When you outsource marketing, a single resource takes over the responsibility for all your marketing. This includes research, analysis, strategy, planning and management—plus advertising, public relations, direct marketing, internal communications, Web marketing . . . even media buying and printing.

Outsourcing provides access to expertise in every marketing discipline from a full team of marketing specialists at the ready. You only pay for what you use.

Among the pluses:

Improved focus: You can put your energy into your organization's core competencies. If you have a marketing department, that also applies to them. You can free them of certain responsibilities—so they can play to their strengths.

Reduced overhead: You'll reduce or avoid the cost of additional office space, computers, vendor relationships and credit—plus compensation, benefits and training costs for the marketing team.

Integrated marketing: A lot of companies talk integrated marketing. But it can't happen unless all marketing disciplines are represented in a balanced and unbiased way. When all your communications flow through one pipe, integration is much easier to achieve. Your messages will be consistent across audiences. You'll have a common look, feel and tone for all your advertising, direct marketing, Web and printed materials.

No media and discipline bias: All marketing disciplines are at the table. Your marketing strategy and plans will be based on how your customers get their information, how they make buying decisions, and the unique characteristics of your company—not by what a given ad agency or PR firm wants to sell you.

Access to some of the best marketers around (often without paying more): Since you pay only for what you use, often you can get the counsel of a whole team of experts in all marketing and communications disciplines for what it would cost to have one or two positions in-house.

Accelerate your marketing instantly: A marketing outsourcing firm has the infrastructure already in place to hit the ground running. After the initial assessment and strategic planning, a high-performance team of specialists will make your marketing happen quickly.

What marketing outsourcing isn't

Marketing temps: If a company wants to build real long-term value, it doesn't make sense to invest in someone who might not be around when a full time, permanent position opens up at the place they really want to work.

The outsourcing of one or two marketing disciplines: Having a design firm craft a logo and brochure isn't outsourcing your marketing, it's outsourcing your design. Same goes for advertising, PR or any other discipline. Marketing outsourcing incorporates all 4 P's (product, price, promotion and place). It's driven by long-term strategy and pulls everything together seamlessly—integrating all marketing disciplines well.

Marketing insourcing: When you have another firm take over the employment of your entire marketing department, you are marketing insourcing. Insourcing actually removes one of the greatest benefits of outsourcing—the elimination of the need for a company to pay for office space and infrastructure for its people.