The times, they are a-changin'.

The economy is volatile, salaries are on the rise and people are becoming much more agile in their careers. It’s time to rethink your marketing and open your mind to a new solution…

… and there is a better way.

With rising inflation, huge salary demands and the increasing concerns of a recession sometime in 2023, business owners and management are naturally feeling the pinch – and it’s hard to say what the best course of action may be over the next 12 months.

But while you cannot predict the future, you can prepare for it. This means ensuring that your business is nimble and ready for whatever may come.

That’s why now – more than ever – is the best time to outsource your marketing function. It literally removes all of the frustrations of what you’re currently doing now!

Let’s explore this idea in more detail below.

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It’s never been more difficult to recruit for your business

Let’s face it – recruiting is a tough game.

It’s expensive. It’s time-consuming. And it doesn’t always get you the unicorn you’re after (not that they exist, anyway!).

Throw in the current economic troubles and the rising salaries putting a strain on your budget, and it’s enough to make you never want to recruit again!

In fact, Payscale and Seek stats show that the average annual salary for a Chief Marketing Officer in Sydney is $206,000 per year, a Digital Marketing Manager in Sydney ranges from $105,000 - $125,000 per year, and Marketing Coordinator salaries from $65,000 - $78,000 pa. This is also expected to increase year-on-year going forward as demand for these roles grows.

In fact, Mercer’s Australian Salary Outlook 2023 Survey found that even entry-level professionals in advertising and marketing were given a median pay rise of 15% in 2022, alone!

Even if you do find the perfect candidate, you can stretch your budget to accommodate their asking price, then spend weeks onboarding and training them to become a valuable member of your team, only for them to receive a better offer from another company 6 months down the track.

Then, it’s back to the same tedious process to replace them – costing your business even more time and money and leaving you feeling more vulnerable in an already volatile landscape.

“So often, what we see is that a business will need and crave the senior leadership of a CMO or Digital Marketing Manager, but does not need this role full time. What they also need is the support of some other more junior to mid-level marketers to do-the-doing. This is where an alternative model needs to come in” - Alexandra King, CMO and Head of Growth, Ask Marketing

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Okay, so if recruiting is out, what’s the alternative?

For most businesses, the natural course of action when seeking an alternative to an internal marketing team is to hire external marketers instead.

However, there is now an innovative third option:

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Marketing as a Managed Service

Marketing as a Managed Service (also referred to as managed marketing services) is where you work with the leading digital marketing agency, Ask Marketing, to manage your marketing function internally and undertake your digital strategy’s most important activities to help you reach your business goals.

This means no more worrying about recruiting, rising salaries or the risk of key people leaving your team. Instead, you can leave your marketing to the experts, saving you hours of time and energy and allowing you to focus on growing your business and increasing your revenue.

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What are the benefits of managed marketing services?

In a nutshell, managed marketing services help to eliminate so many of the frustrations that you experience as a business owner.

As we just mentioned, you’ll never have to worry about recruiting for your marketing team again. That’s because, as part of our Marketing as a Managed Service, we screen, hire and train the best digital marketers before they start working with you to provide you with the highest-quality marketing professionals that are so hard to find today.

Other managed marketing benefits include:
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1. We have the Marketers you can't find

There's no secret. It is really hard for SMEs to find quality marketing talent in Australia right now. All of the quality talent is being absorbed by companies like Atlassian & Canva, leaving little to no hiring options for SMEs like you.

We mitigate your risk. We do the vetting, recruitment and training before they’ve even started with you! This includes comprehensive training on your strategy. They are employed by us and contracted to you, so you can rest assured that they will deliver all work on time and to an exceptional standard.

Problem solved.
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2. Ongoing access to Ask Marketing

Not only will you have your own dedicated Ask Marketing team for over 2 days per week, ongoing, but the Ask Marketing team will also have ongoing support, guidance, training and strategic alignment from our internal CMOs.

Plus, our internal CMOs will undertake bi-monthly check-ins, directly with you and your contracted Ask Marketer, to ensure continued success and alignment of your ongoing business priorities and the greater digital strategy.
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3. We manage the marketing team. So you don't have to

We manage your Ask Marketing team, their time and their deliverables. This will save you hours of time and energy every week.

Ask Marketing will provide all training, guidance and management of deliverables. This means that on a daily basis, your Ask Marketers will be able to work self-sufficiently with the direct support of the Ask Marketing CMO who also deeply understands your business.

All marketing activities executed will have been reviewed by our team, in alignment with your strategy. Of course, you and your team will remain as the subject matter experts and your Ask Marketers will tap into your brain, for content purposes as well.

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How does Marketing as a Managed Service managed work?

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1. Ask Marketing will provide you with a dedicated Marketing Team each week, every week ongoing. This team is led by:
   a. Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) based in Sydney
   b. Content Marketing Manager based in Manila
2. Your Content Marketing Manager (as above) will be your daily point of contact. You will own the direct line of communication with this resource as they work through set deliverables, managed by your CMO.
3. Your Sydney-based Ask Marketing CMO will manage this team and the plan, so that you don't have to. Your dedicated global team, will have the support, guidance, training and strategy alignment from our CMO on a daily basis.
4. All members of our team have been through our comprehensive Ask Marketing Academy training program.

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Are you looking for managed marketing services in 2023?

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All you have to do is Ask!

At Ask Digital Marketing, we combine decisive digital strategy and managed marketing execution to help B2B service-based businesses build demand, establish thought leadership and own their industry through digital business marketing.

Stop waiting. Start building. Experience success.

Just get in touch with us and we can discuss your business to help you navigate the digital marketing landscape towards success.

Let’s harness the power of digital marketing today!

For more great marketing content, connect with our company leaders, Alexandra King and Stephanie King, or follow our Ask Marketing LinkedIn page.