Internal vs External

It’s also time-consuming and can be exasperating and expensive, which is why so many shop owners shy away from it. We don’t blame you; you’ve got enough to deal with already. Why add an entirely new skill set to your already endless to-do list?

But wait, if you don’t do it, you’re still left looking for someone to fill that role. Often several someones. We’re all about helping shops build a digital presence even if we’re not directly involved with that shop, so in the last few weeks and months, we’ve written a lot about different marketing roles, why they’re necessary, and what the average payscale is for each. 

Today, we’re going to gather all that information in one place so you can build a more realistic look at everything that goes into a digital marketing team—and, well, everything you might need to do if you opted to do this stuff yourself.

WHO ALL DO I NEED ON MY MARKETING TEAM?

If you do decide to hire your own people for this—full-time, part-time, or freelance—you may be in for a lot of personalities…and a significant outlay of cash. 

Here’s what the typical marketing team contains: 

Marketing manager (or account/project manager): If you don’t hire anyone else, get yourself one of these. An experienced marketing manager can be a jack of all trades, handling some writing, web development, SEO, and more (although in an ideal world, all these tasks will not fall on one person). If you are in a spot to hire several people, your marketing manager will be the one herding all the cats, reporting information to you, and generally acting as the central reporting hub of your team. 

Content writer: Your writer, should you choose to hire one, handles all your copy needs: website, email, social, and so on. Heck, you might even have a few writers to divvy up those tasks! Wild, right? If you don’t hire a writer, and your marketing manager is spread thin, odds are writing authoritative, knowledgeable content about the diesel industry is going to fall on you. It might still fall on you to supervise and/or edit your writer’s stuff, too. 

Web developer: Google loves websites that load quickly and smoothly and have frequently updated content. In the diesel industry, a website typically needs about 15-20 pages of content to really start pulling in traffic. You’ll likely also want a calendar so customers can schedule service. Maybe links to your social media. A blog…and all of these things require skill to create and design. Pricing will vary, but this calculator lets you move numbers around to see what kind of expense to expect (spoiler alert: it’s pricey). 

SEO specialist: You probably already know that your SEO person is in charge of keywords…but they’re often the people who come up with a long-term strategy, too. And knowledge of the industry will be particularly important for these folks—they’ll understand the difference between “preventive maintenance” and “preventative maintenance,” for example, and know which one your shop should use. 

PPC manager: Google, Facebook, and other ad platforms are an important part of broadening your shop’s reach. Remember, diesel customers aren’t always searching for you with immediate intention; they’re often looking around, browsing the snack aisle, vowing to come back when they’re truly hungry—your PPC ads are what will keep you top of mind. 

As an aside, we have a bit of disappointing news: if your website isn’t built well, your cost per click goes up, and all your paid media will be a) more expensive and b) possibly less effective, because no one wants to click around on a site that ain’t workin’ right. And Google doesn’t want to direct people to sites like that. Best way to avoid problems? Your PPC manager, website developer, SEO specialist, and more need to work together to avoid them. =D

Software: Sure, there’s lots of free apps out there, but the better and more informative ones tend to cost some money. Some, like Semrush, offer customizable tiers; others are one-and-done. If you’re buying this stuff for your own shop, it can get pricey.

But if you work with an agency, it’s 100% a shared cost.

Which brings us to our next point.  

WITH AN INTERNAL TEAM, R&D IS ON YOU‍

An unfortunate driving factor of business is as follows: If you’re not growing, you’re dying. The digital marketing industry is always changing. As a shop owner, you’re no doubt keeping one eye on alternative fuel and autonomous vehicles, along with new regulations; your counterpart in the marketing world is doing the same. And if you decide to build an in-house marketing team, you are either responsible for continuing to stay on top of those changes…or you’ve got to hire an experienced and expensive manager who will do it for you. 

It becomes another time vs. money situation—how much are you willing to invest in an in-house team? Even contractors working ad hoc might cost upwards of $10,000 a month. Are you going to learn enough about digital marketing to stay on top of them? 

YOUR TIME IS MONEY‍

We’re Dieselmatic, and we want you to hire us.

(Yep—dropping the veneer of subtlety to make a point!)

Can you put together a team of digital marketers that will broaden your shop’s reach and help your operation grow? Of course. Dude, you run a diesel repair shop; we’re pretty sure you can do anything you put your mind to. But we wrote this post—and the ones that came before it—to help you understand how freakin’ time-consuming and expensive that is. 

Diesel is a niche market. Extremely niche, you might say. If your SEO specialist, or writer, or PPC specialist doesn’t “get” the industry, people who land on your site or your ads will be able to see that. They’ll shake their heads and move on. This will directly impact your traffic.‍

Yes, you can train these folks, and oversee them, and edit their work if necessary. The right stuff will appear on your site but it’ll cut into your time (which is already bogged down). And what happens if someone leaves, or gets sick? Guess who’s picking up the slack and/or hunting down and training up a new person? That’s right: you! This will directly impact your quality of life.‍

Or you could hand over the digital marketing to a team that already knows what’s up in the diesel world—a team built on and for the diesel industry. We hit the ground running and show you exactly what you’re getting for your money. No guessing, no fumbling around, no training. Just pure diesel-tastic digital marketing right out of the box. 

Time is money. We don’t think you should waste either of those things. So get in touch with us today—we’ve got a lot to show you.