When you decide it’s time to start marketing your business, you must make an important decision: what to choose between in-house vs. agency marketing. Both options offer positives and negatives. Explore the pros and cons ahead to prepare you for the decision.
Pros of In-House Marketing
In-house marketing requires a company to bring on a staff member well-versed in multiple forms of digital marketing to run their campaigns. This person dedicates their 40-hour workweek to the development of marketing efforts to build the brand and work toward marketing goals.
Bringing in an in-house marketer to run digital campaigns offers a few pros:
Immersion in Company Culture
When a company chooses in-house marketing instead of going with an agency, the biggest benefit they experience is the presence of a person immersed in the company culture. An in-house marketer understands your business and its personality in a unique way.
That person works in the same environment as other employees, helping them attain a deep understanding of company culture and core values. More than simply hearing about those values, they live them. This distinct opportunity is one that only comes with in-house marketing and it’s something an agency can’t fully provide.
Opportunity To Engage in the Process
Another benefit of choosing in-house marketing is that you have more hands-on opportunities.
An agency devises a plan, executes it, and communicates with the business through each step. With in-house marketing, you can engage in each part of the process, from goal-setting and budgeting to keyword development.
While agencies inform and consider company input, they ultimately run the campaign independently. With an in-house employee, company input is in every step of the campaign.
Cons of In-House Marketing
While there are some legitimate upsides to hiring marketing in-house, you may see some downfalls.
Limited Knowledge
When you hire one person to run all your digital marketing campaigns, you become limited to that one person’s knowledge. Your campaigns utilize the input and expertise of only one person rather than an entire team.
It’s rare for a single person to be an expert in all things digital marketing. Often, a person is an expert in one method and gets by with the rest. For example, a person could be a pro at search engine optimization, but they may not have too much experience in paid social. They can learn and develop their skills, but paid social likely won’t perform like SEO does for that business.
Costs
Another negative of in-house marketing is the cost. Many business owners believe that in-house is cheaper because of management fees at an agency—but an in-house employee requires a salary.
You must pay the employee’s salary and most likely provide benefits. This is a costly venture, as most marketing positions require a degree and experience, so the salary required proves sizable. The current average starting salary of an in-house marketing manager is about $50,000.
Pros of Agency Marketing
When a business decides to hire a marketing agency to handle its digital marketing campaigns, it sees plenty of advantages. Agencies have combined decades of experience and plenty of workers well-versed in multiple digital marketing sectors. Here are a few of the pros of hiring a digital marketing agency:
Wide Expertise
The most notable benefit of hiring a professional agency is the combined experience and range of expertise that agency experts provide. Agencies employ authorities in their field. Instead of having one expert that handles every part of your marketing campaign, agencies provide an expert in each section.
An agency typically provides the following professionals:
- Account manager
- Analyst
- Copywriter
- Graphic designer
- Website developer
All of these experts come with one price. The amount of collaboration and the mosaic of experience builds the best possible campaign for every aspect of your digital marketing efforts.
Cost Savings
Most companies see cost savings when they decide to hire an agency rather than keep marketing in-house. This is more realistic for small and mid-size businesses, and for those companies, hiring an agency is typically much more cost-effective and yields better results.
Agencies are highly motivated to retain clients and work hard to ensure your account grows, as their success is heavily tied to your success.
Cons of Agency Marketing
While the pros of hiring an agency are enough to drive most companies to invest, you should keep a few cons in mind. An agency doesn’t know your business the way an in-house employee does, and that lack of immersion can affect the campaign.
Potential Inexperience in Your Industry
Marketing agencies often segment industries, meaning one agency may specialize in home and garden-type companies while another focuses on industrial campaigns. It’s important to vet the agency you choose and ensure they’re experienced and have the tools to accurately understand and represent your industry.
For example, a company selling forklifts may want to avoid working with a marketing agency that only services clothing store clients. Going with an agency that understands your industry is essential, but it can prove tricky to find the proper agency.
Less Time Spent on Your Account
Another potential setback of hiring an agency over hiring an in-house employee is that agency workers can’t dedicate 40 hours a week to your account. But professionals at an agency have the experience to understand the amount of time that your campaign needs.
Keep in mind that more time spent on an account doesn’t automatically translate to better results. Often, giving the campaign time to generate usable data is more beneficial than shifting every time a change happens.
There are advantages and disadvantages to either option, and you should decide what makes the most sense for your unique business. If you’re curious about what a professional SEO, paid social, and PPC management company can do for you, contact Logical Position.
We differentiate ourselves because of our extensive knowledge and omnichannel thinking. We manage digital marketing accounts across multiple platforms and industries successfully. We bring a growth mindset and deliver by leveraging our resources to find the best approach to fuel growth for your business. Contact us today for a free, no-commitment consultation.
