When a company understands this, one of the first questions is the choice between an agency or creating an in-house marketing team. Both options have advantages and disadvantages. Even we, as a full-service digital agency, understand that there is no right answer for all companies. However, we believe that choosing an agency is often more efficient, cheaper, and less time-consuming.
Can't decide between a collaboration with an agency and an in-house team? Continue reading to find out the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
What are the company's priorities?
When thinking about this decision, it's important to start with the company itself. This very simple question will help you make the right decision. Many companies look for solutions with the following criteria:
- An extensive previous experience that proves the ability to get great results
- Transparent pricing
- Understanding of the client's business and its priorities
- Wants a long-term partnership
- Offers digital solutions throughout the full customer journey from A to Z
The good news (which will not make the decision easier) - you can probably find all of these in an agency and an in-house team. However, an agency is more likely to provide those services consistently and with high quality.
Advantages and disadvantages for work with an in-house team
Considering the idea of an in-house marketing team? Let's take a look at the pros and cons of this choice.
Pros
Let's start with the positive!
Aligned timetables
One of the biggest pros of an in-house marketing team is that the employees will probably have a similar timetable as the rest of the company's teams. For example, if all employees in the company work 8 hours a day and at least 4 of them are between 10 AM and 2 PM, it will be quite simple to arrange meeting times that fit everyone. Collaboration between multiple teams is easier, as the teams are available at the same time.
Personal development
Another pro: you can invest in specific courses and educational materials for each team member that will be useful in your company and situation. It can be expensive (yes, online courses and lectures for each team member can be quite an expensive treat), but it offers you a chance to customize the development direction for the whole team.
Cons
The pros are not bad, but, of course, there are cons as well. These are the most important ones.
Recruiting is expensive
You have to consider the recruitment costs, training costs, taxes, extra benefits, vacations and everything in between. This is not just a simple invoice at the end of the month. Also, every employee is limited to what he can achieve in a day, so if there's a seasonal tendency for extra hands needed for marketing, it can turn into a difficult task to hire enough people fast enough. Remember that marketing changes consistently so you need regular training, and courses for employees, which make them even more expensive for the company.
It's easy to hire more people, but... difficult to let them go.
It's the best season of the year, Black Friday, and Christmas is coming, and you want to expand your team to handle the bigger campaigns and get better results. Sounds good.
Now the season is over and you find yourself with double the employees you need for off-season campaigns. It's not a simple situation, because then you have to let them go, which does not improve the company's atmosphere. With an agency, you can simply communicate and adjust according to your needs, and nobody loses their job.
It's tough to find true employee loyalty
The employees will do whatever is the best for them... which, at the end of the day, is the best for our culture, but not too profitable for the employer. You can have the best employee, which you have trained, rewarded, and supported at the best of your abilities, but he receives a better offer somewhere else or just for a role that fits his life better, and... your four or even five-figure investment now works for someone else.
It is challenging to keep the knowledge and capabilities at a high-level
Let's say your marketing team consists of 10 people. And as in an in-house team, each one of them has different responsibilities in different marketing avenues. That's awesome, however, your team can face some problems, for example:
- It is challenging to create a new type of content. Let's say you've sent only info e-mails, now you want some sales emails, but nobody has ever written those on your team.
- Not enough experience to identify the right keywords for blog posts, and landing pages.
- They have experience with Google Ads, but no idea what to do with the new tools and methods, such as Google Performance Max.
The marketing world is massive and constantly changing. Consistently reaching good results with an in-house team can be challenging.
Substantial expenses for tools and training
If you hire a social media marketing freelancer, he will probably have his own social media management tool to use. He will create the material with his tools and apps, use his hashtag tools, etc.
If you're creating an in-house team, you will have to cover all those costs, subscriptions, fees, and access costs which can add up to few thousand per month on subscriptions alone.
Pros and cons of working with an agency
Yeah, there is completely no way this will be 100% objective, however, I will try my best. A disclaimer though, I believe choosing a marketing agency is a better solution for most companies.
Pros
Are you ready for pros? Let's begin!
Access to experts in various fields
When collaborating with a respectable agency, every person you will have to deal with will be an expert in his field with extensive experience. Our experts don't wear 10 hats, they work just in their chosen fields with tasks they are good at.
A wide net of skills and competencies
When working with an agency that offers a wide selection of services (digital marketing, development, UX/UI, etc.), you get full access to a vast amount of resources from various experts and professionals. It doesn't matter what challenges you face, the agency should be able to solve them.
TRY offers digital solutions throughout the customer journey, A to Z, development, UX/UI, marketing, Hubspot, CRO, and more.
Agencies have way more data
An in-house marketing team might have experience from previously working with other brands and access to your company's data. That's a good start.
However, the data and resources available to an agency are multiple times larger. We work with tens of clients at the same time and have researched hundreds of case studies and different situations. And agencies have direct access and contacts with advertising platforms and resources, making solving complex issues easier.
We have a systematic and defined process
You want to improve Google Ads results, but... do you know what steps would you need to take to do it? We know. TRY highly values a systematic approach to learning about each situation and company to create effective campaigns or optimize the existing ones.
Our teams are knowledgeable and always ready to get things done
You don't pay for employees, so you don't have to worry about educational expenses, that's our job. Our teams are certified, and well-educated and they have all the necessary tools and apps to start working as soon as we close the deal. And, of course, you don't have to think about insurance, benefits, vacations, etc.
We live in this industry
You don't need employees who have subscribed to 15 different digital newsletters just to be up to date with the latest algorithm or creative changes. We live and breathe this industry, so we're always up to date with the latest news and updates.
TRY agency is a Hubspot Diamond partner, we have a partnership with Google, Meta, and Snapchat, so we receive the latest information as soon as it is available. Our clients can leverage this before anyone else is informed about it.
Cons
One of the biggest cons is the fact many agencies provide low-quality services. You can end up with someone who wants just a quick buck from the partnership instead of focusing on long-term, stable results (or don't even know how to get results).
Being afraid of a situation like this is completely normal and rational. Your company should not be some agency shortcut to hit the monthly revenue goal, so it's important to choose respectable agencies with previous experience, a good client base, and available case studies, which show expertise and efficiency.
Some of the initial expenses can seem high, however, you have to keep in mind that investment in high-quality digital solutions for the long term pays off multiple times and provides a positive contribution. If it wouldn't, agencies like TRY wouldn't even exist.
Summary
So, agency or an in-house team: what's the right solution for you?
Some companies choose both. Many medium to large companies already have their in-house team, which outsources services to agencies when they are needed. They just oversee the results and connect the company and agency specialists to successfully develop the projects.
Anyways, now you know our (almost completely objective) stance on this choice between an agency and an in-house team. What's next, that's up to you.
Are you looking for an agency that could help you with digital solutions for your company? TRY is an experienced, respectable agency with many awards and partnerships that prove our capability to make great things happen. Fill out the form below to connect with us and find out more about potential collaboration opportunities.
