Should You Hire a Marketing Team In-house or Outsource?

Many business owners struggle with this question at one time or another. As a business grows and expands, it is tempting to consider building an in-house marketing team. It might seem like a logical move at first because an in-house team will quite likely know the company’s culture, values, and products or services better than an outside source. But is that all there is to it? Let’s take a deeper look at the three Es: Expense, Expertise, and Efficiency.

Expense

When you are sending out payments to your outsource marketing company, an in-house team might seem like a good way to cut costs. However, when you look at the cost of salary, benefits, and training for a quality in-house team, outsourcing is a bargain! Having a CMO, VP of Marketing, manager and/or specialist who will handle all of the day-to-day work can set you back $300,000.  That’s a pretty big chunk of change for any business! 

Consider too, that the best teams are made up of a diverse group of people with a variety of different talents and skills. Creating an in-house team that has this kind of variety and works well with each other without office drama and politics can be pretty tricky and expensive. For the cost of employing one social media manager, you can retain a professional social media firm and gain access to a multiplicity of digital marketing experts. Outsourcing to The Department of Marketing not only provides your company with digital marketing experts, but also includes a team with expertise in a variety of marketing strategies.

Expertise

As mentioned above, diversity is key in creating a top-notch team, but it’s also important to stay on top of the latest trends and technologies.  Marketing agency teams often get their first crack at the latest, ground-breaking technologies and educational marketing conferences. It’s not enough to stick with the familiar tried and true strategies; you want your marketing team to be on the cutting edge of the newest trends in the market. Many agencies’ services range from web development to social media marketing, and your fee goes to getting the best heads in a room and on your account. In-house teams can become complacent, whereas marketing agency teams are competing with other agencies for your business. They know that they have to produce great results, or you will move on to another agency.

Efficiency

Every once in a while, mistakes happen and your company comes across in a bad light to your audience. Perhaps you inadvertently offended a group of people, or put your trust in a supplier who failed to deliver. Whatever the reason, you may need to do some damage control and you need to do it quickly. Marketing agencies are designed to jump in quickly and efficiently so your team can adapt your marketing strategies sooner rather than later. The sooner you act on a situation, the less damage your reputation will suffer. 

Whether it’s damage control, or promoting your company’s fresh, innovative products or ideas, agency teams can be your one-stop shop for all things marketing. Call The Department of Marketing (919-256-3793) and let’s see what we can do for you!