Do You Really Need a Full-time Marketer?

Marketing has changed.

Instead of ads, we have Google positions. Instead of referrals, we have Facebook "Likes." And instead of brochures and direct marketing sales letters, we have company websites.

Marketing for service-based professionals is now largely done on the Internet. That's because nearly three-fourths of folks searching for service professionals look online first.

If you have an effective website that appears on the first page of search results, then a good chunk of your marketing is done.

So, although it used to be that marketers were needed to write and send direct mail and newsletters, in the age of Web 2.0, you might only need a full-service website provider.

I'm Not Against Marketers

I'm not saying you don't need marketing services. On the contrary—I firmly believe that marketing is absolutely critical for the success of just about every business.

What I am saying is that because your website is your primary marketing piece, your website provider should be in charge of it, not an in-house staffer.

Service Providers Are Struggling

We're just now climbing out of the biggest financial downturn since the Great Depression. Nearly every sector of business was affected, including, of course, small to medium-size service firms.