The Perils of DIY Marketing

I’m all for creative problem solving and maximizing human resources. However, with those human resources being limited, we need to make sure the right person is doing the right work at the right time.

Far too often, when it comes to Marketing, PR, Communications, and Selling, senior leaders, middle managers, and entrepreneurs subscribe to the Do It Yourself approach and suffer from it.

*Doing “creative” work in house with people who are not creative professionals.
*Failing to augment internal Sales Training with outside expertise.
*Thinking that sending a press release is doing PR.
*Lacking the confidence to have others involved in strategy.
*Ignoring market research thinking they already know what they need to know.

It seems decision makers often forget there’s a price for their time and the time of their team members. Plus, the end result is often inferior due to the lack of experience and expertise of the DIY’er.

Your analysis has to include more than just the cost side. You also must consider the opportunity cost of lost time spent working in areas you or your team members lack experience in and probably struggle to complete.

Utilizing a person or company with more experience and expertise in a particular area is not a sign of weakness on your part. The opposite is true. If you have the self-confidence to work with and lead others both inside and outside the organization, you are that much stronger as a leader.

Outcomes will typically be better and the actual cost won’t be what you might have thought once you account for the opportunity cost of time spent by you and others on your team.

The DIY approach can work in certain instances. But prior to going that route, make sure you have done a true analysis of the situation and be confident enough to make the right call.