Although the goals are similar overall, to increase business and maintain their brand, there are differences in culture and procedures. Here are three takeaways from my first-person experience. Change happens regardless of where you work. However, my experience has been that agencies are better at going with the flow and adapting quickly.
Not only that but agencies are more open to out of the box ideas and better at keeping up with industry best practices. Working in-house, there tends to be already established procedures and decisions made at the C-level that are communicated out. Agency life moves much faster and you have to be able to keep up.
Rarely will you hear a professional admit to enjoying office politics. But this is a non-factor when your marketing is managed by an outside agency. Depending on your situation, you might need to jump on your marketing right now. And the speediest way to do this is NOT by posting a job, reviewing resumes, conducting three rounds of interviews, calling references…you get the picture.
Marketing agencies are designed to jump in quickly and efficiently so your team can adapt your marketing strategies sooner rather than later. Ultimately, emergencies that affect your bottom line are better handled by agency teams. So if you were ever in need of supplementary marketing services — think along the lines of customer service script writing, video production, traditional PR services — your best bet would be leveraging an agency.
And with any in-house team, this is going to be relatively easy. Brainstorming sessions, content approvals and meetings can be executed or scheduled whenever the need arises. Typically, marketing agencies will stick to email or phone communication as needed while also facilitating weekly or monthly meetings to discuss results, projections, quarterly plans, etc. Both methods work — but success depends entirely on what you prefer. Many will also test and invest thousands of dollars in annual subscription fees in order to equip clients with the best tools.
Sure, the price is baked in, but the headache and the agony about which tools to use, are not. Numerous companies opt to outsource some or all of their marketing activities to digital marketing agencies. These agencies are fully set up with the proper staff, expertise, and resources to provide outsourced full-service digital marketing services.
If you do not have the budget to hire a fully-staffed marketing team, hiring a digital marketing agency can be a cost-effective option. For the cost of employing one social media manager, you can retain a professional social media firm and gain access to a multiplicity of digital marketing experts. Many businesses find that a hybrid approach works best. Most may already have at least a core nucleus of in-house marketing professionals; however, their range of expertise or resources may be limited.
It can be immensely cost-effective to aid this in-house team by outsourcing key services to agency specialists such as professional social media and marketing firms. When deciding how to structure your in-house marketing team, it is helpful to examine your strengths. Typically, in-house staff live and breathe the company brand and tend to have a far more in-depth understanding of the unique selling propositions, product set, and buyer personas.
In-house teams are often better suited to create content, write messages, and develop communication strategies. However, in-house teams might struggle to implement new software or keep up with SEO best practices and paid search trends. To remain competitive, marketing agencies must stay updated on the latest marketing trends and research.
They also work with many different clients and industries, which gives them exposure to new technologies and innovative tactics. Where the in-house team struggles, an agency can help. For instance, the agency can optimize their web pages for target keywords, manage their paid advertising campaigns, and design creative material, like brochures, videos, and ads.
Agencies bring an outsider's perspective that can help in-house marketing teams identify opportunities to innovate. One of the most significant downsides of an internal creative group is that creativity can begin to stagnate over time, making it harder to infuse fresh thinking into marketing design.
This perception often stems from the misconception that all creative work is completed within the company bubble, lacking visibility into what other industries are doing. Sometimes, internal company leadership wields a heavy hand and doesn't give the creative team the space to take risks and try new things.
There could also be some creeping internal arrogance, thinking that no one on the outside can understand the company brand well enough. An external marketing agency can bring a much-needed infusion of fresh ideas. These agencies often work with other companies in the industry, so they have a good sense of what has already "been done" and what is new and exciting.
While they may come in without a complete in-depth understanding of the company's brand and history, this can also be advantageous because they can often see opportunities that might have been overlooked or not as readily visible in-house. Fortune companies usually have marketing creatives in-house; however, they may also choose to outsource portions or all of their creative requirements to external partners such as ad agencies, design firms, and outsourcing companies if and when needed.
In such a case, their in-house marketing creative teams focus on directing the creative from the client-side and ensuring that the company's internal stakeholders' requirements have been met. In addition to strategic creative direction, there is both an internal account management and project management aspect to what these teams do. At times, these teams will also manage the workflow from one external partner to another.
Agencies are fluent in the best practices of nearly every marketing tactic. They are professionals who have worked on an infinite number of different accounts. Ad agencies are able to work far more efficiently than an assembled in-house marketing team. Because outsourced marketing agencies handle so much work, they have state-of-the-art workflows and processes that are built for quality, volume, and efficiency. Agencies usually know the best talent around.
If you want to find the perfect person to create illustrations for a marketing campaign, they will be able to pull the ideal person's number from their coat-pocket, whereas your in-house marketing team may take days to find someone who is competent or good enough.
Agencies will have an easier time delivering fresh ideas, both for creative and marketing tactics, than an in-house team. Outsourced marketing agencies may have access to tools and software that smaller in-house teams can't afford.
Read through our questions to help you choose between working in-house or at an agency. Well, let me paint a picture for you — just imagine working at Apple on their marketing team.
Every day you clock in at 9 am and clock out at 5 pm. You focus on marketing Apple products and only Apple products. After a couple of months, you become a master in marketing Apple products. You have developed your skills in marketing for the tech industry. Working in-house allows you to focus on one business and industry, so you can develop your skills at a granular level for the purpose of being the best in that niche market. As a marketer for Apple, you are a part of the bigger picture.
You help Apple establish a cohesive message on all of their ads. After a year of proving yourself and producing great results, you are up for a promotion. A couple of years pass and you will continue on being promoted to higher positions. There is a clear structure for you to follow in order for you to climb your way to the top, to be the Chief Marketing Officer for Apple. Based on this, it is clear that working in-house provides you with a clear career path, structured workdays, and a focus on one company.
Along with these positives, working in-house could potentially provide a higher salary, but recently agencies became more competitive with their pay. In-house companies are typically larger in size and might cause conflicts not only from your department but possibly from others.
For example, the finance department typically handles the budgeting and this might come into conflict with the marketing department if you want to ask for more budget on your potential advertising campaign. From an individual standpoint, you might become bored with constantly working within the same industry.
Since you are limited to one company and only one company when working in-house, choosing the right company is really important. Unless you are obsessed with Apple products, you might not want to be a marketer for Apple.
When leaving the company or seeking a new job, you might not have a diversified portfolio. Promotions and your career trajectory might not be as smooth as you think. Working in-house requires some corporate politics maneuvering if you want to be promoted. Even though you might generate great results, the person above you in the chain of command decides your future.
Did you answer yes to these questions? If so, you are perfect for an in-house style job. If you answered no to the majority of the questions, continue to the next section and see if you are the right fit for working at an agency.
Now imagine working at an agency. Agency life is for those that are adventurous and excels in a constantly adapting environment. You work with multiple clients in different industries, so you get hands-on experience in different niches. This is definitely great if you wanted to expand your portfolio.
You can experiment and gain valuable knowledge in what marketing tactics are successful in different industries, and gain a ton of different business knowledge to boot.
New clients are added and existing ones might leave. This is also a double-edged sword. On the plus side, at a marketing agency, everyone is passionate about marketing.
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