If you lead a small or medium sized organization (think: well-funded start-ups, law firms with fewer than 500 lawyers, nonprofits that are working with $5 million in annual program budgets), you should probably be outsourcing your marketing and communications to a small agency, with an internal director or manager to set priorities and strategy.
An in-house director of marketing or marketing manager can extend their dollars much further and achieve better results with a team that is nimble and responsive to changing needs. Here's why:
💰 1. A modest monthly retainer can be more cost-efficient than the number of salaried positions required to meet all of your needs.
💡 2. An agency can provide a flexible team with all of the skills needed, at a variety of experience levels, with fresh ideas and current technical competencies.
⏳ 3. The agency can implement workflows that optimize productivity and output.
📌 4. The planning required to manage an agency reinforces discipline in spending, and, even facilitates better decision-making on the operations and program side. Contracted resources are also less likely to be "borrowed" by other departments.
🛠 5. Periodic increases in demand can be more easily accommodated without disruption.
A good agency will also implement and document best practices so that as your organization grows (if that is part of the roadmap), you can onboard full time staff in a logical, seamless manner. The account lead can also pinch-hit when the in-house manager is out on PTO or leaves the organization.
At Three Furies we even participate in conversations about which roles to prioritize, when to bring them on, and then help with interviews and training. Over the years, our relationship evolves as the needs of the organization change.
Three Furies is a certified woman-owned business, brand, and content strategy agency with deep experience in the legal marketing sector, including digital marketing analysis, brand and digital design, communications strategy, and advertising campaigns. We also produce bespoke wine tasting experiences for client development and employee resource groups through our sister company Tipsy.