Marketing – should it be done inhouse or outsourced? This is a question most businesses ask at some stage. The truth is there is no right or wrong answer. Each business needs to consider what is right for them, based on their specific needs.
There are three main things to consider when deciding whether to outsource your marketing to an agency or manage it inhouse.
- Competency
- Capacity
- Cost
Most businesses need to weigh up time vs cost – which one is more valuable to that company? Do you have more money or more time available? If you have the time, do you have the skills?
Whether you are planning to hire one person whose sole responsibility is marketing, build an entire marketing team within your company, or hand over certain marketing tasks to existing employees will also impact the results. A smaller business might not have capacity or skills to do any marketing work themselves, but have a small budget available to hire a marketing agency.
If your business simply cannot afford to pay an additional monthly fee for marketing, but you have capacity in the business it may seem like a good idea to hand the marketing responsibilities over to an existing employee, however that employee might not have the skills or knowledge needed to market your business effectively. In this case you may also consider a once-off investment or training this employee in basic marketing skills.
Talk to us about the training and consulting services we offer to help your team thrive.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both in-house and outsourced marketing, below are just a few examples.
Advantages of in-house marketing
- Better knowledge of products and services
- Better understanding of company culture
- Clarity on brand identity and tone of voice
- Direct communication between company and clients/customers
- Quicker response time
- Better lead management
- Improved lead quality when working closely with the sales team
Disadvantages of in-house marketing
- Lack of marketing knowledge
- Narrow spectrum of skills in one person (an agency might have a few specialist on one account)
- HR responsibilities
- Management required (manager may not know how to assess or direct a marketing employee)
- Limited team flexibility
Advantages of outsourcing to a digital marketing agency
- Various skilled professionals
- You only pay for time spent / per service, not a full salary for each person
- More bang for your buck
- Broader range of experience
- Flexible team
Disadvantages of outsourcing
- Lack of understanding regarding company’s services & products
- Slower response time
- Lack of personal touch
As shown above, both options have pros and cons and it can be difficult to decide which option is best. However, there is still one main factor influencing most companies’ decisions.
Various skilled professionals equals more bang for your buck.
The saying goes “Jack of all trades, master of none”, and this is unfortunately often true with marketing professionals. One of the main advantages of outsourcing, as listed above is that you get a flexible team with a wider range of skills.
This means that you may get SEO, Google Ads, social media, and design done by four different experts within that agency, for the same price as you might have paid for an in-house marketing manager. When outsourcing to an agency your marketing team is built up of four specialists, rather than one “jack of all trades”.
Can you get the best of both worlds?
Kwikstert offers what we call “Dedicated Services” to enable your business to get the best of both worlds when it comes to marketing.
This means that we hire a marketing person, or team, that sits in your office and forms a part of your company culture, working closely with your sales team to understand your business and products.
What are the benefits?
We manage and take responsibility for this person which means you don’t have to worry about HR or hiring (especially if you aren’t sure what to look out for in a marketing role). We also work as a soundboard and support system for this person – so, while you might still get one “jack of all trades” that person is supported by a marketing team (back at our offices) with a wider skill set that can assist where needed.
Having the person in your offices means that they get to know your business and products, as well as your company tone and culture very quickly, and can bring this across in your marketing content. You get the skills of using a marketing agency with the personal touch that comes from marketing in-house.
Want to know more? Contact Kwikstert today to find out about our Dedicated Services and how we can assist.
klets@kwikstert.co.za