We have a teamwork-oriented philosophy at Switchback Creative. Colleagues, clients and partners—we want to see each other succeed.

So many small business owners are fantastic at what they do and know where they should focus their energy, but they get bogged down by trying to market and promote their business on top of all their other priorities.

According to this article by smallbuisness.com, “Recently, Infusionsoft and LeadPages sponsored a survey in which more than 1,000 small businesses answered a set of questions that reveal how small business owners feel about their marketing effectiveness and use of digital marketing tools.”

Forty-seven per cent of the respondents said they manage their own marketing, and 49 per cent said their efforts are not effective.

Our advice to take with you into 2017? Build a support system—that includes a marketing partner—and we bet you’ll be thrilled with the results. Creativity thrives most in a hive, not a silo.

Here are five reasons to take a collaborative approach to your marketing.

1. It will save you time. According to this article by cebglobal.com, more than 30 per cent of small business owners work 50+ hours a week. We know you work hard, so focus on the areas where you shine and let a marketing partner help you tell your story.

2. You will learn and grow. We learn from the projects we work on and from our clients, but the opposite is true, too. As writer and small business owner John Jantsch puts it in this article, “Continue to educate me, share things that real people share with each other, talk to me like someone you want to have a deeper relationship with – do that and you’ll earn the right to come to me with the unabashed intention of selling me something else.” Good advice for a marketing partner. They should invest in you not just by working with you, but by sharing knowledge.

3. It will save you money. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Hiring an external marketing partner whose specialty is to objectively assess your business from a marketing and communications standpoint is often a fraction of the cost of a full-time staff member’s salary.

4. Your business’ story will be brought to life. As our co-founder and creative director Suzy says, “Storytelling is the oldest form of passing knowledge… Stories allow us to find our tribes, and be genuine in our perspectives and authentic about what we stand for. But ultimately, it’s about telling your brand story to the world. Everyone has a story, that goes for you too.” Who doesn’t feel inspired by that?! If you don’t know where to start, we can help.

5. You’ll have fun. Get a group of creative people in a room and you’re bound to have a laugh.