Agency vs. In-House: The Difference and Why You May Want Both

When it comes to digital marketing, there is absolutely no shortage of options. But, more to the point, you probably have a pretty good idea of what you want: marketing backed by an excellent creative team that excels at marketing & innovation.

That being said, you have a difficult choice: Do you use a digital marketing agency or try to keep your marketing in-house? There are unquestionably positives and negatives to each of these ideas.

In-House Marketing Team

Managing your marketing in-house has many advantages that can make in-house marketing look very tempting.

All of that being said, there is no question that there are real challenges with relying solely on an in-house creative team to manage all of your marketing & innovation efforts.

Chief among them is that it’s rare to find one marketing professional who is well-versed in all types of marketing and works solely for your company, particularly in this time of labor shortage.

Think about it: You’ll need someone capable of understanding all the different digital marketing techniques currently out there, watching for the latest trends, and understanding your content, and who can manage both copywriting and graphic design.

Finding this person can be a considerable challenge. In most circumstances, the person in question already works for a digital marketing agency.

It’s also worth noting that you may lack the flexibility to manage costs. Hiring someone full-time means paying that person full-time, whether or not you are actively working on a marketing campaign at a given moment.

You will need to come up with work for them to do constantly. Don’t have a project at the moment? Well, you’re still going to have to pay that person!

Digital Agency

Unlike hiring someone in-house, using a digital marketing agency to manage your creative marketing & innovation efforts comes with more flexibility and expertise. Consider the following:

First, a digital marketing agency knows what works and what doesn’t with other brands like yours. You won’t be anyone’s guinea pig or the victim of any new, experimental marketing techniques. Digital marketing agencies bring years of knowledge with them.

Some of your tactics may be outdated if you’re an older company. A professional agency knows this and can help with marketing & innovation efforts by bringing in a new creative team.

Outsourcing your marketing team can increase your ROI in multiple ways. Chief among them: You’ll reduce your overall spending. A digital marketing team almost always gets you more focused, flexible, creative, and innovative talent by cutting spending and general expenses.

You won’t have to hire, train, supervise, or offer benefits and 401Ks to new staff. Instead, you can hire a digital marketing agency on a flexible, per-project basis or hire them for more extended contract periods that fit your needs. Doing so reduces expenses while increasing your overall ROI.

The above is related to another important point: If you have an in-house creative team, you may be worried that you aren’t providing them with enough work and start generating projects to keep them busy. Doing so means that you are wasting time, talent, and money. This will never be a concern with a digital marketing team.

Is creativity & innovation important to you? It should be. Digital marketing agencies specialize in being on the cutting edge of technology.

Usually, these departments have multiple individuals whose sole job is to track everything happening in the digital marketing world. As such, they are capable of tracking tools and technology, ensuring they monitor new digital marketing techniques.

Finally, remember that a digital marketing agency will have a creative team that explicitly understands your business niche. They’ll be experienced with the right keywords, graphics, and techniques that work for your specific line of work. You can get talent customized to your particular area and industry.

Which Choice Is Right?

So, what’s the conclusion? Is one better than another? That’s tough to say. As you can see, working with a digital marketing agency or hiring your creative team both have real positives and negatives, with each offering significant advantages over the other.

That being said, there is greater flexibility, professional development opportunities, and options if you use a digital marketing agency than if you hire in-house talent.

If hiring an expert agency may interest you, consider contacting Fifth & Cor, a leading marketing & innovation company that harnesses the best tools and knowledge to support your brand.

They offer a variety of expert experience and techniques that can make the difference between a successful product and a failed one. Want to know more about the difference between keeping your marketing team in-house or outsourcing an agency? Contact them today.