Compare Winbound vs. Other Marketing Options

As you’re considering marketing options for your company, it helps to understand your options. That’s why we’ve created a number of side-by-side comparisons, including:

Status Quo vs Winbound

Lead Generation Company vs Winbound

Internal Marketing Department vs Winbound

Other Marketing Agencies vs Winbound

Each comparison below includes pros and cons, as well as a chart you can use to make side-by-side comparisons.

Status Quo vs. Winbound

The status quo, in this example, is to rely entirely on sales and use little or no digital marketing.

This would be the preferable choice if you are planning on retiring soon or you think your sales-only approach can buck the trend where more and more of the customer journey takes place online.

The status quo is based on the belief that all things will stay the same. However, just keep in mind one eternal rule of business: A business can only grow or shrink; it can never stay the same.

	Status Quo	Winbound
Pros	It’s easier. No one’s workflow will change. You can stick to your routine.	You get a proven strategic approach to help sales-driven companies reach new digital territories. No internal staffing or overhead on your part is required. No long-term contract is required to work with us. (Our engagement is a monthly retainer, and you can cancel at any time.)
Cons	You risk current accounts leaving you through attrition or other reasons -- and not being able to replace them. If you’re not reaching out to digital realms, you’re not establishing yourself where new customers will be. Your current sales efforts will require more time and effort if they are based on cold-calling and trade shows only.	It may be something you have little or no expertise in, and you’ll be relying on Winbound for guidance. It’s a new monthly expense that will take time to turn into profit center. There is no iron-clad guarantee of success.

Lead Generation Company vs. Winbound

Companies that just want more qualified leads often consider hiring a lead generation service.

The idea is that a lead gen company will get you new leads immediately. It can quickly increase the amount of outbound phone calls you make, with minimal setup required (although that may vary depending on your offering).

However, a lead generation company won’t do much to ultimately help you improve your online presence. As the effectiveness of cold-calling and trade shows declines, the lead gen option looks to overcome the problem by simply adding more cold-calling and cold-emailing to the efforts.

	Lead Generation Company	Winbound
Pros	You’re adding more volume to your current cold-calling / cold-emailing efforts. You have the potential for immediate results. An engagement requires minimal workflow disruption of your current staff, other than management of the lead gen program.	You are creating a web presence to match the migration of customers to digital sales channels. You are moving to a lead generation method with the potential to grow exponentially over time. You’ll also be building your brand through advertising channels. You’ll choose a method that allows customers to make their own choices and is less pushy. Your leads will be highly targeted and ready for action by sales team (provided they are aligned with the marketing approach).
Cons	Leads may not be as qualified, especially if the lead gen company is compensated for lead volume. Potential customers are increasingly resistant to outbound tactics. You are not keeping up with the switch to digital. Outbound emails will be considered spammy. You’ll fall further behind competitors who are building digital channels.	Leads won’t start coming in tomorrow; you may need to build the right foundational content. You’ll need participation from sales team to achieve maximum impact. This may cause resistance from salespeople who don’t like change. Marketing is trial and error, and some campaigns may fall short out of the gates.

For an in-depth look at the costs of using a lead generation company, and if it’s worth the money, check out our blog post “Should I use a lead generation company?”

Internal Marketing Department vs. Winbound

Companies who understand the need to find new business in the digital territory may just decide to build their own internal marketing department.

We believe this is ultimately one of the best decisions you can make if you have deep resources.

An internal team can dedicate themselves full time to the cause; gain deeper product and service knowledge over time; and have more immediate access to your organization.

However, this must be balanced with the significant cost required to build an internal team. You’ll likely have to start with hiring strategic generalists to manage the program, and no matter how big your team grows, some degree of outsourcing will be required in the highly specialized field of digital marketing.

You’ll also need an HR element dedicated to recruiting and retaining this team. And the cost will be significantly more to employ a full team.

	Internal marketing department	Winbound
Pros	You’ll have more staffing resources dedicated to marketing success. Your internal team typically has more direct access to company experts. You can generate more internal championing of marketing efforts. You can develop deep, one-on-one ties with sales team.	We provide specialized marketing resources at a fraction of the cost of hiring an internal team. Our best results occur when we bring our specialized marketing approach and deliverables and pair them with 1 to 2 in-house generalists. You don’t need to get HR involved or worry about company benefits with us. You don’t have to worry about turnover or team loyalty.
Cons	A digital marketing staff is difficult to recruit and retain, especially in a hyper-competitive marketing field. You’ll need specialists (in SEO, analytics, content, and other areas) to pair with your strategic generalists. The cost is significant, ranging from $20K to $75K per month, depending on the size of your team.	We don’t have the level of access to your employees that you do -- building relationships may take longer. The product and company expertise we develop will take longer than if we were working full time on-site. We won’t have a physical presence in your facility, so you’ll be responsible for covering trade shows and in-person events.

For an in-depth look at building your own internal agency, check out our post “Should I outsource my marketing or build an in-house team?”

Other Marketing Agencies vs. Winbound

Marketing agencies come in all shapes and sizes. If you do look at other agencies, consider some specific advantages of Winbound:

We are built specifically for sales-oriented companies with some or no marketing resources.
We are not here to eliminate your sales team; we are here to make them better and expand their role in marketing.
We specialize in manufacturing, but our approach works with any B2B company with complex services.
Our pricing is extremely competitive when you consider the full range of deliverables.
Our goal is to become a profit center, not a marketing expense, and our system is designed to make that happen.
We have a proven track record for success with other clients.

Why does our focus on being aligned and integrated with your sales team matter?

According to an Aberdeen Report, companies that have sales and marketing alignment can experience more than a 20% increase in revenue, but those that aren’t aligned can experience a 4% decrease in revenue.

So if you’re looking at other marketing agencies and they aren’t talking to you about aligning with sales, their marketing approach could already face a 25% handicap before they even get started!

Schedule a call and see how you (and your competition) are performing online!

Set up a one-on-one introductory call with us, and together, we’ll review how our Digital Twin Framework can work for you. We’ll also provide you with:

Digital metrics about your website performance vs. your competitors’
A scored evaluation of your website content
Your projected timeline to results with our Digital Twin framework

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