Handle this in-house? What if you handle this in-house… you and your current staff? This might be the best option depending on the problem, but do you have the experience and skills to solve this? What’s your track record? Can you afford the time and money it might take to figure this out on your own… and what if it doesn’t work? What then?
Outside marketing companies? There are some good companies out there that specialize in different kinds of custom marketing – SEO, Paid Search, Radio, TV, Print, Content, Marketing Automation, and more. But do you know how to find, hire, and manage the right companies, coordinate their efforts, and measure their performance over time to make sure you’re really getting what you need.
Consultants? There are plenty of marketing, financial, operations, and other consultants who can offer advice on what to do. Find and hire the right ones, pay them a fee, and they can point you in the right direction… which can work. But the risk with consultants can be the fact that you pay their fee and you’re often left to execute on your own which is why consulting advice alone often doesn’t solve the problem.
Banks or Venture Capital? Maybe you just need money. You can go to banks or venture capital sources. A simple loan or credit line might be the solution, or not. Be careful here. Taking on debt or selling off part of your company to raise money from these sources can be risky and expensive. Plus, it doesn’t solve strategy or operational problems… and could make things far worse.
Do nothing? If you can live with this then it’s not really a problem. The thing is, if you do have a real problem… and keep doing things the same way, you’re going to get the same results. Problems don’t magically go away. So, if you really need to solve this you really need to deal with this sooner than later. Right?