In-house vs. outsourcing your communication and marketing platform [Could you be saving more?]
It feels that there is a never-ending debate when it comes to the topic of in-house vs. outsourced marketing and communication software.
When comparing the two options, the main questions that typically arise are often related to control, reliability (maintenance, updates, etc.), time and cost.
In this article, we are going to address these questions and compare the benefits of outsourcing a platform for your media marketing needs vs. managing it in-house.
How much control will you have if you outsource?
One of the biggest fears that media companies have is losing control over their assets. They often feel that if they hand their materials over to a third-party platform, they will lose the security that they have in-house.
But let’s think about how much control you really have now.
One of the biggest problems that we hear from our new clients is that their marketing assets are spread out over various internal systems, making it hard to find the materials they need and to do their job effectively.
Sales and partnerships are often using out-of-date creatives and IT isn’t able to track all the errors or missing data being distributed.
Not to mention, when it comes to program updates, you have to manually send changes to all other platforms that are displaying your information - which we all know doesn’t always happen.
So although all of the materials are “controlled” within the organisation, you probably still lack more control than you think.
If you outsource, on the other hand, you typically have much more control since you are using a coherent platform where all of the different parts of the system are integrated and designed to communicate with each other. With this, it makes it easier to find the materials you are looking for, ensure that they are up-to-date, control who has access to them, etc.
Also, platforms such as Clipsource, which have created their systems with the needs of the media and entertainment industry in mind, make it easy to connect your internal systems to your new platform and include validation and fallback rules so that you have more control over your data.
They also make it easy to distribute your content to third-party distributors through API - meaning if you make any changes, it will show up there as well.
So when it comes to media marketing software, outsourcing the job to experts can often be the way to go if you want to achieve more control and security.
Will you be able to rely on an external platform?
Media companies are often hesitant to hand their system responsibilities over to a third-party platform in fear that they will run into problems and won’t be able to get the support they need.
How does that old saying go? “If you want something done right, then you better do it yourself.”
Although that may be true in some cases, a lot of time this old way of thinking may be holding you back.
Why is this?
When running an in-house system, an organisation has to depend on its IT teams to ensure that its systems are working properly. And let’s face it, IT are often focused on the customer experience and not the internal systems - meaning that your unpublished press release may not be a priority to them when you need it to be.
As much as you want your issues to be their only focus, that is very seldomly the case.
When you outsource your system, on the other hand, you can trust that you are paying a team who is there to help you when problems arise because that is their only job.
More than just a platform, services like Clipsource can be trusted to support the internal systems as well as the recipients of the information.
If the end-users (journalists, EPG providers, etc.) have an issue (ex. images don’t come through), your tech teams are not equipped in the way that an expert service is to handle the problem.
Just think of it as your marcomms outsourced tech team, handling technical responsibilities on your behalf and supporting you with tasks such as:
- Quick changes and workarounds
- Communication with internal tech teams
- Communication with external users
- All in a competent and friendly fashion
Will outsourcing save you time?
The luxury of time is not common in the media industry. As the amount of content being produced continues to grow, so does the workload.
Since time is so valuable, professionals often don’t trust that an outsourced system will be able to serve all of their unique needs and save time in their daily work life or handle problems that may arise (as discussed in the last section).
This is why it is important to evaluate the simplicity of using a system before committing to it.
Oftentimes, organisations commit to a service that promises advanced functions and extra security without looking into how complex it is on a user level. Making an impulsive decision such as this is can lead to a big waste of time and money.
When investing in marketing software, the focus needs to be on the people who will actually be using it.
Think about all of the tasks your team does on a daily basis:
Sharing marketing materials, creating press releases, sending screeners, updating schedules, organising metadata, etc.
Now think about all of the materials that you need to keep track of that goes into those tasks:
Images, videos, trailers, logotypes, documents, rights, etc.
What if you could have all of these materials organised and ready to go and could directly apply the actions you need for them in one platform. Wouldn’t that be a time saver?
In addition, you need to question what type of support the platform you will be investing in offers. If you can save time by offloading tasks related to system maintenance, project management or other internal requirements, then that alone could make an external investment worth your while.
Even if you are comfortable with your internal processes, it is always worth considering how you could improve them to streamline your workflow and make your team more effective.
Will keeping your systems in-house save you money?
Finally, the most widely discussed topic - cost.
When you see the cost of a software solution you may think, “Well that seems expensive. We can probably save way more by keeping this in-house.”
But before you take that thought to the grave, take a minute to consider the costs that are adding up beneath your nose, within your organisation.
Hidden in-house costs might include:
- Time cost looking after the system and staying educated
- Time cost installing new features or upgrades
- Time cost troubleshooting problems
- Time cost helping internal users
- Time cost helping external users
- Cost of working in multiple non-connected platforms
- Cost of file storage
These types of costs can come out of nowhere and they can happen in little increments, adding up to a lot more than you realise in the long run.
With this in mind, outsourced systems may feel more expensive upfront, but they are also more reliable and consistent - meaning you won’t have a sudden issue arise causing large unplanned spending.
In addition, if sudden developments do arise, then SAAS enables you to share development costs with industry peers, as opposed to taking the full cost for developing bespoke solutions.
Is In-house or outsourced right for you?
The media industry is getting more complex. Although some organisations have the resources and ability to host their own in-house systems, a large majority simply don’t have the capabilities to maintain a high functioning marketing and communication system on their own.
When choosing a service such as Clipsource, you are not only investing in software, you are also investing in an expert tech team, a tested process for storing and distributing assets and a system that is constantly developing with the industry. Clipsource works with you to fix problems or create solutions for arising needs.
Clipsource provides content communication technologies to the entertainment industry’s finest brands. Contact us today to learn how you can use our platform to streamline your workflow and increase consumption and consumer loyalty.
