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Marketing Outsourcing · Marketing as a Service

External marketing department
for B2B companies.

An external marketing department takes over strategy, website, LinkedIn, email, ads and reporting as an ongoing service at a fixed price, without you having to fill a position. At Lilox from 2,900 euros per month, with a dedicated contact.

Just without a job posting: You get the team from the first month, the price before the start, and every month a report you can pass on to your management.

Book a coffee talkCompare costs
Fixed price per specificationOne dedicated contactFor AT, DE and CH
lilox.io/team-board/your-company
Marketing board · Week 37Owner: Lilox
  1. Landing page "Service & Maintenance"Website · Approval: your CEOlive
  2. LinkedIn series, executive profile3 posts · Copy reviewedlive
  3. Email sequence, whitepaper4 steps · Signal: trade fair visitorsin progress
  4. Google Ads "Spare parts"Buying moment · Budget confirmedin progress
  5. AI visibility: does ChatGPT mention you?Measurement · Month-over-monthrising
  6. Monthly report, September30-min meeting · Numbers + next stepssent
Campaign live
Monthly report sent
Inquiry → handed to CRM
  • Machinery & plant engineering
  • Industrial software
  • IT & managed services
  • Measurement & control technology
  • Automation
  • Cloud & data centers
  • Technical service providers
  • Components & suppliers
  • Medical technology
  • Electronics & sensors
  • Energy & environmental technology
  • Intralogistics
  • Packaging technology
  • Tool & mold making
  • SaaS for industry
  • Engineering firms

For companies with a strong product – and a need for a marketing department that keeps up.

buntsalesPositioning and website: rank 1 on Google, cited in the AI Overview.Case Study
Compliance.One
dripSales automation for a startup without a marketing team of its own.Case StudypydroA complete digital sales operation for an IoT startup: 17 meetings via the website.Case StudySchwab AGWebsite relaunch for a Bern heritage company, live in four months.Case StudysuXess-itLead generation in a niche market: eleven meetings from the researched audience.Case StudySRB Consulting TeamBrand strategy and project lead of the relaunch for an SAP Gold Partner.Case StudyANEWOA digital sales channel for the DACH market, running for seventeen months.Case StudyJiliti AustriaA first Austrian website of its own, at rank 2 on Google two weeks later.Case Studymatho informatikWebsite relaunch and a sharper brand for a Swiss IT service provider.Case StudymymedisetOpening up the US market: 407 new contacts at MedTech corporations.Case StudyUnternehmensförderungenLead generation for two brands: 29.7 percent acceptance on LinkedIn.Case Study

/ 01 · What is it?

In-house position, agency, freelancer, fractional CMO or external marketing department?

What is an external marketing department?

An external marketing department is a service provider that takes lasting responsibility for a company's marketing: planning, executing, measuring, reporting. Unlike a project agency, it does not work from a brief but from a shared plan with monthly goals. Other names for it are marketing outsourcing and Marketing as a Service (MaaS). At Lilox we call this Marketing Engineering: marketing built like a product, meaning specified, measured and documented.

ModelWhat you getCostLimitation
In-house position

one person

salary plus contributions

one person for all channels, gap when they resign

Project agency

one project, per brief

project price, day rate

ends with the project

Freelancer

one discipline

hourly or day rate

availability, one person

Fractional CMO

leadership, a few days a month

day rate

execution is missing

External marketing department

strategy and execution, all channels, you approve

fixed monthly price

needs onboarding into the product

/ 02 · Why now

Outsourced marketing is no longer a stopgap. It's the norm.

The reason is rarely money. It's the breadth: website, AI visibility, LinkedIn, email, ads, content. Nobody can handle that alone anymore, not even a good marketing hire.

  • Skilled people are scarce, especially in marketing for complex products.
  • AI is changing every channel. Keeping up takes a team, not one-person marketing.
  • Your buyers ask ChatGPT before they call you. Whether you show up there decides the inquiry.

  • +14 %

    annual growth of the global market for Marketing as a Service in the mid-market (forecast 2026–2031).

    Source: Mordor Intelligence, SME Marketing-as-a-Service Market

  • 36 %

    of that goes to new customer acquisition. It is the largest segment and exactly what you need.

    Source: Mordor Intelligence

  • 42 %

    of companies outsource to get access to specialist expertise. Only 34 % still name cost as the main reason.

    Source: Prialto, outsourcing statistics

  • 74 %

    of employers struggle to find the skilled people they need. In marketing for technical products, that hits twice.

    Source: Prialto, outsourcing statistics

/ 03 · When it pays off

When does it pay off to outsource marketing?

Outsourcing marketing pays off when the tasks are broader than the capacity in-house. That is typical in the mid-market, when one marketing position is expected to cover five channels or the CEO does marketing on the side.

It does not pay off

  • in B2C
  • without an ongoing marketing budget
  • for one-off projects such as a flyer or a trade fair mailing
  • when there is no growth goal behind it

Self-check · 6 signs

Which of these do you recognize?

3 of 6

Outsourcing is worth considering

The more points apply, the more an external marketing department will do for you.

/ 04 · Cost

What marketing costs: in-house position versus external marketing department

An in-house marketing position costs the company roughly 69,000 to 70,000 euros a year including contributions (Vienna, Munich), and roughly 86,600 francs in St. Gallen. An external marketing department at Lilox starts at 2,900 euros per month, so 34,800 euros over twelve months.

Vienna, Austria

Marketing manager · annual cost to the company

In-house positionEUR 68,900
  • Gross salary EUR 53,000median base salary
  • Employer contributions EUR 15,900

Absent per year: at least 5 weeks of leave (statutory) and an average of 15.1 sick days (calendar days, 2024).

External marketing departmentfrom EUR 34,800

from EUR 2,900 per month, calculated over 12 months

Compared with the in-house position

49 %

lower costs

In Vienna, EUR 34,100 less per year, calculated with the entry scope of the external marketing department.

Breakdown of employer contributions
ItemRatePer year
Pension insurance12.55%EUR 6,652
Health insurance3.78%EUR 2,003
Unemployment insurance2.95%EUR 1,564
Accident insurance1.10%EUR 583
Insolvency remuneration surcharge (IE-Zuschlag)0.10%EUR 53
Vienna housing construction levy (since 1 Jan 2026)0.75%EUR 398
Employee provision fund (Mitarbeitervorsorgekasse)1.53%EUR 811
Employer contribution to the family burden equalisation fund (FLAF)3.70%EUR 1,961
Vienna surcharge on the employer contribution (DZ)0.36%EUR 191
Municipal tax3.00%EUR 1,590
Vienna employer levy (underground tax)EUR 2 × 52 weeksEUR 2 per weekEUR 104
Total contributions30.02%EUR 15,909
Rounded to the nearest 100EUR 15,900

Sources: Glassdoor, marketing manager salary Vienna (median base salary, retrieved 15 Sep 2026) · everbill.com, non-wage labour costs 2026 · City of Vienna (wien.gv.at), housing construction levy · WKO (wko.at), Vienna employer levy (valid since 1 Jan 2026) · Austrian Holiday Act (Urlaubsgesetz) · WIFO/WKO, absenteeism report (Fehlzeitenreport) 2025. As of 15 Sep 2026

Munich, Germany

Marketing manager · annual cost to the company

In-house positionEUR 70,400
  • Gross salary EUR 58,000base salary
  • Employer contributions EUR 12,400

Absent per year: at least 4 weeks of leave (statutory) and an average of 18.5 sick days (2025). A vacant position stays unfilled for 167 days on average (2025).

External marketing departmentfrom EUR 34,800

from EUR 2,900 per month, calculated over 12 months

Compared with the in-house position

50 %

lower costs

In Munich, EUR 35,600 less per year, calculated with the entry scope of the external marketing department.

Breakdown of employer contributions
ItemRatePer year
Pension insurance9.30%EUR 5,394
Health insurance7.30%EUR 4,234
Health insurance, half of the average additional contribution1.45%EUR 841
Long-term care insurance1.80%EUR 1,044
Unemployment insurance1.30%EUR 754
Insolvency benefit levy0.15%EUR 87
Total contributions21.30%EUR 12,354
Rounded to the nearest 100EUR 12,400

Excluding the U1 and U2 levies and statutory accident insurance (Berufsgenossenschaft), as they depend on the health insurer and the company. The salary is below the 2026 contribution ceilings (health and long-term care insurance EUR 69,750, pension and unemployment insurance EUR 101,400), so the full rates apply.

Sources: Glassdoor, marketing manager salary Munich (base salary, retrieved 15 Sep 2026) · taxmaro.com, social security contributions 2026 · Techniker Krankenkasse, insolvency benefit levy 2026 · bundesregierung.de, contribution ceilings 2026 · Federal Leave Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz) · Techniker Krankenkasse, health report (Gesundheitsreport) 2026 · Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit), vacancy duration 2025 (all occupations). As of 15 Sep 2026

St. Gallen, Switzerland

Marketing manager · annual cost to the company

In-house positionCHF 86,600
  • Gross salary CHF 78,000average incl. 13th month salary and bonuses, 156 salary reports
  • Employer contributions CHF 8,600

Absent per year: an average of 5.2 weeks of holiday and 8.2 days of illness or accident (full-time, 2025).

External marketing departmentfrom CHF 32,900

from approx. CHF 2,740 per month, calculated over 12 months

Converted from euros at the ECB reference rate of 11 Sep 2026 (EUR 1 = CHF 0.9451).

Compared with the in-house position

62 %

lower costs

In St. Gallen, CHF 53,700 less per year, calculated with the entry scope of the external marketing department.

Breakdown of employer contributions
ItemRatePer year
AHV/IV/EO (old-age, disability and income compensation)5.30%CHF 4,134
Unemployment insurance (ALV)1.10%CHF 858
Family compensation fund (FAK), canton of St. Gallen1.32%CHF 1,030
Occupational pension (BVG), statutory minimum employer share, age 35 to 44(78,000 − 26,460) × 10% × 50%, coordinated salary CHF 51,5405% of coord. salaryCHF 2,577
Total contributions11.02%CHF 8,599
Rounded to the nearest 100CHF 8,600

Excluding accident and daily sickness benefit insurance, as they depend on the company. All amounts in Swiss francs.

Sources: jobs.ch, salary calculator marketing manager canton of St. Gallen (retrieved 15 Sep 2026) · findea.ch, social security contributions · SVA St. Gallen, FAK contribution rates 2026 · BVG key figures 2026 (coordination deduction CHF 26,460) · ECB reference rate of 11 Sep 2026 · Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS), labour volume statistics (Arbeitsvolumenstatistik) 2025. As of 15 Sep 2026

Why the starter package keeps up with an in-house hire

  • No gaps for holidays, sickness or resignations

    We deliver twelve months a year, with cover built into the team. With an in-house position, the absences above apply, and after a resignation the search starts over.

  • Ready to start instead of months of hiring and onboarding

    Work begins after the marketing check. No job ad, no recruiting, no onboarding.

  • Trained AI systems with human approval

    Drafts, analyses and reports run through our own AI workflows that are already in use with other clients. People review and approve before anything is published.

  • One team with all disciplines instead of one person

    Strategy, website, LinkedIn, email, ads and AI visibility from one team.

  • Tools and experience included

    Tools and AI stack are included in the price. On top come 15 years of experience in digital marketing and 30+ website relaunches delivered.

/ 05 · Pros and cons

Pros and cons of marketing outsourcing

The biggest advantage is breadth without hiring: all disciplines from the first month. The biggest disadvantage: the provider has to understand your product first and does not work in-house with you. The advantages: all channels from one source, start without recruiting, no gap during vacation or resignation, tools and AI included, predictable costs.

Disadvantage

What speaks against outsourcing

Countermeasure

How you offset it

Getting up to speed on products that need explaining takes time
Marketing check before the start, choose a provider with a technical background
Less proximity than a person in-house
One dedicated contact, a fixed check-in meeting
Dependence on the provider
Accounts and data in your name, documentation, clear termination rule
Approvals take time internally too
Set an approval rhythm
The entry scope does not cover everything
Define the scope by plan, not by catalog

/ 06 · Control

What stays in-house with you when you outsource marketing?

You hand off the work and keep control

When you outsource, you hand off planning, execution and coordination. Goals, budget, approvals and all access stay with you. That way your marketing stays able to act even if you change provider.

  • Goals and budget

    You decide what marketing should deliver: inquiries, meetings or awareness in a target industry. We work out the plan for it with you in the marketing check, and you approve the budget. If your priorities change, the plan changes.

  • Approval

    No post, no ad and no email goes out in your name without your okay. You decide who approves and at what rhythm. Whatever AI drafts is checked first by a person on our side and then by you.

  • Accounts and data

    Website, domain, ad accounts, LinkedIn page, CRM and analytics run in your name. We work with access that you grant and can withdraw at any time. If you switch, we hand over documentation and access in full.

  • Expertise

    Your specialists know your product and customers best. We collect that knowledge from them and turn it into content your target group understands. Whether everything is technically correct is your call.

  • Sales

    Inquiries land in your CRM, with source and history. Quotes, prices and customer conversations stay with your sales team. Our job is to make sure more suitable inquiries arrive there.

/ 07 · What Lilox takes on

What your external marketing department at Lilox takes on

Lilox takes on eight tasks of a marketing department. Which of them run is decided by the plan from the marketing check.

  • 01

    Strategy & message

    Who is your ideal customer, what is your promise, and in which words do they understand it instantly.

  • 02

    Website & landing pages

    Your website brings inquiries instead of just looking good. New pages in days, not months.

  • 03

    AI visibility

    Whether Google, ChatGPT and Copilot mention you when your customers ask there – measured, not guessed.

  • 04

    LinkedIn for company & leadership

    Posts that decision-makers read – in the name of your executives and your company page.

  • 05

    Email & outreach with a reason

    We only reach out where there is a real reason: trade fair, download, website visit. No cold calling.

  • 06

    Google & LinkedIn Ads

    Ads in the buying moment – when someone searches for what you do. Budget you can trace.

  • 07

    Content: text, image, video

    Technical articles, images and short videos that explain your product – reviewed by people, accelerated by AI.

  • 08

    Reporting & handover to sales

    Every inquiry lands cleanly in the CRM. Every month a report you can forward.

/ 08 · Getting started

How quickly does it get going?

How your external marketing department gets started

After the marketing check, it begins. We define schedule, scope and price there individually with you before you sign.

01Step 1

Coffee talk

We listen: What do you sell, to whom, and where do your inquiries come from today? Afterwards you know whether we are a fit.

02Step 2

Marketing check & plan

You get a plan with priorities, channels and a fixed price – before you decide. You know up front what will be built and what it costs.

03Step 3

Foundation

Message, website and measurement are in place before any budget goes into channels. That way every click later brings inquiries instead of visitors.

04Step 4

Ongoing operation

Execution every week: content, campaigns, outreach with a real reason. Nothing goes out in your name that nobody has checked.

05Step 5

Monthly report & adjustment

Numbers, decisions, next steps – in 30 minutes a month. The report is built so you can forward it unchanged.

/ 09 · Results

Results from real engagements

Three examples: 17 meetings through the website for an IoT startup, eleven meetings from a researched target group in a niche market, 407 new contacts at MedTech corporations in the USA.

Monthly report · Inquiries by sourceTemplate
→ CRMMonth 1Month 8
  • 15Years of experience in digital marketing
  • 30+Website relaunches delivered
  • 2Founders from marketing and engineering
  • 30 minStrategy call

  • Case study · IoT startup Pydro

    17 meetings through the website

    Starting point: complete digital sales for a startup without its own marketing team.

    Website
    Website, Google Ads and newsletter work hand in hand.
    LinkedIn
    920 connection requests, 195 new contacts, 39 replies.

  • Case study · suXess-IT

    Eleven meetings in a niche market

    Starting point: platform engineering solution with a very narrow target group.

    LinkedIn
    Campaigns through the consultants' profiles, roughly 20 % reply rate.
    Leads
    Almost 40 leads, all from the researched target group.

  • Case study · mymediset

    407 contacts at MedTech corporations

    Starting point: market entry in the USA with large medical technology corporations.

    LinkedIn
    Messaging through several sales profiles to a target account list.
    Targeting
    AI-supported lead targeting for the US market.
See real cases

/ 10 · Testimonials

What do clients say about working with LILOX?

Reviews from clients in software, industry, and IT services

5 out of 5
My previous agency never came close to engaging with my business in the same depth as Nadine and her team.
Mulundo Sichone - LILOX customer testimonialMulundo SichoneFounder, Pydro
5 out of 5
Advice between equals, no fluff, always focused.
Uwe Heil - LILOX customer testimonialProf. (FH) Dr. Uwe HeilEntrepreneur, Dr. Heil KG Consulting & Coaching for Executives
5 out of 5
A clear recommendation if you are building B2B new-customer acquisition for the first time.
Manfred - LILOX customer testimonialManfredHead of Sales, Cloud ERP
5 out of 5
Nadine and her team were a stroke of luck for us. They helped us position our brand and product portfolio without forcing us to completely rethink our original vision or resources — they polished our rough diamond, so to speak. Thanks to a lead-generation strategy that actually fit our budget, we've been able to market our business model to exactly the right audience. A clear recommendation for SMEs like us.
Sabrina Winischhofer - LILOX customer testimonialSabrina WinischhoferCo-Founder, Vienna Etiquette Society
5 out of 5
For my company, AnimatedReal GmbH, I was looking for a modern, contemporary, and engaging website. Nadine took the time to really understand what I wanted. I'm extremely happy with the result — the new site hits exactly the tone and look I had in mind. What I valued most was Nadine's reliability, her openness to feedback, and her ability to perfectly balance design and functionality. I can wholeheartedly recommend Nadine and the Lilox team!
Fabian Olbrecht - LILOX customer testimonialFabian OlbrechtManaging Director, AnimatedReal
5 out of 5
As a complete newcomer to marketing (especially LinkedIn/Google Ads), working with Nadine Fraiss and Lilox has been not only highly professional but also incredibly personable and empathetic. I'd wager Nadine can help marketing pros just as well — marketing beginners are certainly in extremely good hands. 100% recommended!
Alex Schubert - LILOX customer testimonialAlex SchubertManaging Director, netwiss OG
5 out of 5
A top-notch execution. So glad I got to know Nadine. Very professional and friendly!
Svetlana Gradwohl - LILOX customer testimonialSvetlana GradwohlManaging Director, Gradwohl Creations

/ 11 · Who it's for

Who benefits from an external marketing department

For technical B2B companies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland whose product needs explaining. Most inquiries today come through trade fairs, referrals and field sales. You want to win new customers in a predictable way, without building your own department for it.

01 · Industry

Machinery & plant engineering

Your systems run for years, your sales cycles take months. Inquiries come through trade fairs, dealers and existing customers, and in between it goes quiet.

Your buyers

Production management, maintenance and technical purchasing

What we take on

Application pages and technical articles that convince engineering and purchasing. Google Ads on service and spare-part searches. LinkedIn campaigns so you stay visible between trade fairs.

  • Application pages
  • Trade fair follow-up
  • Google Ads

02 · Tech

IT, software & cloud

Your product is good, but hard to explain in one sentence. Many providers sound alike, and your buyers have long been comparing in ChatGPT before they get in touch.

Your buyers

IT management, CTO and business units with their own budget

What we take on

A message that makes your difference clear. Landing pages per use case, AI visibility in ChatGPT and Copilot, and LinkedIn outreach to the roles that decide.

  • Message
  • AI visibility
  • LinkedIn

03 · Services

Technical service providers & suppliers

Maintenance, engineering, components: you are needed, but rarely actively searched for. Whoever does not already know you hardly finds you.

Your buyers

Technical purchasing, project management and plant operators

What we take on

Service pages that are found for specific searches. References that show what you have solved. Email sequences to existing customers and target companies.

  • Service pages
  • References
  • Email

What all three have in common: a product that needs explaining, a sales team that needs more suitable inquiries, and no time to do marketing on the side.

/ 12 · The face behind it

Your head of marketing is Nadine.

Nadine Fraiss, founder of LILOX
Founder · runs your marketing personally

Nadine Fraiss

You have one dedicated contact who takes responsibility for your marketing herself – no junior in the third row, no new face every six months.

The team brings engineering and leadership experience from pharma and industry. That's why you won't have to explain your product three times – and why we build marketing the way you develop products: specified, measured, handed over.

  • Strategy & message
  • Website & AI visibility
  • Monthly report
Book a coffee talk

/ 13 · Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about the external marketing department

The questions CEOs, heads of marketing and heads of sales ask us in the first conversation – answered so you can pass them on.

how people search for us

  • outsource marketing b2b mid-market
  • external marketing department machinery cost
  • marketing as a service vs agency
Ask a question
What is Marketing as a Service?

Marketing as a Service (MaaS) means: you get a complete marketing department as an ongoing service – strategy, execution, tools and reporting – instead of individual projects or an in-house position. You pay a price agreed in advance and get a team with all disciplines in return.

What is the difference between an external marketing department and a classic agency?

An agency waits for your brief and delivers the project. An external marketing department takes responsibility for the result: it plans, proposes, executes, measures and adjusts – every month. You decide, we drive.

We already have a marketing person. Does this still fit?

Yes, very well in fact. Your head of marketing keeps the lead and gains execution capacity across all disciplines – website, LinkedIn, email, ads, content, AI visibility. The results count as theirs.

Who owns the website, data and accounts?

You do. All accounts run in your name, everything is documented and handed over. You can take over yourself or switch at any time.

What kind of company is this designed for?

For B2B companies in tech, IT, software and industry in Austria, Switzerland and Germany – companies with a strong product that need inquiries that don't depend on referrals. Consulting firms have a dedicated offer.

What does an external marketing department cost?

At Lilox from 2,900 euros per month, as a fixed price per specification that you know before the start. The benchmark is the annual cost of an in-house marketing position, not agency day rates. You get the specific scope after the marketing check.

Is this like an interim head of marketing (fractional CMO)?

Not quite. A fractional CMO provides leadership for a few days a month. For execution, you still need your own team or agencies. The external marketing department delivers strategy and execution from one team, at a fixed price. If you already have a head of marketing, they get the execution capacity from us on top.

How do you outsource marketing without giving up control?

By keeping the decisions with you. Before the start, the marketing check gives you a plan and a fixed price. After that, you have one dedicated contact, and you approve what gets published. All accounts and data run in your name. Every month you get a report with numbers, decisions and next steps.

How long are we tied to you, can we cancel?

Billing is based on a scope defined in advance, and the service can be cancelled monthly.

How quickly can we start?

It starts after the marketing check. No job ad, no recruiting, no onboarding. We define the schedule up to ongoing operation individually with you.

What do we have to contribute ourselves?

A contact person for technical questions, approvals and access to your product knowledge. How much time that takes per month and at what rhythm we align, we define individually with you.

Can we start with one channel?

Yes. The plan from the marketing check determines which building blocks run first. More are added once the first one works.

/ 14 · Coffee talk

Your marketing department starts with a coffee.

30 minutes in which you talk and we listen. Afterwards you know whether an external marketing department is a fit for you – and what it would deliver. 100 % value. Zero obligation. Coffee included.

Book a coffee talkSend a quick note