If you own a business, digital marketing is one of the best strategies to help your business grow, reach more leads, and increase revenue. Whether you're looking to use search engine optimization (SEO), PPC campaigns, or social media marketing, online marketing can help your company.
Many businesses have a question about digital marketing, however, whether they should keep their marketing in-house or partner with an online marketing agency. It's an excellent question, and this article aims to answer all your questions about in-house vs. agency marketing.
#1 – Cost
Cost is a significant factor when hiring or outsourcing an in-house marketing team. The pro for small businesses is that they can manage and closely monitor their marketing content and brand. However, as that small business grows, it must hire more employees or consider outsourcing. When considering an in-house team, a company needs to consider employee turnover, factor in the costs of replacing that employee, the additional training, and the effect it has on other staff members, all of which can cost thousands of dollars. Not to mention social benefits such as paid vacation days and sick leaves. When everything is outsourced, that cost disappears, and you just pay your retainer or monthly fee.
#2 – Mastered Skillset
It is possible to find well-rounded marketing employees when developing an in-house marketing team, but it does indeed take a team to have mastered skillsets. Not all start-up businesses have a marketing budget or enough revenue to hire a full-service team, so it makes sense to outsource certain pieces or all of their marketing to an agency. An in-house marketing team in a large-scale business may have the resources for a mastered team, but it must be determined if the ROI outweighs the costs.
#3 – Maintaining A Competitive Edge
Marketing is ever-evolving, and keeping abreast of the trends and technology that keep you ahead of your competition is essential. It is possible to do this in-house if the company invests in marketing education, new technology, and resources. However, most of the time, unless you have a large enough marketing team, this investment outweighs the Return on Investment (ROI). Therefore, it is more cost-effective to outsource the marketing to an agency.
#4 – Growing or Scaling Your Business
When you have an in-house marketing team, if you want to grow or scale your business, you must hire or let go of employees. Hiring new employees is a rather lengthy process, between interviewing and training. For example, say your competitor launches a new product or feature to enhance their current development. How quickly would you need to ramp up your marketing efforts? Rather quickly. With an in-house marketing team, it may not be quick enough to get you where you need to be in time to beat your competition. However, an agency already has the staff in place to take on new work or scale it without you losing an employee. In-house marketing may make more sense when your business is in a position to maintain a dedicated marketing team. There are many pros and cons to in-house marketing vs. agency.
#5 – Communication and Networking
Communication and networking are essential in marketing, whether you have an in-house marketing team or if your company confers with an agency. Depending on the size, an in-house marketing team may have some limitations in brainstorming with other peers in their field. However, when a business has partnered with an agency, that business would have both employees who are knowledgeable about business operations and an outsourced marketing team who can brainstorm marketing ideas. In addition, communication with an agency is essential to understanding the company's mission, branding, and goals.
Conclusion
There are several situations to consider when planning an in-house team or choosing an agency. Both can work well depending on your business's challenges and goals. Some companies choose both so that they have control over the content, branding, and other marketing deliverables. In contrast, others outsource everything and keep a very open communication flow with an agency. Strategic Marketing is a full-service agency that will help you with your marketing planning or what will work best for your budget and overall company mission. Let us help you decide - Contact us.
