Do you often wonder about the differences between building an in-house marketing team versus outsourcing to a specialised agency?
There are pros and cons for both. Sometimes, having your own in-house team could be the best for your business, but other times outsourcing your intensive parts of marketing strategy is just what your company needs. It all comes down to team size, project complexity and your business needs.
Keeping my biases aside, I am about to lay out a few key points to consider before you make the big decision.
Company Vision
Your company’s vision needs to be understood well by a marketer, and this is usually easier to accomplish by hiring an in-house team. Full-time employees can closely work along with you in the same space, understanding the business functionality and its growth. An agency takes longer to comprehend and fully understand the company culture and vision.
Wide-ranging Skillsets and Cost
An in-house team will need a wide range of skill such as digital, email marketing, PPC advertising and curating such a team requires time, effort, intense planning and a large budget. Small to medium-sized businesses would lack the budget and resources to train and hire marketing professionals that can cover a variety of skills working full time.
An agency is usually your one-stop shop for all things marketing, which can be more cost-effective. They will have expertise across a wide array of marketing subjects. Staff are dedicated to particular aspects of building and promoting brands to drive immediate impact on business goals.
An agency team can take on and manage multiple projects across various marketing channels. From video production to script writing to building up social media campaigns, SEO, marketing automation etc.
Keeping Up and Being Creative
We already know how fast digital marketing space is evolving, and marketing strategies should be monitored and altered regularly to deliver effective results. This is when an agency comes handy. Staying on top of the latest digital marketing practices, ongoing trends and trying and testing ground-breaking technologies is what keeps agency experts ahead of the curve. This is simply out of reach for an in-house marketing team.
Working on one single project can stifle creativity for in-house marketers, while agencies working across various campaigns are constantly inspired. Again, they are a team of experts and staying up-to-date is what they do, giving them the advantage to stay innovative with their campaigns.
Easy Communication
It is relatively easy to communicate with your in-house team. Brainstorming sessions, content approvals and meetings can be scheduled whenever the requirement arises.
Agencies, on the other hand, are not easily accessible. Daily communication is sparse due to a number of clients they handle. When hiring an agency, one of the most important factors to consider is how transparent and effective their communication is with you.
Having an internal team would help minimise the number of communication steps, especially when sudden changes are required immediately.
Flexibility to Change
When campaigns are not performing well, or you are not seeing results then it’s easier to change agency as compared to firing or eliminating your marketing team. On the flip side, hiring an agency is the speediest fix rather going through a long process of posting a job and rounds of interviews to hire a marketing manager.
If you still can’t decide then break down your goals, your needs and work out your budget, and like many businesses, you do have the option to pick both. Would you like to discuss your marketing situation with an expert? Get in touch with us today.
