Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | October 2, 2017 | wbjournal.com D eciding whether to hire in- house marketers or to out- source to an agency isn't always easy. Every situation is different, and there are variables. To keep things simple, I suggest starting by exploring three critical questions. 1. Responsibilities: What do I want the marketer to do in their role? 2. Management: What kind of sup- port can I provide (mentoring, over- sight, accountability, training, course corrections, time)? 3. Budget: What is my budget on an annual basis? Responsibilities Marketing requires specialized skills to get results. If you want someone to create a substantial impact in a narrow scope of a few closely-related areas, then hire because that person will have a specialized expertise and will thrive in the narrow job specifications. If you want someone to do a variety of things, then outsource because you'll want someone (or a team) to thrive in every area. Frankly, it's diffi- cult to find one person with expertise in dozens of areas. With outsourcing, you can hire people with diversity in their collective expertise. Management Marketing requires management 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . . . .Backup solutions and disaster recovery By Michael Kierman Kierman is the marketing and sales coordinator at Worcester IT services firm AVATAR Computing. Reach him at mkierman@ avatar-computing.com. K N O W H O W Marketing: In-house or outsource? T here are many reasons not to limit a company recruiting effort to local potential employees: Out-of-staters can bring a broader per- spective and add diversity to your team. The internet has made it easier than ever to solicit applicants from other regions. Here are three things recruiters should be doing, to ensure the hire is a good fit for everyone. Know that for them, it isn't all about a paycheck. Out-of-state candidates may be looking for a change of scene for many different reasons. "The best way to ensure an out-of-state candidate will do well with your company is to ensure they are satisfied with both their work life and their new living sit- uation," says an article by Jonathan Deesing at Recruiter.com. This is done by ensuring the candidate and his or her spouse are aware of the cost of liv- ing in the area and its amenities, such as good school systems. Use your company's climate as a marketing tool. This is easier in warm- weather states, says Brian Metcalf, the CEO of GreenRoom of Miami, Fla., in an article by Heather Huhman at Entrepreneur.com. "During the cold- weather recruitment period, we make sure our social media channels show- case all of the wonderful outdoor activ- ities and gorgeous weather we enjoy," he says. But this could also mean play- ing up winter recreation in more cold climates, or whatever unique offerings your company's area enjoys. While recruiting those from afar, don't miss local opportunity. ZipRecruiter.com's Matt Krumrie inter- viewed Clinton Brown, permanent replacement lead for Experis, who warned companies need to be aware great candidates can still be right under their noses. "You can risk losing more candidates to opportunities in closer proximity," says Brown. "Many [com- peting] employers realize the market is tight, so they make decisions about good candidates sooner." BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: O u t - o f - a r e a r e c r u i t i n g 10) The most common disasters include viruses leading to untimely and costly downtime. The same is true whenever a security breach occurs, and client information becomes the target. 9) Employee training and workplace policy are appropriate preventative measures to implement. Best practice includes preemptively gathering supplies and resources to utilize upon the bad news. 8) Schedule maintenance regularly to keep your servers and computers running as good as new. The unwanted files, and sometimes junk, can slow you down and make you more susceptible. 7) Implementation of an antivirus to prevent malicious software should be a high priority. It is worth the fixed costs to know something is working to protect you 24/7. 6) A thorough business continuity plan will have been well worth the planning if disaster ever strikes. It is basically a plan to reduce and avoid risk during a disaster, focusing on remaining in good financial standing. 5) Being proactive, instead of reactive, leads to finding problems before they happen. Monitor the end users of your product or service and make sure they are not sending sensitive, dangerous or critical information. 4) Know your statistics. More than 90 percent of small business fail within two years of being struck by disaster. 3) Backup and encrypt everything. The more sensitive and valuable the data, the more critical this becomes. 2) Budget for your backup plan. Do your homework and find the best pricing to help your company scale. 1) Test your backup disaster recovery plan. Then test it again. Most studies show it is best to test at least twice a year, but once a quarter may be more appropriate. BY LAURA DiBENEDETTO Special to the Worcester Business Journal W W from a seasoned professional to get results. Do you have one, or are you one yourself? A hire will need best-practices training, oversight, leadership, correc- tion and direction. If you can provide the kind of support a top-performer will require, then hire. Freelancers often can provide a mid- dle-ground solution. However, manage- ment is still essential. Your plan will still require management to keep all parties functioning cohesively and on-track against goals. The same best-practices, oversight, leadership, correction and direction needs still exist (though to a Laura DiBenedetto is the CEO of Vision Advertising, an inbound marketing agency in Worcester focusing on professional services and hospitality, since 1999. slightly lesser degree). If you can provide the kind of support a semi-autonomous top-performer (or group of them) will require, then hire freelancers. If you can only provide minimal sup- port or just want to sit back and watch it work, then outsource to an agency instead and save yourself the headache. You don't want to short-change your program because you don't have the abil- ity to manage it. That's best left in the hands of a professional. Budget Finally, the best marketing isn't cheap; however, cheap is subjective. If you want to commit a full compensation package (full-time salary, insurance, payroll tax, other benefits) to attract an expert (or several) in their field working only for you, plus advertising budgets for the entire program, then hire. Experts will command a total package value in the $60,000 starting range. If you prefer something more conser- vative, you need multiple experts and that's beyond your budget, or you simply prefer flexibility, then outsource to an agency. There is no right answer Ultimately, there are benefits to both, and I advocate for both, under the cor- rect circumstances. The right answer is the one fitting your needs best. You may not get 100-percent clarity and all three questions leaning solidly one way. At the end of the day, if you're not sure, explore both and find an objective professional to discuss your needs with. W

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