This has been quite a financial week, has it not? The seismic after-shock of a Wall Street sell off may soon be felt in the confidence businesses have in investing in future projects. Whenever there is instability in the markets, large businesses begin to hold their cards, waiting to see what happens next. That is bad news if you are involved in marketing for your business. Marketing is always working ahead of the curve – at least six months ahead of the calendar. Without forward thinking leaders, marketing vision becomes a bit cloudy. This is where outsourcing your marketing may become a very real solution to an unstable future.

In a down economy, you cannot afford to miss a marketing opportunity. Every sale is that much more important to keeping the doors open. However, when times get tight, businesses look to consolidate job responsibilities. This means that one person may be doing the job of two. If that person happens to be in charge of some aspect of marketing, it is likely that it will not get done as efficiently as it once was. Outsourcing makes sense in this situation. A marketing consultant can focus on the parts of your marketing plan that need to be accomplished quickly to make sure that opportunity does not slip away. A consultant shows up when you need them and goes away when you don’t. This is an efficient way to keep marketing at the forefront of what you are doing in the midst of adjusting the job responsibilities of your workforce. It is a lean way of marketing.

Beyond the lean business side of things, adding an outside marketing consultant can also help you to see beyond the four walls of your corporate culture. I like to call it crossing the street. Every business has its odd rules and social mores that can get in the way of creative thought. Think about the nit-picky rules that govern the way people dress at work. (Casual Friday, but not on Monday unless Monday is a holiday that everyone is required to work. Then you can have casual Monday, unless Tuesday is also a holiday. In this case you cannot have casual Monday or casual Tuesday because three straight days of casual attire would cause professional dress to become a minority in the proper dress code weekly routine, and it would become a casualty of casual dress domination, which would trigger the Apocalypse!) Rules are great, but corporate rules meant to maintain some semblance of order can also stifle an understanding of what happens with your customers who reside across the street from your company. An outside consultant can help you cut through the ideas that help back creative thought when it comes to marketing your business, especially when times are changing. It takes a while for change to soak into the corporate culture. An outside marketing consultant can help you see what is happening among the people who make up your target market. They offer a different vantage point and that is always good in marketing.

If we are taking another turn towards a down economy, take a look at outsourcing at least a portion of your marketing to a consulting agency. They can help you stay focused through the hard times. They will work efficiently and make sure that your marketing does not fall by the wayside when every sale is crucial. They can get you past the culture of your company that has obscured your sight lines to your customer. Outsourcing your marketing may make more sense now than it ever has.