{"id":172,"date":"2019-12-23T02:47:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T02:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/2019\/12\/23\/agency-vs-in-house-team\/"},"modified":"2020-04-13T05:40:11","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T05:40:11","slug":"agency-vs-in-house-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/2019\/12\/23\/agency-vs-in-house-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Agency vs. In-House Team"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As your business makes plans to grow through various marketing channels, the first question that pops up usually resembles, \u201cHow the hell do I get this all accomplished?\u201d More directly: Should I hire and develop full-time employees to focus on my digital marketing, or should I seek help from an agency?
\nThe answer depends on your business, your goals, your budget, and how much time you\u2019re willing to invest. For example, the sheer number and types of channels you want to immediately deploy could make hiring an experienced agency your best option. On the other hand, if you plan to only focus on growing a few channels to start and you want immediate access to your team, adding staff might be the best way to go.<\/p>\n

THE QUESTION BECOMES:<\/h4>\n

Should we hire and develop full-time employees, or do we need help from an agency?<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s weigh the options together, look at the tale of the tape, and go blow by a blow between these. . . OK, this is ridiculous. How about we skip the boxing analogies and simply compare agencies to dedicated in-house marketers\u2014then you can choose a champ.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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SPOILER ALERT:<\/strong><\/em>
\nYou may have noticed we\u2019re a bit biased on this topic. Let\u2019s be real\u2014we wouldn\u2019t be working at an agency if we didn\u2019t believe in the value it brings to our clients.
\nBut we get it.
\nShifting to an agency can feel like a risk. What\u2019s just as risky, though? Not understanding the growing pains of hiring in-house or not being prepared to work with an agency.
\nWe can help with that stuff\u2013both here in this blog or if you want to jump on a call.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Round 1: Expertise<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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There\u2019s a lot to consider when comparing the expertise of in-house marketers to that of agencies and, of course, it hinges greatly on the experience of the individuals. Generally, however, there are a few differentiating aspects to be aware of.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Services<\/h3>\n

Needless to say, the marketers you hire on staff will have a set number of skills and services they can provide. If you hire a designer, don\u2019t expect him or her to write a copy\u2014you\u2019d need to hire a copywriter for that. Ramping up your in-house team quickly for a release or marketing push is difficult because your ideas are bound to your specialties. With an agency, ideas can flourish, and strategic direction can be set without limits based on a team\u2019s proficiencies. What\u2019s more, when working through a problem with an agency, you gain its collective wisdom. Established agencies have not only encountered a wide range of scenarios and challenges but also have tested and experimented with an assortment of tactics and channels\u2014turning your emergency into just another day at the office.
\nAdvantage: Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brand and Industry Knowledge<\/h3>\n

Nobody understands your business better than your own people do. Although agencies can profess their impending commitment when you sign the contract, they can\u2019t hold a candle to the on-staff marketer who has an unyielding grasp of your company\u2019s product, industry, history, vision, goals, and competitors. Your people live it every day and what agencies can provide in an outside perspective, they lack background knowledge. Depending on how niche your industry is, it may take an agency some time to get up to speed, and even then, internal staff will always have more immediate access to in-house experts and can, in turn, produce more in-depth, technical, and authoritative content.
\nAdvantage: In-house team<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perspective<\/h3>\n

Ever wonder why so many brands wind up producing content that feels overly promotional? The answer is tunnel vision. Some in-house marketers struggle to take a step back and think objectively about their brand, which makes it incredibly difficult to truly get in the heads of their audience. The result is content that speaks to the company\u2019s goals, not the audience\u2019s needs. A digital marketing company can provide an outside perspective on the content interests of your target audience(s) and isn\u2019t influenced by internal biases that may affect the strategic direction. On top of that, experienced agencies will also identify areas in which your company needs improvement along with missed marketing opportunities, most of which can be difficult for internal teams to notice.
\nAdvantage: Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trends<\/h3>\n

Although a digital marketing agency will only devote a portion of the time that a full-time staffer could dedicate each month, the time it does spend is amplified. Seasoned agencies have firsthand knowledge of marketing trends across their entire client list\u2014for decades. While on-staff marketers bring their personal comprehension and experience, that can\u2019t match the insight agencies provide after spending thousands of man-hours testing new channels, techniques, and concepts, for not only their customers but also their own marketing as well.
\nAdvantage: Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Round 2: Efficiency<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Beyond the quality of work, another metric to measure a marketer\u2019s worth is speed. How quickly can work be turned over? How long does it take to get an email answered? What about quickly scaling for an event or emergency\u2014how quickly can your team respond, and is there a process in place?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Process<\/h3>\n

Agencies use clear end-to-end processes as the foundation for every client relationship. They keep projects on schedule, reduce cost overages and hour creep, and help motivate creative minds to continually produce compelling content. The process provides structure\u2014from planning to delivery\u2014a systematic approach to control the chaos, ensure strategic decision-making, and avoid missed opportunities and deadlines. Although internal marketing teams can certainly develop and refine their own processes, they often rely upon other departments and priorities that compromise a methodical approach.
\nAdvantage: Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Accessibility<\/h3>\n

Quick communications and turnarounds are crucial to a marketing campaign\u2019s success. With in-house production, you can meet, collaborate, and exchange ideas on the fly rather than wrestle with conflicting schedules and timelines. While agencies attempt to loop clients in and collaborate often, it\u2019s never as efficient as being under the same roof. Nothing is more satisfying than walking down the hall to have a conversation, and sometimes the games of the phone and email tag with an agency can slow everything down significantly.
\nAdvantage: In-house team<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drive<\/h3>\n

When marketing the same business internally, day after day, it can become easy to lose sight of the overall goal and what matters most to your customers. In-house staff can suffer from debilitating stress caused by job demands, role conflict or ambiguity, and lack of support and feedback. The result is a burned-out, inefficient, and cynical employee. When you\u2019re marketing content through an agency, however, you don\u2019t need to worry about the people involved, just the outcome. Agencies have large teams to pull motivated creatives from, constantly mentor and guide employees to reduce stress, and even have \u201cnon-burnout\u201d policies in place that encourage career development, ongoing education, and a healthy work-life balance.
\nAdvantage: Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Round 3: Expense<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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OK, we\u2019ve danced around the elephant in the room long enough\u2014let\u2019s talk about how much an in-house team costs compared with an agency and which will provide a better ROI in the long run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Flexibility<\/h3>\n

Consider all the costs that come with hiring full-time content marketers. There\u2019s the recruitment, base-level salary, benefits (about 30 percent<\/a> of an employee\u2019s overall cost), software licenses, onboarding support, and ongoing training. Then there is always a risk the employees won\u2019t work out, and then you\u2019re back to square one. By comparison, agency pricing typically falls under one of three models: monthly retainer (70 percent<\/a> of agency\/client relationships), per project, or per hour. This model gives businesses much greater flexibility in their marketing dollars and allows you to determine the precise level of support and services you require.
\nAdvantage: Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scale<\/h3>\n

In-house teams are rigid and incapable of scaling for a company\u2019s growing demands. To be effective, content marketing must ramp up quickly to meet customer and business demands. If you need a team of extra designers and writers for a product launch push, it\u2019s as easy as increasing your monthly hours with an agency\u2014as opposed to the costs and time it takes to find and train just one capable employee.
\nAdvantage: Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hybrid<\/h3>\n

This isn\u2019t an \u201cagency or bust\u201d situation. There\u2019s no one-size-fits-all solution to digital marketing, and every business is unique. In fact, many companies allow their in-house and agency teams to collaborate, outsourcing certain tasks while keeping others internal. For example, under this hybrid model, your in-house team may handle strategy and promotion while production is run through an agency.
\nAdvantage: Tie<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As your business makes plans to grow through various marketing channels, the first question that pops up usually resembles, \u201cHow the hell do I get this all accomplished?\u201d More directly: Should I hire and develop full-time employees to focus on my digital marketing, or should I seek help from an agency? The answer depends on …<\/p>\n

Agency vs. In-House Team<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions\/244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.jimfahad.com\/elementor129\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}