Do you prefer to work in-house with digital marketing agencies or partner with them? This is a crucial question that every business owner should consider. There is no one right answer. We have found that a combination of both is often the most effective. A digital marketing agency can work with your team or in-house marketing team to maximize your marketing budget.
Sometimes choosing between an external or internal marketing team can feel like a losing battle. It’s actually a spectrum and every company will have a different balance. A mixture of both is common.
We’ve made a list of some of the reasons that hiring an agency can be beneficial, especially for small-to-medium-sized businesses looking to supplement a single in-house marketer:
1 – BROADER SKILLSET
Businesses choose to work with a digital marketing agency because they have access to a whole team of highly skilled professionals who can handle their projects for a fraction of the cost it would take to build them. Small businesses are often too busy to hire a full-time programmer, full-time SEO specialist, or full-time social media manager. The majority of businesses would benefit from each. A partnership with an agency gives you those skills plus more without the need for additional investment. It is easier to diversify your marketing efforts by having such a wide range of skills available to your company.
2 – EXPERTISE
Agency staff are more diverse than ever and have greater experience. Agencies are often specialists in one area. This means that your company can benefit from the competitive environment in which talent is being hired. Many in-house marketers adapt to become more of a “jack-of-all-trades” to meet all company needs. Agencies invest resources in educating their employees and keeping them at the forefront of their respective fields. A team environment in an agency encourages continuous learning and growth.
3 – COST
It’s generally cheaper to partner with an agency than hire an entire in-house staff. However, costs can vary depending on how big your business is and what you want to achieve. External and internal marketing can be a significant investment. An in-house team requires substantial overhead. This includes salaries, benefits and office space. Training, recruitment, and equipment. External agencies can often be the biggest line item in a marketing budget and can make it easy to cut or renegotiate. A digital marketing agency is often the best option for high-quality, cost-effective marketing work. You get access to a full team of professionals in multiple marketing areas for the same cost as two or three full-time employees. A hybrid approach gives you the opportunity to have lower-cost creative support full-time and also allows for flexibility and diversification of skills from a digital agency.
3 – LOWER COMMITMENT
A digital marketing agency partner is less risky than hiring an entire team. Your company won’t be responsible for the onboarding, interviewing, and other tasks associated with a new employee. Marketing agencies are much easier to hire than in-house employees and easier to fire. This means that it is easier to find the right fit between your agency and your in-house team. It is crucial to find an agency that you can trust and communicate with in order to build a strong agency partnership.
4 – PRODUCTIVITY
Partnering with an agency means that 100% of your investment is directed towards the production of deliverables. Your marketing budgets are not being used for benefits, equipment, continuing education, or PTO. Efficiency is also a driving force for agencies. Agencies have a proven process that allows them to produce high-quality work while meeting deadlines and budgets by managing multiple accounts. They can usually get this type of work done faster than an in-house team, even if they are just starting to do it.
5 – ACCOUNTABILITY
Internal marketers face the greatest challenge of proving ROI. Agencies are result-driven and want to ensure that they have accurate, insightful data in order to guide their marketing strategies. Reporting is an essential part of strengthening the partnership and helping to make informed decisions going forward. Both the agency and you can benefit from meaningful data. It shows mutual investment in your success. Agencies are accountable to their clients. It’s a process they know well.
6 – LARGER NETWORK & ACCESS TO ADVANCED TOOLS
Multi-client relationships can help you build a network of vendors and channels, which can result in new partnerships. Agencies have access to many tools and resources that aren’t available to all companies or only to professionals. Agencies can help you get more exposure by exhibiting work or being featured in publications.
7 -STABILITY
Employee turnover is a major problem for in-house teams. When they work for one company for several years, marketing employees are more likely to experience burnout and their creativity may stagnate. Many marketers at the junior-to-mid level change their jobs every two to three years. There are many costs associated with a job loss, such as recruiting fees, training, interviewing, and training. You also have to consider the additional work that will be required while you find a replacement. This can cause delays or a halt to your marketing campaigns. You can rest assured that your marketing strategy will be executed consistently month after month with an agency partner.
8 – SCALABILITY & FLEXIBILITY
You will need more staff or contractors to boost your production. Your company can partner with a digital agency to increase engagement or decrease it as required. You can easily increase the number of agencies that you use to launch a website. After the website has been launched, you can use that time for another aspect of your campaign.
9 – CREATIVITY & OBJECTIVITY
Collaboration with agencies can bring you great benefits in terms of creativity and objectivity. Sometimes, keeping all marketing efforts in house can lead to groupthink or tunnel vision. Digital marketing agencies aren’t affected by internal biases and assumed knowledge. This makes it easier to communicate a clear message to the intended audience. The problem is that many internal teams have so much in-depth knowledge that they attempt to convey too much. This causes the audience to lose the core message. A neutral perspective can help you sort through the clutter and still be able to communicate clearly with the outside world.
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It might be difficult to strike the right balance between external and internal work. It might be a good idea to have a large team within your company, and only bring in an agency to help with larger projects like rebranding, strategy planning, long-term campaigns, etc., which are often secondary to the immediate work. Perhaps it is more practical for your company to have a few in-house marketers who can create daily deliverables and be the point of contact for the digital marketing agency. Then, you can outsource most of the strategy or production to an agency partner. It is worth having a marketing manager within the company. This provides a clear channel for communication and keeps other departments focused. This also means your company has someone who reviews the reports and can provide insight to the agency as they plan their next month’s strategy.
No matter where your company is located, there are many benefits to having a digital agency work alongside your in-house marketing department. We have found that these partnerships work best when they reflect the expertise of both your company and our ability to plan and execute a high-quality digital marketing strategy. If you’re interested in exploring an agency + in-house partnership with us here at WorldPlay, let’s get in touch.
