A big question in the marketing world today is, “Should I utilize an in-house marketing team or a marketing agency?". To make the right decision, you want to consider all of your available options. Marketing is essential to any successful business plan, but which marketing route is right for you? Below you will find the breakdown of what makes marketing so important, as well as the benefits and downsides of in-house marketing vs. a marketing agency.
So, why exactly is marketing so important?
Provides consistency.
Marketing establishes brand consistency across all platforms. Consistency is key when it comes to creating a strong foundation for your business/organization.
Promotes engagement.
Effective and strategic engagement marketing allows you to turn a one-off customer into a loyal consumer.
Informs with the right message.
Keeping your audience informed is vital, and marketing does just that. It can answer many of the essential questions a potential customer may have. For example, ‘What is the cost of this service?’ or ‘Do you offer X, Y, and Z in this package?’. By informing your audience of these basic, need-to-know questions, you are accelerating the purchasing process.
Builds a reputation.
A positive reputation can be a deciding factor for consumers when they’re deciding between you or your competitor. Therefore, an effective marketing strategy will highlight your positive qualities and competitive differentiators.
What are your marketing options?
In-House Marketing
Your first option is in-house marketing. In-house marketing simply means that you are responsible for all aspects of the marketing plan and execution. You need to find and hire the right individuals, go through the onboarding process, work to develop the budget, etc. You and your marketing team are then responsible for all copy and graphic creation, placement, partnerships, and more. Your marketing team is located within your business and are direct employees of your company.
Pros:
• Dedicated to your business: Being direct employees of your company, an in-house marketing team can be immersed into your business 100% of the time.
• Easier to be on-site: It is easier to bring the members of your marketing team on-site for training, meetings, or employee team-building activities.
• Team relationships: Your in-house marketing team will work closely with other departments and employees of the company. For instance, the marketing team may have a strong understanding of sales by being immersed in the day-to-day sales
Cons:
• Can be expensive: If you are looking to hire multiple people to run your company’s marketing endeavors, that means you are now investing in the training, salary, benefits, etc. for each individual. This can be costly and time consuming.
• Accounting for holidays and time off: You will need to account for personal time off for your marketing employees. This can be difficult when managing a tight marketing schedule.
• Turnover impact: Let’s say you’ve now invested in the training and retention of multiple people on your marketing team. Some may stay in that position for several years, but some may leave sooner than expected. Therefore, in this scenario, you would need to invest more time and money in finding another candidate.
A Marketing Agency
Your second option is a marketing agency. A marketing agency is a third-party company that takes the reins of your marketing plan. Therefore, this agency becomes an extension to your business, ensuring that all messaging, visuals, etc. is in-line with your business’s branding and tone of voice.
Pros:
• Cost-effective: Recruiting a marketing agency eliminates the financial burden of paying a salary to each individual on the team. You work with the agency to develop a plan that will address your business goals, while staying within your budget.
• Saves time: There is no hiring process for multiple people. As soon as you reach an agreement with the agency, their team of experts is now your team of experts.
• Custom: With an agency comes many different talents and specialties. Your plan is created custom to ensure that you can benefit from all the ‘cards in their deck’.
• Scalable: In both a financial and scope of work aspect, you can usually adjust hours as needed (however, this depends on your contract). This provides a high level of scalability and control.
• Fully staffed: You can capitalize on always having a fully-staffed team of marketing experts.
• Connections: Qualified agencies have established leads and media lists, which provides you with more connections. Oftentimes, they are also able to extend value-added services, such as free access to stock photography, etc.
Cons:
• Business knowledge: Sometimes it may take slightly longer for the agency to become familiar with your messaging and tone of voice. This is because an agency has to balance multiple clients. But no fret — the right agency will ensure this information is picked up quickly.
• Not on-site: Since agencies don’t work on-site, it can sometimes be difficult to arrange in-person meetings. Though not impossible by any means, it would most likely be only a handful of times per year at most.
• Split time: As one of multiple clients, you will not have 100% of the agency’s time. Agencies prioritize based on client needs. However, you will always have a team lead at your disposal.
The Key Takeaways
When deciding between an in-house marketing team or a marketing agency, it’s important to consider the mentioned pros and cons of each. Most importantly, this will help you to determine what is the best match for you and your business.
In conclusion, it’s important sure to ask yourself some important questions when considering your marketing goals:
• What is my marketing budget?
• What goals am I looking to accomplish through marketing?
• Do I have the bandwidth (of both time and finances) to establish and maintain a full marketing team?
If you’re considering a marketing agency, we invite you to see what RISE Marketing has to offer.
About RISE Marketing
RISE Marketing is a fully-remote marketing agency with a dedicated and hands-on team. We pride ourselves in building true relationships with our clients. We have a wide set of skills among our team, but never shy from learning new skills to accommodate the needs of our clients.
Why RISE?
If you’re looking for an established agency with a talented and dynamic team to assist you with your business endeavors, please contact us for a free consultation: marketing@risemrktg.com.
Unearth the power of your brand’s story with RISE Marketing!