7 Signs You Need to Outsource Your Ad Operations

For many companies, relying on their internal teams to handle the myriad tasks involved with ad operations just isn’t enough. Staff are tied up in their own work, too busy to effectively tackle the highly complex work involved with running modern-day ad campaigns.

So what’s the solution? Outsourcing your ad operations to a third-party contractor is a popular answer, and it can be extremely beneficial. But how do you know when the time is right? In this article, we’ll take a look at some benefits of outsourcing ad operations and some signs that it’s time to outsource.

Why outsourcing ad operations is important

• It saves time. Outsourcing your ad operations to an external team takes a huge amount of work away from your internal teams, freeing up time for your own staff to focus on business-critical tasks that they are uniquely qualified to do.
• You’ll work with full-time professionals. Most smaller companies and start-ups don’t have extensive marketing departments, just one or two staff. Outsourcing your advertising operations will give you access to a large team of specialized professionals, able to draw on their own impressive skill set and wealth of experience. You would have to hire any extra staff, with all the associated costs, to access this internally.
• It saves money. Advertising is expensive and today’s ad operations require tons of specialized software, tools, and training. Outsourcing your ad operations allows you to tap into your partner’s resources and knowledge at a far lower cost than it would take to acquire for yourself.
• Better analytics, tracking and data. Advertising today requires a deep understanding of data, an ability to closely track key metrics, and a way to extract insights and apply them to your goals. This is a complex and demanding task. By outsourcing ad operations to a third party, you’ll be working with professionals who have the skills, experience, and tools necessary to use data as effectively as possible.

It can be hard to know exactly when you need to outsource your ad operations. Many basic tasks can be done in-house, but at some point, many businesses realize they will benefit from outside support. Here are some signs that it’s time to outsource:

1. ROI is low compared to similar competitors

Are you making less money than similar companies that receive a similar amount of traffic? If so, it may be time to consider outsourcing. Good ad operations can be the differentiating factor between a successful company and one that’s simply getting by. Outsourcing your ad operations to a skilled partner could be the key to moving past your competitors and sparking impressive growth.

2. You have a small team (and can’t afford to hire more)

Small teams usually only have a handful of marketing staff, and sometimes just one or two. Hiring any more than this is often impossible due to budget constraints — the average cost of hiring an employee is $4,700 (as of April 2022), and that’s before you even start paying their salary and other costs.Outsourcing your ad operations allows you to draw on the skills and experience of a whole new team, without having to hire them, pay their salaries, or manage them in any way at all — you simply pay the fee for the service.

3. You want to free up time to focus on internal work

Advertising is tough, time-consuming work. If you’re forced to do it all internally, it can keep you away from your own business-critical tasks and eat into your schedule. According to HubSpot, the average marketer spends 16 hours a week on routine tasks. That’s 16 hours that could be spent on other work that you’re uniquely qualified to do.

By outsourcing your ad operations, you’ll free up a huge chunk of time to devote to other areas of the business.

4. You lack a proper advertising strategy or plan

Every company needs a strategy when it comes to advertising. Deciding what your goals are, choosing the right metrics to track, picking the right channels for advertising, managing your budget, and much more — all these are crucial elements of a clear and informed plan.

Creating this strategy can be hard work. An experienced ad operations partner can help you create a plan that works for you and ensures you reach your business goals as effectively as possible.


5.  Tracking and monitoring your ads is challenging

The only way to know for sure if your advertising is working is to measure it. You need to pick the right metrics to track and monitor them closely, then use the insights you gain to inform your next moves. This can be a tricky and highly technical job and the proper tools.

Relying on inexperienced team members to monitor and analyze your ad performance can result in inaccurate results and poor decision-making. If you outsource this task to a third party, on the other hand, you’ll not only free up time but also get more reliable insights and drive your advertising forward with more direction and purpose.


6.  Untrained staff are doing key ad-related work


Many companies, short on staff, have untrained staff members doing important advertising tasks. While this can work for a while, especially for basic jobs, it’s not a good long-term strategy. It’s far better to work with seasoned experts who can draw on their knowledge and experience to deliver truly impressive results. Working with a trusted partner is a highly effective way to tap into the talent of top advertising veterans.

7. You’re facing technical challenges


Advertising today is a highly technical job, much more so than it was in the pre-digital era. It requires an understanding of many key concepts and technologies like CRM, CMS, and UX. You’ll need to be able to build and manage a website focused on marketing, handle automation, and of course work closely with analytics.

These tasks are not easy to learn and very difficult to master. Training your own team members to do them will take a long time and lots of resources, and hiring new experts will be extremely costly. The best option for many businesses is to outsource these tasks to a team of professionals with a wealth of technical knowledge and skill.

Advertising today is a tough and demanding process. Many companies bravely attempt it with their own internal team of just a few marketers and very commonly run into multiple challenges and setbacks.

Outsourcing your ad operations to a team of experts is the best way to benefit from top marketing talent and experience without paying huge costs and sacrificing enormous amounts of time.

To find out more about how MediaMint can help you manage your ad operations, overcome common challenges, and grow your business confidently, get in touch.