In-House Vs. External Agency: Which Is the Best for My Business?

Is it better to train your staff to be at the forefront of the design, media, and marketing industry? What if they move on afterward? Is hiring an external design agency the best fit for my brand, or will it waste precious time as they "learn" your brand voice? You may have lots of questions if you have ever needed to tackle a publication, launch a new campaign, or juggled your brand across social media and your website. This article will share the pros of using your in-house team vs an external agency and some tips on which is the best fit for your project.

External Agencies

You have built your business to be the best it can be at what you do. It makes sense that external agencies have been built that way, too! Design and marketing agencies specialize their teams to provide honed skills, talent, and experience in areas that small to medium businesses do not always have the time or capabilities to excel in. Since their day-to-day focus is on staying up to date with the latest trends and technologies, they are better able to deliver high-quality services without trial and error. Here are five pros of working with an external agency:

1. Scalability: External agencies offer project-based scalability and flexibility that in-house hires can't. A large marketing campaign around a new service or event will take many hours of planning, setup, and monitoring, often beyond the capabilities of an in-house team. Partnering with an established agency can let you double your time and resources rather than hiring new talent yourself

2. Experience: An external agency's team will include staff with experience in multiple aspects of a project, launch, branding campaign, or multimedia marketing plan. This allows for successful plans to be developed and tracked with an eye toward the metrics that define a project's success, rather than having to learn as you go.

3. Vendor Partnerships: No one wants to be disappointed with a new vendor's performance. Agencies have long-standing relationships with vetted vendors such as printers, ad placement platforms, software-sourcing, and other business needs. This allows them to skip the search and get right into the production!

4. Whole-brand oversight: Keeping your brand strong across all aspects of your business can feel like a full-time job. For a moderately sized business, your creative or content team might be in different locations with varying views on how to apply the brand. If your digital brand is falling flat or your sales materials are suffering, it might be because your brand is being segmented across your team. An agency with experience in branding cohesion (link to us) might be a helpful partner to keep things together.

5. A Fresh View: Sometimes tradition can get in the way of progress. A fresh, external viewpoint can enable open thinking about current best practices and the latest tech. Partnering with an external agency provides a clear view of processes and procedures that can benefit your strategy in the long term.

So, what types of projects can most benefit from using an agency? According to Statista, 50% of SMBs have an internal person or team to assist with design, media, or marketing, but 80% of SMBs have outsourced a project or campaign. Not surprisingly, there is some overlap between the two depending on the organization's needs. If a project involves marketing, SEO, ad placements, or digital design, it might be beneficial to consult an external agency specializing in these areas. If your internal team is robust and ready to learn, it might be better to help them acquire the skills needed for long-term improvement.

In-House Teams

Many organizations and businesses have in-house individuals or teams to handle branding, media, social marketing, or digital content. They may find new technology or training to be better tools for their in-house talent on long-term projects and repetitive project needs. If your business has the luxury of a large, well-functioning team of talent, it makes sense to elevate their skills and abilities through education opportunities and software to help them be the best at what they do. Here are five benefits to training and using your in-house team:

1. Business-wide skill building: With training, new skills can be acquired and become long-term assets to the business. Your team can apply their skills to other areas of your organization and even share their new skills with incoming staff.

2. Quick turnaround: Reviewing materials and managing projects can be challenging when working with multiple external agencies. With an in-house team, approval loops can be almost instantaneous.

3. Evergreen Talent without the Turnover: Leveling up your communications or creative team with targeted training allows your workforce to be an investment in new skills and knowledge.

4. Interact with your customer base: An in-house team can respond quickly to reviews, industry trends, or PR concerns. In-house content marketing on social media or in blog posts can allow for immediate messaging shifts or customer communications.

5. Keeping it Small: Training new skills to in-house personnel allows for a smaller, more bespoke scale for your projects. Skills can be acquired as needed, and if you have a solid, stable team, training will be a long-term investment.

Is There Some Way to Have it All? Yes! Sometimes, having the ability to scale your internal team is essential. And sometimes, investing in training for your internal communications or creative team is better for your project. An agency like Twothirty Media can help you take advantage of both! We can help train the people you have on staff to apply their existing skills and new knowledge to be long-term assets to your organization as a whole. And sometimes you may need the support of a larger agency to fill in the gaps and expand on your in-house talent and experience to make a more successful campaign or project. Reach out today, and we can show you how we can partner with you for success.