Digital Marketing Agency vs In-House Marketing Team: Which Is Right for You?

For every business that wants to grow, there comes a time when they have to choose whether they will use a digital marketing agency or develop their own in-house marketing team. Either way can prove to be viable, but there are significant differences in cost, compromises, and flexibility. The wrong one will result in the loss of budget and opportunities, and a result-averse marketing function.

At GSS (Global Services & Solutions), we are doing both here, some businesses approach us as their digital marketing agency, others approach us to add to their in-house marketing team. Let’s go over the details of a digital marketing agency vs in-house marketing team so you can determine which one is the best fit for your business.

So, What’s a Digital Marketing Agency?

A digital marketing agency is an outside company that you will hire to work on your marketing strategies: SEO, paid ads, social media, content marketing, email marketing, and more. A digital marketing company provides you an entire team of experts at one contract, which could be less costly than creating the team in-house.

Flexibility is key to the appeal of a digital marketing agency. You increase or decrease services as necessary, can access expertise with which you may not be familiar, and don’t have to pay full-time salaries and benefits. A solid digital marketing agency will also be able to provide outside perspective and experience from other industries that an in-house team, working solely on your business, might not have.

What is the added value provided by an in-house marketing team?

An in-house marketing team consists of staff members who are directly employed by your company, and who function within the staff as a part of your daily business operations. In contrast, a digital marketing agency works on a daily basis with your brand, and thus can have a more life-like understanding of your products, customers and culture.

There is a trade-off: cost, and scope. Having a dedicated marketing team that can do all the things that a typical digital marketing agency would do (SEO, paid media, content, design, analytics and more) typically means hiring multiple people to cover different aspects, all of which come with salaries and benefits, training, tools, and more. For many businesses, that’s a pretty large investment before any marketing results begin to roll in.

Digital Marketing Agency vs In-House Marketing Team: Cost Comparison

The budget is typically the first consideration businesses compare between a digital marketing agency and in-house team.

Digital marketing agency costs:

Usually charged by the hour, by retainer or according to services provided
No benefit, payroll tax or employee turnover costs
Access to a full staff of specialists for often less than one or two full time salaries
Easily scale up or down for business needs and budget

Cost of an in-house marketing team:

Full-time salaries, benefits and payroll taxes for all hires
Other expenses of tools and software licenses and continuous training
The expenses of recruiting and training workers, particularly when people leave the company
Becomes harder to scale down when budgets need to be reduced

In the early days of business growth, a digital marketing agency is often far more economical for small and mid-sized businesses than having an in-house team with the same level of expertise in the various facets of digital marketing.

Speed, Flexibility, and Expertise: Agency vs In-House

Speed to launch

A digital marketing agency will have the processes, tools, and talent all in place, and campaigns can get started in a shorter amount of time than it would take to build a new in-house marketing team from the ground up.

Range of expertise

A digital marketing agency typically has multiple teams for each aspect of the field, which means you can get experts on SEO, paid media, content, design, and analytics: something that would be difficult to afford with people to hire in-house. In-house marketing teams, on the other hand, typically have fewer generalists, who have to wear multiple hats.

Flexibility to scale

Looking for a quick boost when launching a product but then dialing it down afterwards? Generally, a digital marketing agency will be able to scale up or down as required. An in-house marketing team is much less flexible, as you’re either going to have to let staff go and hire new people again only if you grow, which takes time.

Knowledge of brands and products

An advantage of an in-house marketing team is that this is where they can be effective. An external digital marketing agency may not be able to equal the amount of knowledge a staff member will have about your product and your customer base, particularly during the first few months of a relationship.

A Digital Marketing Agency is more advantageous than any other option when it makes sense

A digital marketing agency is a better option when:

As a small business, you don’t have the funds to support a dedicated marketing team that includes individual roles.
You must have a wide array of skills (SEO, paid ads, content, design), and you don’t want to hire several people full-time to accomplish them all.
You need a variety of skills (SEO, paid ads, content, design), but do not want to hire several full-time employees to perform all of them.
Quick to launch campaigns without a lengthy hiring and onboarding process
Your marketing requirements vary throughout the year or with certain projects or campaigns.
You need outside feedback and a new point of view regarding your marketing approach

It is better to have an In-House Marketing Team, rather than an outside one

If you go with an in-house marketing team, you should consider it if:

Having multiple full-time employees in the marketing department is an option for your budget.
You can afford to hire more than one full-time employee in the marketing department.
Marketing should be an integral part of business and a part of every decision.
The product knowledge in your industry is highly specialized and this requires some time to acquire.
You don’t want to have to coordinate with an external digital marketing agency and want 100% control over what you need to prioritize when it comes to marketing.
You don’t want to have to coordinate with an external digital marketing agency and you want full control on what you need to prioritize when it comes to marketing.
Marketing is a continuous process and it is an integral part of your business and not a project.

Is it possible to have a Digital Marketing Agency and an In-House Marketing Team?

The “either/or” is becoming the “both” for many businesses. Many companies are turning to a hybrid approach: having a small in-house marketing team that manages their brand and product knowledge on a day-to-day basis, while a digital marketing agency is responsible for specific areas such as SEO, paid media or content creation.

It allows a business to maintain control and knowledge of its strategy and procedures while also leveraging the expertise of a digital marketing agency, which can provide the required skills, additional bandwidth, and the scalability a business may need without the commitment of hiring additional full-time employees. Many of GSS’s clients adopt this model, and view us as an extension of their own employees and not a complete replacement for them.

Before deciding on hiring a digital marketing agency or establishing an in-house marketing team, consider the following:

Before deciding, it’s important to consider:

What is our realistic budget for marketing this year, and will it enable us to staff full-time or will we need to look at a more flexible digital marketing agency?
Do we require a range of skills in several channels or a more limited range of skills?
How fast do we need to get campaigns out there or results?
Are our marketing requirements going to be constant throughout the year or will they vary depending on seasons and projects?
Is there internal bandwidth to effectively manage and on-board a digital marketing agency or in-house marketing team?

Conclusion

When it comes to marketing agency or in-house team, there is no single right or wrong answer: it all depends on your budget, time frame and how much marketing is truly needed to be part of your everyday operations. A digital marketing agency will likely be more flexible, have wider skills and cost less at the start, whereas an in-house team will be more knowledgeable about your brand and have greater control. A hybrid solution that uses both can be the best option for a growing business.

At GSS, we’re a full-service digital marketing agency who collaborate with businesses, and a specialty arm of your in-house marketing team that requires additional skills or bandwidth. If you are in any doubt about which one is right for your business, contact GSS for a complimentary consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does a digital marketing company cost less than an internal marketing staff?

In most cases, yes. Generally a digital marketing agency is less expensive than having a full-time employee in your department for marketing, training, and equipping, especially if you require a number of different specializations.

What are the key advantages of Digital Marketing Agency?

A digital marketing agency provides access to a wide variety of specialties, quicker launches of campaigns, and the ability to scale services up and down when necessary without the recruiting and hiring burden.

What are the various advantages of having an in-house marketing team?

An in-house marketing team will have more knowledge of the brand and products, be more closely tied to the day-to-day operations and have complete control of marketing priorities.

Is it possible for a company to run a digital marketing agency and in-house marketing team?

Yes. There are many companies out there that go with a hybrid approach: have a small team in-house to handle the strategy and brand knowledge, and then use the digital marketing agency for specialized execution and additional bandwidth.

Should I enlist the services of a digital marketing agency or form my own marketing team?

It depends on your marketing needs, the cost of your marketing and the speed at which you need it. A digital marketing agency is typically a good fit for businesses looking for flexible and diverse services that do not require extensive initial investments.

Will a digital marketing agency know my business as well as my in-house marketing team will?

A good digital marketing agency is going to put in the effort to get to know your business, your products and your customers, which will take a little longer than an in-house marketing agency to become as well-loved as your brand.

Are you a digital marketing agency or are you working with a digital marketing team?

Both. GSS can be a complete digital marketing service for businesses that require a full marketing team or, for businesses with their own staff team, a flexible addition to the marketing team. To know more, please contact GSS.