Marketing do it yourself or outsource it: which is best for your business?

You've decided to invest in your growth, and you know there's a lot that needs to be done in terms of marketing. Until now, you've done your marketing all by yourself, but you also know that for consistent results, you need a consistent approach. In other words, you need help with your marketing.

The big question now is: will you do your marketing yourself or outsource?

This is a conversation we at Buzzlytics have with our clients on a weekly basis, and unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It depends on several factors.

In this article you will read:

Disclaimer: At Buzzlytics, we help companies build an in-house marketing team in our TAYA Mastery process. However, this does not mean that this is the best solution for every company. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of bringing your marketing in-house vs. outsourcing to an agency, so you can decide what the best solution is for you.

Putting together your own marketing team can seem like a daunting task, and frankly, it is. However, there are several advantages that make this option worth considering.

When you bring your marketing activities in-house, you have more control over them. This applies to your staff and your tools, but especially to your strategy.

What goals will you prioritize? What activities will you undertake? What will be the cadence?

An internal marketing team can be more concerned with the details of your marketing plan. Moreover, they are also likely to feel more involved in the outcome of the marketing strategy used, since your company is their sole focus.

When you do all your marketing internally, you're also more likely to get things done quickly. After all, you are your team's "only customer" and so you get their full attention.

For example, you don't have to wait until they have time for you because they are busy with other clients. And you also don't have to deal with contract restrictions, as you would with a third party.

You can also shift gears faster, request changes to marketing materials and get the modified versions back quickly without taking a lot of time.

While some agencies are incredibly good and may have experience creating content for your industry, they will never understand your business as well as the people who work in it on a daily basis and are only concerned with your business.

The knowledge your in-house marketing staff has of your company and industry is reflected in every strategy they develop. And that authentic voice is what you need to build the trust of your target audience.

In addition to the positive effects of hiring your own marketing team, there are a few drawbacks to consider.

If you decide to build an in-house marketing team for the first time, you will need to hire additional people such as a content manager or videographer.

Finding and inducting new team members takes time, and you will also have to pay one or more additional salaries.

You may be thinking now: I already have people on my team who could fill these roles. That would be great, but keep in mind that marketing should become their full-time job and focus.

Their original positions may have to be filled by a new employee if their workload cannot be shared among others.

If you are going to build an internal team, you must be willing to take on these extra salaries.

Hiring additional employees also requires more paperwork, one-on-one interviews, updated job descriptions, performance reviews, pay raises, career conversations, resources, tools and more.

Insourcing your marketing requires everyone, from management to sales, to be involved and aligned in terms of the vision and associated activities.

To get the best results from marketing, everyone must understand its value, what it takes to be successful, and commit to making it happen.

This can be quite a challenge.

This is why we recommend that our clients do a TAYA workshop with the entire team as a first step.

Even if you decide to put together an in-house marketing team, you don't have to do it alone. There are companies that can help you with the hiring process and training your employees. At Buzzlytics, for example, we offer sales and marketing training for your internal employees.

We help you build your team, teach them to create content and other materials that generate sales, and we teach you to sell more effectively. We exist to make ourselves redundant, so even the cost of working with us is only temporary.

Our main goal: teaching companies to generate leads and sales themselves to the point where they no longer need an outside agency.

For companies that don't want to bring their marketing in-house, here are the benefits of using an agency.

The sooner you can get started, the sooner you can reap the benefits of your investment.

When you work with an agency, you benefit from their processes, marketing talents and resources. You don't have to screen people or plan anything; the agency does that for you.

While the agency obviously needs some start-up time, with the experience of an agency, this phase will go quickly compared to when you do it yourself.

Now you may be used to doing your marketing yourself. You publish a new blog on your website from time to time, post on LinkedIn every now and then, and sometimes send out a newsletter to your clients.

When you work with an agency, they can develop your strategy for you, produce your content, shoot your videos and write your emails. Once things are in place, all you have to do is provide feedback on the content being created.

Marketing agencies have one or more specialists for every marketing task. Strategists, SEO specialists, online marketers, content marketers, web designers, graphic designers... They probably also have a large network of reliable freelancers they can call on when needed.

But just like putting together your own marketing team, hiring a marketing agency comes with some drawbacks.

While working with an outside agency suits some companies well, our experience is that many companies end up dissatisfied with the results because the work they get back "doesn't sound like us" and lacks authenticity.

And sure, there are probably agencies that specialize in your industry. But even then, they are unlikely to ever sound like you.

The result: slower production, labor-intensive rounds of editing, and constant back-and-forth ping-pong between you(w staff) and the agency.

When you depend on an agency or other third party, you are limited to the terms of your contract.

This means that you are tied to a certain number of so-called deliverables and the agency can devote a limited number of hours per week or month to your business. After all, they have other clients besides you.

This makes it harder for you to adjust your strategy or make quick changes as needed. On several occasions, we've seen companies decide to bring their marketing in house as a result of stiff collaboration with agencies.

When you hire an agency to do the work for you, you always remain dependent on them. This is perhaps the biggest disadvantage of hiring an agency.

Instead of building on the expertise and skills of your own team, invest in the growth and development of people outside your company.

Even if you find someone you like at the agency, you will be stuck with the bottom line if the partnership with the agency stops for any reason. Once you stop paying invoices, the campaigns stop and you no longer have access to the agency's expertise.

Putting together your own marketing team or hiring an outside agency are not the only options you have for implementing a marketing strategy for your business.

You might also consider a freelancer. Freelancers can have a wealth of knowledge. Many have left successful corporate careers to start their own businesses and are very talented.

The advantage of freelancers is that you don't have the cost of permanent employees and can often terminate a collaboration that you don't like fairly easily.

On the other hand, freelancers have the same disadvantages as an agency. They will never understand your brand the way an in-house marketing team can, and one freelancer usually can't meet all your needs. You often need multiple freelancers to get the job done and that can add up the cost very quickly.

To get you started, below are a few questions you can ask yourself to help you make the right choice:

These questions can help you have the right discussions and determine which factors weigh most heavily in your choice between an in-house marketing team or an outside agency.

Maybe you only need a solution for a short period of time, or maybe you are a small business that does not yet have the budget for a full-time position.

That's okay, with an outside agency you also get where you need to be.

Use the information we've shared above to help you determine the best solution for your business. Should you come to the conclusion that putting together your own marketing team is the best solution in your case, we'd be happy to help you get started!