Hiring a Marketing Agency vs. An In-House Marketer
Your business grows, in part, based on the success of its marketing. You know you need help with marketing, but aren't sure whether to hire an agency to do the heavy lifting or to hire a new employee. This is a big investment, so it's important that you make a strategic decision.
What is the best direction for your business? Only you can decide. Use these 2 checklists to help you determine whether it's the right time to go in-house or with an agency.
You need a marketing agency if:
You need a new marketing perspective
Feel stuck? If you aren't sure how to move forward or you're getting nowhere with your current strategy, you need an agency. Agencies bring fresh ideas and experience to the table. Plus, you have a team of skilled people on your side. Two heads are better than one, and with an agency, you get several dozen heads thinking about your marketing strategy.
You're on a budget
Hiring a team of in-house marketers is expensive. Plus, it's hard to source the right candidates and train a new hire. And even after all of your hard work, that employee might not be a fit for your company. In many cases, hiring an agency is less expensive than building an in-house marketing team with the same skills.
You don’t have a marketing team
Agencies have a skilled team of pros at the helm. While you can certainly find marketing generalists to do your marketing, agencies bring a large group of specialized professionals. It's a great way to get a team of digital specialists without building a marketing team yourself.
You need someone who can be objective about your marketing strategy
Your employees might not feel comfortable sharing their honest feelings about your marketing. Between familiarity blindness and an eagerness to please their boss, employees won't always give you objective information. An agency, on the other hand, helps you see results from the outside-in. It offers a much-needed fresh perspective and honesty that revitalizes stale marketing.
You want to take some pressure off your team
Let's say you already have a team of marketers. But guess what? Their to-do lists and schedules are crammed full. You don't have the resources to bring on another in-house marketer, but you have to do something to help your team. Hiring an agency is a great solution for this problem because the agency can take pressure off of your employees, getting you to the finish line without overwhelming the team.
You love to stay organized
Organization is one of those things that people love to have, but few people dedicate time to it. Before you know it, your marketing files are all over the place and you can't find a thing. If you have disorganization, go with an agency. Agencies have a framework for organizing processes and files. They can even help you get everything back in order!
You want to get more done in less time
Time is of the essence when it comes to inbound marketing. It's counter-productive to put more pressure on your team when they're already starved for time, though. But if you hire an agency, you can continue scaling your marketing efforts without so many constraints.
You don’t have the required skills
Marketing can get pretty technical. If you don't have a team of marketers on your roster with technical experience, you should opt for an agency, First of all, it's expensive to hire and train a team. Second, an agency already has the proven experience and skills to get the job done on your behalf. Don't waste time learning HTML—focus on your business and let an agency handle the technical stuff.
You need better results
Maybe you've tried in-house marketers but the results still aren't great. That means it could be time for a change. Consider bringing on an agency if you really want to see ROI. Agencies are accountable to produce results; after all, that's what sells clients on their services! They have to fight to continually earn your business, and that means agencies want to get you results.
If you've checked most of the items in this first checklist, you probably should hire a marketing agency. Let's look at our second checklist: when it makes more sense to hire an in-house marketer.
You need an in-house marketer if:
You already have a great in-house team
It takes a lot of time and energy to hire a great team of employees. If you're already happy with your team as-is and don't want to mess with the team dynamics, hiring in-house instead of outsourcing is a better move.
You need everything to be available, all the time
Agencies have multiple people on the team, which means it can take time to get certain reports. That's especially true if you and the agency are in different time zones. If you do everything in-house, though, it's easier to check on your campaign progress. With an in-house team, you always know where everything is.
You want to stay in control of the strategy
The biggest benefit to in-house marketers is the degree of control you have over your marketing strategy. If you hire an agency, they'll bring their own approach. While this can often be a good thing, if you aren't comfortable with an outside approach, stick to what works for you.
You need to work with people that understand your values
Employees are going to "get" you faster than an agency might. These employees are already aligned with your culture, mission, and values. You can definitely find an agency aligned with your beliefs, but employees will know more about your business than an agency ever could.
You haven't had much luck with agencies before
There are a lot of agencies out there. It can be tough finding an agency that you like and that gets results. If you've had problems with an agency in the past, you might get better results in-house.
If you said "yes" to most of the answers above, hiring in-house would be a better fit for your company.
There are pros and cons to hiring an agency versus hiring an in-house marketer. Use these 2 checklists to determine which option is right for you.
But hey, if you've never worked with a digital agency before and are curious about it, schedule a quick meeting with Ben to start the conversation.
