Every year, many businesses face the same dilemma: In-house marketing or an agency? Digital marketing has become crucial for industrial firms seeking to differentiate their brand and generate more leads. However, there is no single approach to marketing that’s right for everyone.
In-House Marketing: Pros and Cons
Pro: Control
Control and communication go hand-in-hand when it comes to your marketing projects. It is much less likely that your needs and goals will be misunderstood when you are dealing with an inside team, and someone who spends 100% of their work hours immersed in your brand will tend to pick up on its nuances faster.
Con: Hiring
The work that goes into building an in-house marketing team should not be underestimated. It can take many months to fill out all the roles, even up to a year if you are hiring at a senior level. Digital marketers are in high demand, so compensation and benefits must be competitive.
Con: Overhead
In addition to a drawn-out hiring process, you must be prepared to equip your marketers with all the latest technology. That can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in licensing and subscription fees. If you are really focused on best practices, add several thousand more for annual marketing conventions.
Marketing Agency: Pros and Cons
Pro: All-Inclusive, Done for You
When you hire a marketing agency, the price you’re quoted includes everything. They bring the tools, insights, and experience to the table. You may find yourself working with marketers who have completed hundreds of projects for companies like yours at a fraction of the cost it would take to assemble a similar in-house team.
Pro: Data-Driven, Results-Focused
You can part ways with a marketing agency much more easily than an internal team, and they know it. To keep the relationship going, the best agencies have adopted a scientific approach to marketing, where data drives continuous improvement. This allows you to clearly understand your monthly and quarterly marketing ROI.
Con: Integration
It can take a while for a marketing agency to get up to speed on your needs and consistently produce results, with modest ROI at first. Once your chosen marketing agency is performing, it can be difficult to unwind from them if you want to switch to another agency or go in-house in the future.
AIMG delivers B2B digital marketing guidance that propels business growth. To learn more, contact us.