{"id":206540,"date":"2021-12-14T12:52:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T04:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seo-hacker.com\/?p=206540"},"modified":"2023-06-01T16:21:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T08:21:40","slug":"in-house-vs-outsourcing-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seo-hacker.com\/in-house-vs-outsourcing-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"In-House vs Outsourcing Marketing: The Ins and Outs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"in-house<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Looking to expand your marketing capabilities? Then you should know what are the benefits and challenges of going in-house vs outsourcing marketing. Some companies have been working on moving their marketing teams in-house especially as the pandemic wears on, but others prefer to focus on their core functions and hire an external agency instead. The question is, what is right for you and your company?<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is in-house marketing?<\/span><\/h2>\n

In-house marketing is exactly what it sounds like\u2014having a marketing team that is internal to the company. For example, here in SEO Hacker we have our own marketing team that is in charge of promoting the company, so we don\u2019t have to hire an external agency to do the marketing for us.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to The Drum, 57% of multinational companies have created in-house marketing departments, with an additional 17% considering building one. The pandemic has also accelerated the creation of these departments as companies want to be more cost-effective and practical, especially since companies are trying to be more frugal in their expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits of in-house vs outsourcing marketing<\/span><\/h3>\n

Companies would not be hurrying to build an in-house marketing team if there were no benefits. Here are some of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Potentially lower costs for the company<\/span><\/h4>\n

I\u2019m going to be mentioning costs quite a bit in this article, and that\u2019s really because the idea of lower or higher costs depends a lot on a number of factors. When looking at the benefits of in-house marketing, costs can be lower depending on two things: first is the skill set your team already has, and second is how willing you are to spend on building and managing a team of your own.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if you have a small but strong marketing team right from the start, then that could be cost-effective. You can also opt to migrate some employees to a marketing role, but that is if the other teams can handle losing some team members. Then you also have to spend on training and resources for marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the total of those costs are lower than hiring an agency, then you can say that costs are lower with an in-house marketing team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stronger brand familiarity<\/span><\/h4>\n

Simple\u2014your in-house marketing team is exposed to the day-to-day processes of your company, therefore they are more familiar with your brand. And since they are your employees, that means they also know your company philosophy and culture. You have the same (or at least, similar) work processes and they know the best approach for your company because they are embedded<\/em> in the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Faster communication<\/span><\/h4>\n

There is no need to email or coordinate a meeting with an accounts manager because you literally can just walk over to their desks and they can walk over to yours. There is also less potential for miscommunication because the team already has an understanding of what the company wants.<\/span><\/p>\n

For my company, we just use Slack to communicate with each other. Everyone is one message away.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

More transparency and control<\/span><\/h4>\n

An in-house marketing team will be focused on your business only and considering how you already have a similar outlook and they have an in-depth understanding of your brand philosophy, then that translates to more control.<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of transparency, you get to really know how the marketing efforts are playing out as the team has more access to company data, therefore they have more transparent reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you outsource marketing to another agency, they can only really give you the data that is showing up on their dashboards unless you will be providing them other numbers, such as your revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenges of in-house vs outsourcing marketing<\/span><\/h3>\n

Just like there are benefits, there are also challenges to going in-house vs outsourcing marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

More work for the employees<\/span><\/h4>\n

First and foremost, especially if you have a limited budget for your marketing team, is that there is more work for your employees. Marketing is not a one-time or one-strategy thing; there are marketing plans to be made for different platforms, experiments, designs, executions, and monitoring.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, there is content marketing<\/a>, email marketing<\/a>, Pay-Per-Click<\/a>, and SEO<\/a>. These have different functions and need different strategies, and they have their own sets of skill sets that are integral to their success. For example, I update our SEO Hacker<\/a> blog every Tuesday. I also have a podcast<\/a> that has its dedicated team of producers, editors, and developers. My subscribers get updated every Monday through email. I also have my personal blog<\/a>. Lastly, we have a retargeting and remarketing practice<\/a> to ensure that our leads come back to our website.<\/span><\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re considering fully moving your marketing in-house, you need to look at the workload for those digital marketing strategies and figure out a way to balance them while ensuring your company is being cost-effective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Limited skill set<\/span><\/h4>\n

With a limited budget comes a limited skill set. Unless you\u2019re the kind of company owner who has no issues with overworking your team, then you won\u2019t have the same skill set that outsourcing marketing to another agency will get you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lack of resources<\/span><\/h4>\n

Another challenge that your company could potentially have is the lack of resources, especially if you can\u2019t afford multiple marketing experts and<\/em> the tools<\/a> that are needed for effective marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marketing is not as simple as creating a graphic and coming up with witty one-liners to catch your audience\u2019s attention. It involves market research<\/a>, keyword research<\/a>, and a whole lot of strategizing. These strategies are based on data and not just solely on gut feeling. So if you have no way of getting data and monitoring your results, then effective marketing will be difficult to achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Needing new employees<\/span><\/h4>\n

I sound like a broken record at this point, but marketing truly is an investment, and it\u2019s one you shouldn\u2019t skimp on. At some point, hiring and training new experts will be the investment you need to make. That said, going in-house vs outsourcing marketing can end up becoming more expensive for some companies as they end up hiring more people<\/span><\/p>\n

What is outsourced marketing?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Outsourced marketing is the exact opposite of in-house marketing. According to Hinge<\/a>, outsourced marketing is the practice of partnering with an external agency for the company\u2019s marketing needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits of outsourced marketing vs in-house<\/span><\/h3>\n

Just as there are benefits to having an in-house team, there are also benefits to hiring an agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Companies can focus their resources on core functions<\/span><\/h4>\n

If you aren\u2019t a marketing agency\u2014let\u2019s say, you\u2019re in the construction business\u2014and you\u2019re thinking of having an in-house marketing team, that means you will have to budget your resources on functions that are outside of your business.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you outsource your marketing, especially if you find a good partner, you get to just focus on whatever your company really does as the marketing portion can be entrusted to someone else.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is also why in finding an agency, it\u2019s integral that you know how to find a good one<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Access to a specialized team<\/span><\/h4>\n

One of the best things about outsourcing your marketing instead of building one in-house is that you get access to a team of experts at potentially a fraction of the cost. As I mentioned earlier, marketing isn\u2019t a one-time thing. And it certainly isn\u2019t a one-person endeavor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hiring an agency means you get writers, developers, designers, and researchers\u2014basically, an entire team of people who live and breathe marketing\u2014to do the work for you while you focus on other things. For example, here’s our team.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

More resources for lower costs<\/span><\/h4>\n

Like I said earlier, I will be mentioning costs a couple of times in this post. As you get an entire team when you hire an agency, you also get their resources to be used for your benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, some will say that hiring an agency is expensive. It really depends on how you see it and if you do have a workable budget. For example, our SEO services package<\/a> costs $2,500 to $5,500 per month, with a 12 months lock-in. Yes, that is expensive, but take a look at what\u2019s in the package:<\/span><\/p>\n