KEY TAKEAWAYS
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If you’re working for a large company with a big budget, going with an agency is a no-brainer … unless you plan to build an entire marketing agency within your company.
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A good agency team will be more knowledgeable about industry marketing strategies and best practices to propel your company farther.
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A staff of just ten people - managers, designers, writers, digital ad specialists, social specialist, ad buyer, etc, plus their upkeep and equipment, costs in the neighborhood of a million dollars a year.
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Generally, as a rule of thumb, it costs twice as much to keep an employee as the employee’s salary. So for a $50K mid-level, full-time, in-house marketing manager, it could cost $100K a year.
Every company has a choice to make when it comes to how they want to facilitate their marketing — hire an agency, or handle it in-house. A quick comparison of your options might surprise you.
And if you are in the position of having to decide whether or not to hire a marketing agency, or do it all in-house, there's good news — it's an easy decision when you look at the facts.
Let's do that.
If you’re working for a large company with a big budget, the decision becomes a little easier — going with an agency is a no-brainer — unless you plan to build an entire marketing agency within your company. But there’s a problem with that. An in-house agency has only one customer: your company.
That’s not conducive to having a thriving and effective marketing agency that’s learning and growing. A staff of just ten people - managers, designers, writers, digital ad specialists, social specialist, ad buyer, etc, plus their upkeep and equipment, costs in the neighborhood of a million dollars a year.
On the other hand, if you’re working for a small company, you might be thinking that your budget won’t be enough to allow you to hire an agency to handle your marketing needs. That’s actually not true. Employees cost more than most people know, and agencies cost less than you might think.
Let’s assume your company’s got enough of a marketing budget to hire one person in-house. You’d need someone with a lot of experience. Even a mid-level employee would cost, say $50,000 a year. Add on top of that the costs of SSI, benefits, equipment such as a cubicle desk and computer system, electric, coffee, donuts, etc. It all adds up!
Generally, as a rule of thumb, it costs twice as much to keep an employee as the employee’s salary. So for a $50K mid-level, full-time, in-house marketing manager, it could cost $100K a year.
Here’s what you need to get for that $100,000 to make this a close contest. You’d need someone who:
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understands marketing strategies and practices inside and out
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has time to stay educated on changes in marketing best practices
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can write marketing, sales, collateral, emails, website and landing page content, advertising copy, etc.
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has professional graphic design skills including image editing, typography, illustration, logo design, ad design, package design, POP display design, etc.
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can design, build, and act as a webmaster for your website
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can edit, proofread, and post content to your website
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can produce and edit video and audio content
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has time to manage content networks such as Youtube
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understands all the intricacies of advertising, from the creative process to purchasing time/space, for print, broadcast, POP, outdoor, and digital advertising, and has time to implement all that;
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understands all aspects of social media marketing as it pertains to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and so on, and has the time to manage them all
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understands the intricacies of public relations, can write a great press release, knows how to create a media contact list, knows the proper protocol for submitting a press release, and has time to do all that
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understands all aspects of digital marketing including search advertising, social media advertising, display advertising, landing page design, A/B testing, analytics, lead tracking, etc., and has time to create and implement all these campaigns
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knows branding inside and out, from naming a brand to designing its packaging
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understands search engine optimization inside and out, and has time to keep up with and implement SEO best practices
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understands e-commerce, and has time to develop and manage an online store
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has their own office, desk, computer, electricity, coffee, and benefits covered
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and more, depending on specific needs.
If you can find an employee that has all that knowledge and experience to successfully navigate and manage your business' marketing needs, you’ve got yourself one hell of an employee there.
The point is probably obvious by now, and you’re thinking it’s a little overkill. But it’s real. A good marketing agency has or works with specialists who have the skillset, knowledgebase, and time for all those things.
You get to take advantage of the “two heads are better than one” principle, except there’s a whole room full of heads for the price of one.
A good agency team will be more knowledgeable about industry marketing strategies and best practices to propel your company farther. Hopefully, you’ll find a team that’s a joy to work with and helps make your company into a raving success story.
We know a team like that. We can get them working for you in short order. If you’re in the process of vetting marketing agencies, we’d be happy to discuss with you our best strategies and show you what we’ve done to propel our clients to success.
Hop on over to our client inquiry form and tell us a little bit about your needs and we'll have someone contact you pronto.
