In the development of a company, there usually comes a time when the question arises. Is it worth hiring a full-time colleague for online marketing tasks, or is it more advantageous to outsource the entire process to an agency? Both solutions have their advantages and disadvantages. But if you carefully consider all aspects, it will be clear which is the ideal solution for your own company.
Online marketing agencies have a thorough insight into both outsourced and in-house marketing. We have collected the most important aspects for you to consider.
Online marketing expertise, experience
There are plenty of job ads on job portals looking for a marketer who can handle strategy, manage a Facebook page, run PPC ads, create graphics, write copy, be good at SEO, and the list goes on. But how realistic is it for someone to be a pro in all these areas? So much so that you’d trust them with the entire company’s marketing, from planning to execution. The likelihood is small, or if there is such a person, you probably couldn’t afford them. Polymaths are rare, and it’s not expected that a marketer should be good at everything. If you need someone like this, then a T-shaped marketer might be your best bet.
A T-shaped marketer is an expert in one area of marketing. In this case, they master online marketing e.g., they are a PPC or SEO specialist. And they have only basic knowledge of other areas, so they can manage basic campaigns on their own. Such a professional may be the most suitable for complex marketing tasks. If they can outsource the areas where they only have basic knowledge to a subcontractor or agency. Graphic tasks, search engine optimization, content marketing? Brief the pros accurately and efficiently, and monitor and control their work. However, at an agency, you are likely to have access to experts in all areas! And they can work together to create the most effective campaigns for you. These areas are interconnected, a good advertising campaign requires strategy, PPC expertise, copywriting, and graphics. And it also helps to have SEO and UX/UI knowledge related to the website.
Efficiency
In addition to expertise, it is also important how efficiently your campaigns can work. For example, anyone can launch PPC campaigns with general targeting and general match keywords. But the result would be about the same as if you stood in downtown as a street vendor advertising your service. Too broad targeting, too much waste, no result, or only thanks to blind luck.
However, a PPC specialist knows very well what campaigns and what targeting should be used to avoid just burning your money on ads. Moreover, at an agency, not just one person will work on your PPC campaigns. The copywriter will create the ad texts and the graphic designer will create the creatives. This is their area of expertise. The time factor is also important: your own colleague probably has to deal not only with this. They will have to look at all other marketing activities. Whether it’s creating a catalog or organizing an event, or what we often experience: general assistance – which let’s face it, is not a marketing task!. If you don’t have enough time for online marketing, the results won’t be as effective. There won’t be as much traffic, there won’t be as many sales, and lead generation will be expensive.
Time spent on online marketing
In addition to the effectiveness of the campaigns, it is also important that these campaigns start on time. For a busy internal colleague, this may be the umpteenth item on their list. In contrast you can expect an agency to start your campaign within a few weeks of the request. And to start seeing results – of course, we’re happy if you don’t contact us two weeks before Christmas. For example, we have fixed processes and scenarios. Everyone knows what their role is in setting up a new campaign, and there is always an account manager who coordinates and keeps these tasks in check. This ensures that everything starts on time.
Work organization, absence
As a company leader, one of the most difficult tasks is to organize tasks effectively, as you are responsible for ensuring that your employees are constantly provided with tasks, but not overloaded. If an internal colleague goes on a longer vacation or is absent due to illness, you will have to ensure replacement, which not only requires a lot of time and organization, but can also be financially burdensome. If you hire a marketing agency, you don’t have to deal with these issues at all, as it is their responsibility to maintain continuous, high-quality work, even during the summer season.
Online marketing trainings
As a company leader, it is also your responsibility to keep your employees’ knowledge up to date and develop it continuously, whether through internal or external training sessions and workshops. The financial (and time) cost of this can be quite high. If it is a specialized training in a field where you are not an expert yourself, how can you judge which training sessions will be professionally appropriate, and how do you measure afterwards whether the acquired knowledge was useful and applicable in your company? However, if you outsource this to a marketing agency, you don’t have to deal with any of these issues. The organization of the training sessions does not burden your HR department, and the costs do not come out of your pocket.
Payments
One of the biggest differences between an in-house marketing employee and a marketing agency will be the payment. You have to fully cover the salary of an in-house colleague, along with all its contributions, which, let’s face it, is not a small amount. An agency, on the other hand, has a fixed monthly fee, which, even if we’re talking about a very complex campaign, may not exceed the monthly costs of an in-house colleague. Moreover, a monthly fee includes the fees of 4-5 different specialists.
Motivation, burnout
In an effective organization, colleagues’ motivation and satisfaction are constantly monitored, and any potential burnout is sought to be prevented or managed, which is not a small task for company leaders and HR professionals. However, if you outsource the work, you don’t have to worry about this either. You are already purchasing a ready-made service, which includes the marketing agency taking care of its own employees.
+1 Crisis situations
Almost every company encounters crisis situations in its life, whether it’s just a botched order, a faulty, recalled product line, or more serious cases, such as what the coronavirus caused. A whole team of marketers, where strategists and serious professionals work, can help you with greater insight and composure in difficult times than an in-house person who primarily fears for their job. In these situations, professional communication can even save your good reputation or the life of your entire company, so it really matters who you entrust. So choose carefully!
You can’t relax…
As you can see, there can be many advantages to outsourcing your company’s online marketing activities, but perhaps the most important aspect is that it saves you, as a business owner, time and money. We work to take as much burden off your shoulders as possible!
If you have hired a marketing agency, there are still things you need to do to ensure that your campaigns work successfully and efficiently:
- You need to brief the agency well (We write more about this here), because only you can tell them exactly what you need, what they need to know about your products, and what your goals and expectations are. The more accurate and detailed the brief you can give, the more likely the agency will be able to create a campaign that meets your expectations.
- You need to provide continuous feedback to the agency about their work and the results. If you are satisfied, then for that, if you are not satisfied, then for that. It is important that the agency knows your opinion so that if something needs to be changed in the campaign, they can do it.
If you would like to try what it’s like when a professional marketing agency does your campaigns, then contact us with confidence!
