The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be detrimental to the financial health of the once-booming U.S. economy, making a recession inevitable. The economy has suffered and recovered from recessions before, but not without casualties. When a company suffers, its leaders often cut the marketing and advertising budgets first.

During the Great Recession of 2008, advertising dropped 13%, with digital marketing being the least affected with a scant decline of only 2%. For small financial institutions, like community banks and credit unions, that slight amount might be the salary of one or more employees.

Since March, 97% of advertisers have been forced to adjust their advertising budgets for the first half of the year, according to an April 2020 survey published by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). You might be exploring ways that you can cut corners without hurting sales.

As a marketing tool, your credit union website is one area you don’t want to skimp on. This article explores outsourcing your website versus maintaining it in-house.

 

The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Website

If you’ve had to downsize your marketing staff, you may have found yourself without the manpower to maintain your website as much as you’d like. You may no longer have the expertise, the time, or even the proper equipment to manage your website.

Finding a trusted partner, whether it be a company or an independent contractor, might be an added expense. However, in the long run, outsourcing is a sound investment in terms of saving on employee salaries, taxes, and benefits.

Furthermore, by having someone outside your company review your website, you’ll gain a fresh perspective. While understanding your credit union and your brand is imperative, your outsourced web or marketing company or person can provide objective insight into how to improve your digital presence.

 

Maintaining Your Website In-House

Perhaps you’ve been lucky enough not to have to furlough employees, or maybe your marketing department is already a staff of one. Why would you outsource your credit union website when you can handle it internally?

After all, your employees know your company’s culture and members. You’ve already invested in skilled employees who can offer more than a company or contractor who only specializes in websites. Outsourcing seems like it would be an additional expense to your bottom line. However, would it be an expense, or is it an investment?

 

Final Words – Finding a Balance

You could have the best of both worlds by partnering with a company that works with your marketing staff to keep your website up-to-date, looking fresh, secure, and up and running. Your employees can keep your credit union’s best interest is in mind while being supported by a company as needed. Your best return on investment is to find a credit union web hosting provider that also offers design and development capabilities.

CUWebsite™ Services will work with you to create your credit union website to be hosted on our secure virtual private server system. Once your site is set up, your staff can make necessary updates through our user-friendly content management system. If you don’t have the manpower or the time, our team is available to assist you as well as answer your questions. We’re only a click away.