Summer is almost over, but you’ve likely been diving into your holiday planning for months. If you’ve read our previous blog posts, you already know the importance of being set up with the right technology, ensuring you can leverage your data for automation and personalization, and the need to have an optimized reporting approach so you can track your campaign efforts. But with all this said, it seems no matter how far in advance we start planning, we still never feel fully prepared.
We know we sound like a broken record… consumer expectations are at an all-time high, but they only continue to increase as the digital transformation progresses. The average customer demands a consistently connected and personalized experience from the brands they engage with. And similar to previous years, predictions are that the holiday shopping season will begin earlier than ever. It’s likely many consumers have already started shopping (I know I have), and that many of their holiday purchases will come via a mobile device, so it’s critical to ensure you have a well-defined holiday strategy to reach your customers on their terms. Factor this in with the inevitable unknowns around what the upcoming holidays will actually bring, and the ever-changing behaviors of the customer (especially during this time of the year), and it leaves us with a pressing question:
Do you have the support and resources ready to carry out your best laid holiday marketing plans?
Maybe you’ve made your list and checked it twice, but are still feeling anxious about coverage. It’s already difficult to align resources in the fourth quarter when marketing efforts can double – or triple – so what happens when you need to adjust your strategy on the fly? How much effort is required to rework your whole campaign calendar? Do you have support for those last minute issues and requests that are bound to come up? (And you know they will!) To make it even more complicated, it isn’t the function of a single employee that’ll be needed to address these needs, but a combination of skill sets from a multifaceted team. Now is the time to make sure you’re ready, but you need to move quickly. So what are your options…do you hire or do you partner?
If partnering with a third party doesn’t seem like a feasible option, consider this: the average company spends nearly $4,000 to hire a new employee and it takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months to fill a single position (Glassdoor). Then you also need to allow for the time it’ll take to onboard once the position is filled. It could be another 2-3 months before a new hire is fully up to speed. And with as difficult as it’s been for companies to acquire new talent, it may be impossible to fill multiple roles in time for the holiday hustle. Don’t get us wrong, there are definitely advantages to hiring – but hiring should be for long-term needs vs. addressing a short-term gap. So if you’re feeling extra pressure about the upcoming holiday season due to resource constraints, it’s time to really consider a partner.
There are many benefits to partnering with an agency – especially when you’re on a limited timeline and/or have a short-term coverage gap. Not only will you save significant time and money upfront, you’ll instantly gain a team of expert resources equipped to adapt to your unique situation. Agencies are built to offer flexibility that an in-house team typically can’t, especially with regard to inconsistent workload, projects of varying sizes, and last-minute changes to plans and timelines. Agencies provide specialists in diverse roles with an abundance of industry knowledge, which can be crucial to your business. And they can also offer an outside, unbiased perspective when something isn’t working to help expedite and implement a new direction.
At ListEngage, we’re ready to jump in and help you with your holiday campaign needs. We move quickly to augment your current data, technology, and marketing teams. Whether you need temporary support to ensure a seamless holiday season or a team of ongoing resources to help you throughout the year, our managed services model can be tailored to your unique situation. We can assist with everything from campaign management and and execution, to strategy & reporting. Our team of marketing specialists are especially equipped to meet your specific needs:
- We adapt – we work closely with you to allow for adjustments to timelines and deliverables, and we can ramp up or down quickly.
- We are SMEs (subject matter experts) – we have a wealth of experience across verticals with all types of clients (big and small), and we bring extensive industry knowledge to the table, including successful strategies that have been previously implemented.
- We expect the unexpected – we identify areas of opportunity and monitor trends to prevent and solve for future issues by responding to change, and we continuously find ways to optimize your campaigns.
The decision whether to hire or partner isn’t an easy one, but we can help no matter where you need it – even if you only need us while you figure it out. Your success is our top priority and we’d love to talk about how we can partner with you to help you meet and exceed your marketing goals. Contact us today for a conversation and a free assessment!
Stay tuned to the ListEngage blog for more great information on preparing for the holiday season. If you’re interested in receiving updates for new content, please sign up below.
Oops! We could not locate your form.