Before I talk about the pros and cons of hiring an in-house marketing team or partnering with
an agency, I should mention that I work for WebFX, a full-service digital marketing agency.
I should also mention that I work closely with the in-house marketing team at WebFX,
so I understand both sides of the agency vs. in-house marketing debate.
There’s definitely a lot to think about when you’re ready to make this decision.
Each choice has pros and cons, and you might even land somewhere in the middle.
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty...after this intro.
So first I’ll talk about the pros and cons of hiring an in-house marketing team.
Pros Brand familiarity
I can definitely say an in-house marketing team knows your brand inside and out.
After all, they work with it every single day.
Good agencies will get to know your brand, too, but establishing this relationship can
take time.
Accessibility
Speaking of time, an in-house marketing team will likely take less time to contact since
they’re right there.
If everyone’s in the office, you can just get up and have an impromptu conversation
at someone’s desk.
With an agency, you’ll likely communicate over email or by phone, and there may be a
delay in communication, especially if you’re in different time zones.
Good agencies will likely have ways to handle time differences and will do their best to
communicate well, but the emphasis is on “good agencies.”
Focus Good agencies probably work with a lot of
clients, so you might not get the level of focus you want from your account manager.
Some agencies, however, treat every client like they’re the only client.
Working with a lot of clients can prove to be a benefit, which I’ll elaborate on later
in this video.
Now onto the cons of hiring an in-house marketing team.
Cons Talent management
Having an in-house marketing team means you have to find, hire, and train new team members
on your own.
On top of that, the cost of your team can be a lot more expensive than partnering with
an agency.
The ever-changing digital marketing landscape requires a lot of different skill sets, so
it’s not likely you can hire one person to do everything.
Seriously...there’s SEO, PPC, web design, social media, video marketing, web development,
and a lot more.
You can even break down each of those categories into smaller specializations.
Each team member needs a salary, benefits, and technology to help them do their jobs.
Oh, that reminds me.
The next topic is technology.
Technology
Some free tools like Google Analytics exist to help with your digital marketing, but you’re
likely going to need more data to make decisions.
Ahrefs and SEMrush are two of many paid tools that really help fill in any data gaps, but
they cost money.
Agencies already use these tools, so you don’t have to shell out extra cash.
Plus, gathering data from different tools can be like finding a needle in a haystack
if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Growth potential
You can hire the best and the brightest internal marketers, but everyone has their limits.
Someone might be an expert in content marketing, but they don’t have a ton of advanced technical
knowledge...or vice versa.
You might find yourself relying on freelancers to supplement your team, which can get expensive
if used often.
If you want to scale your digital marketing efforts, you might also overload your team.
An agency has multiple people that can handle larger projects, while your in-house team
might already be overwhelmed by its normal day-to-day to-do list.
Recap: Overall, in-house teams are huge investments of time and resources.
So those are the pros and cons of an in-house marketing team.
Let’s move on to the pros and cons of partnering with an agency for your marketing.
Pros Experience
Earlier I mentioned that good agencies work with a lot of clients.
While you can argue this is a disadvantage of hiring an agency, I’d argue that it makes
them better at making decisions for your marketing strategy.
Through working with different clients and in different industries, it’s highly likely
your account manager has seen what works and what doesn’t work for a business like yours.
And good account managers will focus on continually staying up-to-date in their fields so they
can be confident in all of their strategy decisions.
They might go after several industry certifications so they can prove that they know what they’re
doing.
Plus, having a large team means other marketers with different areas of expertise can help
shape your campaigns for success, so if you start with SEO and decide to add web design
to your strategy, you can do that without having to spend months hiring or training
someone.
If you’re worried about hiring an overworked agency with slow response times, read their
reviews on social media, Google, or review sites like Clutch and UpCity.
Tools
As I said earlier, you need reliable tools to make informed decisions about your marketing.
Paid tools can be expensive, but agencies typically use them on a larger scale, so you
don’t have to worry about having every tool under the sun.
Cost
Hiring, training, and keeping an internal marketing team takes away time and money from
your business.
The cost of partnering with an agency depends on your needs, but you could end up saving
hundreds of thousands of dollars every year by choosing to hire an agency.
You might want to handle some work yourself and pass the rest off to an agency, leading
to even greater cost savings.
A good marketing agency will help you determine your business needs and go from there.
As much as I wish there weren’t any cons to partnering with a digital marketing agency,
I’ll name a few.
Cons Location
An agency is not an in-house marketing team.
They’re not going to be immediately available, and they can be far away if you partner with
an agency that isn’t local.
Like I said earlier, it can be tough to choose meeting times if you’re in different time
zones or locations, and there may be a delay in communication, but a good agency has processes
in place to make any time differences work.
Multiple clients
I can’t say this enough: A good agency will make you feel like you’re their only client.
Not every agency puts an emphasis on maintaining client relationships as we do...and I did
mean to brag.
If you’re currently working with an agency that isn’t focused on your business, it
might be time to find a new one.
Control
Agencies tend to work best with some level of freedom.
Not to say that you won’t have any input on your strategy, but you should trust your
marketing agency to make informed decisions for you on a daily basis.
You’ll usually be required to approve strategies and some other campaign decisions, but your
partnership with an agency gives them the freedom to make choices for your business
based on everything they’ve learned from their research and in conversations with you.
If you want complete control over your daily marketing activities, you might find an in-house
marketing team works better for you.
But a responsible agency won’t just make decisions and leave you in the dark.
They’ll have thorough reporting processes to keep you informed and keep themselves accountable.
Some agencies might even have their own data reporting platforms with real-time data for
their clients.
So while I won’t tell you whether to hire an in-house marketing team or an agency, I
will tell you to do your research before picking a side in the agency vs. in-house marketing
team debate.
A good option in the middle might be to have someone in-house experienced enough to do
some of the work and coordinate with an agency.
If you do decide to partner with an agency, don’t hesitate to contact our experts.
We offer a full range of digital marketing services to meet your every business need.