Pros and Cons of Hiring a Marketing Agency Versus In-House Team
When it comes to marketing, the decision between doing it in-house or hiring a digital marketing agency is often determined by two key factors: time and budget. Let us guide you toward the right choice for your business.
Many businesses often wonder whether to keep their digital marketing in-house or outsource to an online marketing agency. Nowadays, digital marketing is a highly effective strategy for business owners to boost growth, reach potential leads and increase their revenue.
In this post, we’ll cover the pros and cons of hiring an agency versus doing marketing yourself.
By the end, you’ll have enough information to confidently decide whether your organization will be doing inbound marketing in-house or hiring an agency.
Let’s Talk About Terminology First
In-House Marketing
In-house marketing refers to the practice of having an internal team within a company that is responsible for all of the marketing strategies of the organization. This marketing team can include various roles such as strategists, content creators, designers, analysts and more.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing marketing refers to the practice of hiring a third-party company or agency to handle some or all of your marketing activities. This can include functions such as advertising, social media management or content creation. Outsourcing marketing allows companies to leverage the expertise and resources of specialized agencies or firms, often at a lower cost than building an internal team. It can also provide access to new technologies, marketing tools and strategies that may not be available to in-house marketing teams. Outsourcing can be a strategic decision for companies to focus on their core business activities while leaving marketing to the experts.
Understanding the Difference Between In-House Versus Agency Marketing
The main difference between in-house and agency marketing is the location of the team responsible for executing the marketing activities. In-house marketing refers to having an internal marketing team within a company that is responsible for all or part of the marketing needs of the organization. The in-house team is directly employed by the company, which means they have a deeper understanding of the company’s brand, culture and values.
On the other hand, agency marketing refers to hiring external marketing agencies or firms to handle some or all of the marketing activities. Marketing agencies are typically made up of specialized teams that have experience working across a range of industries and clients. They often have access to the latest marketing technologies and strategies, which can be an advantage for companies that want to stay ahead of the competition. Hiring an agency can also be beneficial for smaller companies that do not have the resources to build an in-house marketing team.
Pros and Cons of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency Versus an In-House Team
If you’re grappling with the decision of whether to entrust your marketing efforts to a marketing agency or handle them yourself, we want to alleviate some of that uncertainty for you. To start, let’s take a look at the bullet points below for a brief overview of the main pros and cons of in-house marketing and agency marketing.
In-House Marketing Pros
- Brand familiarity
- Better accessibility
- Exclusivity
- Supervision
In-House Marketing Cons
- Long hiring process
- Cost of employees
- Pricey software
- Limited resources
- Ability to scale
- Missing continuity
Digital Marketing Agency Pros
- Deeper knowledge of the industry
- Cost
- Set of marketing tools
- Capabilities
- Extended skills
- Highly scalable
Marketing Agency Cons
- Several clients
- Location
- Control
We will now examine the advantages and disadvantages of both options a bit further.
In-House Marketing Team
When it comes to marketing, you can either have your in-house team take care of your marketing strategy or hire external resources. In-house marketing means developing a team to handle your digital strategy. The question is – do you want to build a complete in-house marketing department or do you want to hire someone externally to do it for you?
The Advantages of In-house Marketing Include:
Brand Familiarity
With your internal marketing team, you have the benefit of having someone that’s already familiar with your brand, which allows them to make informed decisions faster. On the other hand, agencies need time to get to know your company’s values, tone and overall brand before they can create an effective digital marketing strategy.
Better Accessibility
Having an in-house marketing team has the advantage of easy accessibility since they work near you. However, if you outsource your marketing to an agency, they might not be located in the same building as you and you may have to communicate through email, video conferences or phone calls. Choose a responsive agency to ensure a seamless and open communication process.
Exclusivity
In-house marketing teams work exclusively on your business, whereas marketing agencies work with multiple clients and their marketing requirements. Although agencies learn your brand and allocate time to your marketing strategy, some businesses might prefer an exclusive team.
Supervision
When you hire a marketing firm for outsourcing your marketing, you divide the responsibility of your marketing strategy with them. Some businesses prefer having absolute control over their marketing, which can make it challenging to work with an agency. Thus, it’s better to establish an in-house marketing team if you want that level of control.
Disadvantages In-House Marketing
Establishing an internal marketing team does have its downsides as well.
Long Hiring Process
Building an internal marketing team takes time and effort, whether you’re looking to hire a few people or just one. On average, it takes around 36 days to fill a marketing position.
Your human resources (HR) department will need to create and post job listings, as well as review resumes, conduct interviews and involve you in the decision-making process. It’s a significant investment for your company to establish and sustain an in-house marketing team.
Cost of Employees
Maintaining an in-house marketing team can be a costly investment. For instance, the average yearly salary in the United States for various marketing roles, such as digital marketing manager (approximately. $123,500), search engine optimization (SEO) specialist (about $53,800), social media marketing specialist (about $54,300) and digital marketing specialist (about $71,300), can be costly. These numbers do not include additional expenses such as taxes, insurance, retirement plans and equipment. For companies with an average-sized marketing team, which consists of at least three individuals, the investment is over $200,000 annually. For small to medium-sized companies, the cost of maintaining an in-house marketing team is a considerable investment, making it one of the significant drawbacks of internal marketing. Meanwhile, marketing agencies are comparatively more cost-effective than in-house marketing.
Pricey Software
In addition to the expenses associated with hiring and maintaining an internal marketing team, there are also costs related to marketing software. These expenses can include SEO tools such as Ahrefs (starts at $99 per month) and SEMrush (starts at $120 per month), as well as freelance services such as graphic design or web development. If you choose to partner with a digital marketing agency, they typically provide their toolset. This means you don’t have to worry about the cost of these programs since the agency covers them.
Limited Resources
In-house marketing can be a challenge for small companies with limited skill sets on their marketing team. On the other hand, big businesses may have the capacity to handle extensive marketing activities, but some still prefer to cut costs by hiring a marketing agency. The abilities of your team, company and marketing budget can also be a drawback of in-house marketing. Another factor to consider when building an in-house marketing team is the limited pool of local candidates. Depending on your location, this can significantly slow down your recruitment efforts.
Ability to Scale
Scaling marketing efforts can greatly benefit a business, but in-house teams face challenges that agencies don’t. Agencies have access to a larger pool of team members with diverse skill sets, making it easier to scale up efforts quickly. In contrast, in-house teams have limited members and resources, and scaling efforts require either reducing workload or hiring new team members which can be time-consuming.
Lack of Continuity
Employee turnover is a common issue for in-house teams and can be a disadvantage in the in-house vs. agency marketing debate. On average, companies in the United States experience a turnover rate of 18% annually. Losing team members can disrupt your marketing efforts, leading to poor performance and higher turnover rates among the remaining staff. With an agency, you don’t have to worry about the continuity of your strategy due to employee turnover. Agencies can quickly assign new team members and keep your campaign on track, ensuring your business continues to receive value from digital marketing.
Digital Marketing Agencies
Outsourcing your marketing strategies involves working with an external team that utilizes multiple online tactics to expand your business. However, it’s important to consider if hiring a digital marketing agency is the best choice for your business.
Disadvantages of Digital Marketing Agencies
Other Clients
Agencies and external contractors operate to serve businesses like yours. However, they are likely not serving your business alone. This can affect how fast work is completed as they have to maintain their loyalty to all their clients.
Location
Working with a global agency can sometimes pose a challenge for businesses that prefer local marketing partners. Although there are many agencies available worldwide, partnering with an agency that’s not in your area can be difficult to coordinate. The issue becomes more significant if your agency is in a different time zone, making it hard to align schedules for meetings, updates or other communications. But if you decide to work with an agency in a different location, consider partnering with one that has experience working with clients in different time zones. These agencies will typically have established processes in place to make communication and coordination much more manageable.
Control
If your business is accustomed to having complete control over its marketing campaign, working with a digital marketing agency can present some challenges. This is because agencies often need some freedom to achieve the best results. While they require your approval for the strategy and other campaign decisions, giving them the liberty to make strategic choices can be highly beneficial for your business.
Advantages of Digital Marketing Agencies
Deep Knowledge of the Industry
Collaborating with an agency gives you access to some of the most skilled and specialized companies in the industry. This advantage means you can select an agency that has experience working in your market or excels in the particular strategy you want to implement, such as SEO, email marketing or web design. Having a seasoned partner on board can significantly benefit your business by providing more value and higher investment on return (ROI) from your digital marketing process. By investing in an experienced agency, you can optimize your marketing budget and get the most out of your investment.
Cost-Efficient
When deciding between an in-house marketing department and partnering with an agency, pricing is often a major factor. The cost of maintaining an in-house marketing team can exceed $200,000 annually, while agency costs typically range from $20,000 to $200,000 per year. It’s important to note that agency pricing is not a one-size-fits-all model. The cost of an agency partnership depends on the specific needs and goals of your business. By working with a good agency, you have the flexibility to choose a pricing model and services that align with your budget and marketing campaign.
Set of Marketing Tools
With an online marketing agency, your business doesn’t have to worry about researching or purchasing marketing tools. Your agency will often have access to these tools already, like for keyword research and use them for your strategy. In some cases, most agencies will also have marketing software that can make measuring and tracking your online marketing strategies easier.
Capabilities
Digital marketing agencies can provide a unique advantage to businesses, especially for small-to-mid-sized companies, as they often come with specialized skills that in-house teams may not have. This can include access to beta features in platforms like Google Ads or data-driven insights on effective strategies. One such advantage is the ability to conduct A/B testing, which can help optimize campaigns by testing different versions of an ad or landing page to see which performs better.
Broad Range of Skills
To build a robust marketing team, you need a diverse skill set, which at least includes SEO, content creation, social media management and advertising campaign management. However, in-house marketing teams are limited in their ability to accomplish everything required due to their limited skill sets. Agencies, on the other hand, have specialists in the various marketing fields required to achieve your goals.
Highly Scalable
An agency can quickly adjust to your business needs. Whether you want to increase your online presence, run a promotional campaign or improve your social media outreach, an agency can readily provide the necessary resources. On the other hand, an in-house team would find it hard to respond to those requirements, especially if your business wants to pause or scale back its marketing efforts. Pausing campaigns during the slow season, for instance, can put your in-house marketing department in a difficult position. The team member responsible for managing your paid campaigns may find themselves with no work, while you’re still paying their salary. This situation can be avoided with an agency, which can easily pivot to different projects and allocate resources where needed.
Agency Versus In-House Marketing: Which Should I Choose?
We understand the struggle and hopefully, we were able to provide you with the necessary information to make an informed decision that suits you the best. For small businesses with a limited client base, managing a marketing campaign on your own may be a viable option. However, if you’re looking to scale up your operations, partnering with an agency may be the more suitable choice. Ultimately, the decision comes down to what works best for your unique business needs. With your in-depth knowledge of your company, you’re best placed to make a decision that aligns with your goals.
Here at Find Your Audience, we make scaling your marketing processes fast and easy, without the headache of hiring, training and using up your entire budget. Contact us now to learn more and start growing your business today!
