the right questions then there are high chances that they will provide the right answers.
2. Inability of the agency to translate your brief into action items – This can happen if the communication is not perfect. If there is a gap between your expectations and their understand, then these things are bound to happen.
3. Lack of clarity when setting measurable metrics – One should always demand measurable metrics from the agency.
4. Inaccuracy in cost and time estimations – One should be wary and on guard if the time and cost estimates provided by the agency are too way off mark.
She gives a very important suggestion of asking the agency for case studies. While one is asking for case studies then it is a good idea to ask for recent ones and also successful and unsuccessful ones.
She says it is also important that one discusses ROI with the agency as well as check their record of timely delivery.
After a great session, and sharing some real thoughts and insights into how can a business really decide upon either to create an In-house team or to Outsource the function, has now opened the session for Q and A, and as I sensed it, there already are hands up in the air, which Kapil Gupta is moderating. Thanks Gayatri, for such an amazing session!
