By Michael Farino, Head of SEM for Hiperwall
Marketing can make or break your business. To reach more customers, increase revenue, and grow as a business, every company needs a solid marketing strategy.
Choosing your marketing strategy is a challenge, however, especially if you’re deciding between your in-house team or outsourcing. Both have pros and cons and it comes down to deciding which will help you reach your goals.
In-House Marketing
Pros:
Alignment With Company Goals and Culture
Your in-house marketing team was hired to bring your strategic plan to life. They’re in it for your business and likely see the same vision you do, so you can count on them to give you focus and success with a campaign.
Direct Access to Marketing Professionals
When you have a dedicated marketing team, the only projects they work on are yours. If you want to change a campaign or have ideas to incorporate into your strategy, you don’t need to worry about your team being too busy with other projects for other clients.
Saves Time and Expense
When you have an in-house marketing team to draw on, you don’t need to waste time and money looking for an agency to handle your campaigns. You also have to illustrate your company culture and expectations to a new agency, which adds time to the process before you can launch your campaign.
Full Dedication to Your Brand and Your Brand Alone
One of the greatest benefits of an in-house team is that they live and breathe your brand. They’re immersed in all aspects of your brand and understand your larger business goals and objectives — all of which you’d have to teach an agency.
Solutions are Implemented Faster
While you can rush a campaign with an agency, having an in-house marketing team cuts the time to launch significantly. You have access to your team to work with them on a campaign and get results faster. That’s often an expensive ask for an agency.
Cons:
The Wrong Team Can Be an Expensive Mistake
The hiring process is expensive on its own, and it comes with a lot of risk. The wrong candidate or team can be a costly mistake, both in money and time and you need a robust team to handle your marketing strategy.
Less-Varied Experience
An in-house marketing team is all about your brand but that may come at the expense of less experience with different industries, brands, and campaigns that you would get with an agency. While the team may have diverse backgrounds, they’ll eventually become immersed in the way your brand handles marketing.
Lack of Outside Perspective
Another downside to being immersed in your brand is that the in-house team may suffer from the same lack of perspective as the leaders. It can be difficult to see solutions or opportunities when you’re deeply involved in something and stuck in a rut and that’s where outsourcing to an agency with fresh eyes can be beneficial.
Outsourced Marketing
Pros:
Specialized Knowledge
Marketing agencies have a full team of professionals with in-depth knowledge of different marketing strategies, techniques, tools, and specialties across multiple industries. It’s difficult for a smaller team to match this kind of knowledge and achieve the same results.
Broad, Diverse Experience
Agency team members often come from diverse backgrounds and have unique training, allowing for a broad range of experience. These teams work with each other and consider different perspectives and approaches to create the most successful campaigns.
Cutting Edge of Technology, Processes, and Tactics
Marketing shifts quickly, especially in the digital landscape. What worked yesterday may not work today and competition is tough. Agencies thrive on staying on top of best practices and the newest trends and techniques, so you’re getting a team adept at the latest, groundbreaking technologies and techniques.
Freedom to Focus on Business-Critical Tasks
Using an agency ensures that the rest of the team and its leaders have time to focus on business-critical tasks like day-to-day operations and internal tasks. While an in-house team is also tasked with marketing, it’s easy for team members to end up wearing multiple hats, distracting them from the goal.
Paid for Performance
An agency is paid based on its results, so you can count on performance. If you’re not satisfied with the campaigns or results you get, you can ask for a different approach or find a different agency quickly.
Cons:
Focused on Their Solutions, Not Necessarily Your Ideas
A successful marketing agency may be focused on their own ideas or solutions, even if they conflict with what you have in mind. They’re drawing on a wealth of experience, so though they may be right, it can be difficult to get your vision to shine through.
The Wrong Agency or Consultant Can Be Pricey
You can find numerous marketing agencies, but they’re not all created equal. If you choose the wrong agency, you could end up spending a lot of money on your campaigns and even more money on the next solution.
Low Morale Among In-House Marketing Staff
If you already have an in-house marketing staff and choose to outsource some of your marketing to an agency, it can lead to low morale among your team. Some employees may feel self-conscious, unheard, confused, or threatened by the decision, which can impact their productivity.
Balancing Many Clients
Agencies have a wealth of knowledge, but with that comes a full list of clients and multiple projects. You’ll gain a lot of marketing experience and perspective but you may struggle if your marketing strategy isn’t the sole focus of the agency’s efforts.
Which is Right For You?
Both agencies and in-house marketing teams have a lot of benefits and drawbacks, so choosing the right one depends on your unique needs. Keep in mind that even if you hire an in-house team for your ongoing marketing needs, there’s nothing to stop you from looking to an agency for a one-off project that needs a special touch.
Author Bio:
Michael Farino, Head of SEM for Hiperwall, is a proven strategic marketing and communications executive with over 10 years of experience in lifestyle, entertainment and technology sectors, in both domestic and international settings.
He is an accomplished leader that cultivates strong, cross functional teams that possess the know-how to generate impressive results.
