Call it a subset of a KPO or call it a standalone and independent outsourcing activity, Marketing Process Outsourcing ( MPO) is slowly starting to make big waves as it catches on with more and more business houses, particularly the Small and Medium Businesses ( SMBs). One may wonder that how can something that is as critical as a marketing function be outsourced to someone who is an outsider to your company, but make no mistake that these are professionals who know how to get the job done. But is it as simple as it sounds? We take a look at some of the advantages as well as some challenges in getting the job done through an MPO provider.
Pros
- Expect the desired Output – NO we needn’t say results, but output. Since you have tied up with an MPO providers, you can be rest assured, that you’ll get the output, irrespective of whether anyone’s on leave or no. So you can expect the deadlines to be met, which at times may get pushed if it’s an insider’s job.
- Save on fixed costs – Let’s say you want to invest in a piece of technology or software that will automate or templatize a lot of activities. And these don’t come cheap. So instead, you end up getting the job done again from your MPO partner who may have procured all this.
- Manpower flexibilities – If you don’t have the budget, you can’t just end up hiring one person for every type of task. You can decide what to get done inside and what to get outsourced. This way, you can have you flexibilities as well save on manpower costs.
- Fill the gaps- If you are a larger firm and say may just have to set up a team for a specialized marketing activity, an MPO provider might supplement your work and help you fill the gap. CRM activities are getting outsourced big time by the larger firms.
Cons
- Control – Now how about this, your MPO providers talks big about the processes they follow and the technology they use, but come the D-day, you realise that things are not so great as they sounded before signing the deal. The standards fall short of expectations and you can’t do much about it. Moreover, you don’t really get to witness how the work actually happens which you may have got to witness and monitor more closely had it been done in-house.
A general understanding in the industry is that that the pros out-weight he cons and hence, the segment just keeps growing. So you if you have a small sized firm, you can look at outsourcing the entire marketing function while on the other hand if you are a large sized firm you can look at supplementing some these activities by hiring an MPO provider!
