In-house vs outsourced marketing tends to be a really common question business decision makers ask themselves. Once a business grows past a certain point marketing can become a lot more complex than a few generic emails and boosting some social posts. Most businesses choose to start with in-house marketing however this can have its down flaws as the business continues to grow. This article discusses the pros and cons of in-house versus outsourced marketing.
Pros of In-House Marketing
The main advantage of having your marketing in-house is that your employees will have a deep understanding of the brand including their products and/or services and the industry you are in. Having an internal marketing team means they are closely connected to the wider business meaning they can easily communicate and receive quicker approval as there are fewer layers for decision making. In addition, as the team is in-house they are around the day-to-day operations and therefore aligned closely with the overall business goals. This approach is ideal for businesses who are in their early stages of growth and have strong internal marketing expertise.
Cons of In-House Marketing
Although there are positives of in-house marketing, it does also restrict your level of growth. An in-house marketing team is usually made up of a smaller group of individuals with a very generic skill set rather than specialisms in a specific area of marketing. This can make it difficult to get the aspired results from things like paid advertising which require more specialist knowledge. You can hire experienced marketers who do have expertise however this tends to be costly and usually unnecessary to have a full time employee for a specialist area, especially for smaller businesses. Due to this it is normal for employees in marketing teams to be tasked with more than one area of marketing therefore restricts the time and effort employees have for testing and execution in each area. In addition to this, the marketing industry is forever evolving and it is hard for small teams to have the time to stay up to date.
Pros of Outsourced Marketing
The main positive of outsourced marketing is the specialist expertise, as opposed to relying on generic in-house knowledge. You can get access to experienced professionals in areas like paid ads, where processes are already established and therefore can be implemented more efficiently, and remove some of the testing. With having the expertise they will be able to run successful campaigns with almost guaranteed results and have the full focus in the area, while staying up to date with any changes in the industry. Along with this, outsourcing also offers the flexibility to scale up or down in line with the success of the wider business which you’re unable to do if you hire internally. For most growing brands, partnering with an ecommerce digital marketing agency provides the expertise needed to scale sustainably while still offering the flexibility.
Cons of Outsourced Marketing
Although there aren’t many negatives that come with outsourcing there are a couple of things to be aware of. Using an outsourced marketing team still requires internal time to go through the onboarding to ensure they have a full understanding of things like brand voice and goals. Also, not all agencies will offer the same level of expertise and service, therefore it is important to choose your external marketing carefully. Finally, you have to be open to giving your time to the external party and ensuring they have all the content they need for example, and supporting the success of their strategy.
Conclusion
Both in-house and external marketing offer advantages and limitations, however for most businesses to break through a specific growth stage it is important to use specialists in particular areas of marketing to see sustainable growth.
Hello, My name is John Smith, I am a freelance writer and I would love to build up my writing portfolio online.