By now, you know that you definitely need digital marketing to grow your business.
However, you’re confronted with this question:
“Will you do it yourself or hire a digital marketing team?”
The question might sound simple, but it’s not that easy to answer.
Both choices come with their own advantages and disadvantages.
If you are not careful, you might end up losing more than what you gain.
Thus, it is crucial that you spend enough time to explore your options.
When it comes to digital marketing:
Should you outsource it or do it yourself?
That’s exactly what we are going to answer today.
Read on to learn more.
The Pros of Outsourcing Digital Marketing
-
Expertise in digital marketing
Here’s why business owners hire digital marketers:
They are experts in their field.
They have gained the necessary knowledge, background and proficiency to deliver effective digital marketing services.
In short, what they do best is digital marketing.
You can be sure you are hiring the right people.
As you work with professional digital marketers, you get to access their skill set.
Since this is their specialty, they can use various marketing strategies to meet your needs.
But of course, it’s very important to look at what type of results they have achieved.
Look at some of their past projects on how they have managed to grow various businesses.
-
Cost-effectiveness
Depending on which agency you hire, digital marketers could potentially save you money.
It is true that they do charge what seems to be an expensive rate.
But you are actually paying for more than what they are offering.
Imagine this:
You don’t have to worry about the marketing side of your business.
You get the peace of mind of knowing that a team of expert marketers is doing the job for you.
You also free up some of your time and energy.
This gives you more opportunities to do other things that matter to your business.
Not only that, but digital marketers already know what works and what does not work.
You can avoid wasting money in experimenting your way to successful digital marketing.
-
Experience
There’s something that you can’t easily get when you start an in-house digital marketing team.
That’s experience.
Most digital marketing agencies have already been in the business for many years.
Even newly formed agencies already have people in their team who have the experience to do the job right the first.
If you compare their years of experience to an in-house team that has just started, a digital marketing agency certainly has the edge.
They can tap into their wealth of experience to provide various creative and effective approaches to meet your preference and needs.
The cons of outsourcing digital marketing
-
Sharing of data
There are also some reasons that you could make you think twice before outsourcing your digital marketing effort.
One of them is the possibility of data being stored outside of your jurisdiction.
When you have a digital marketing agency, you would need to divulge some sensitive and private information to them.
Not only that but since files and information are being stored outside of your company, there’s a risk for breach of data.
-
Divided attention
Another point to consider is the exclusivity of the agency’s service.
Bear in mind that these agencies also handle other companies.
This means that their attention could be divided among various clients they work with simultaneously.
The service of an agency could negatively be affected if they have too many projects.
They might not be as responsive as they should be when changes need to be done.
-
Cost
Finally, another issue is cost.
I have told you earlier that hiring digital marketers can save you money.
However, if you are not careful, it could also cost you a lot of your resources.
Cost may increase after a promo period is over.
Your expenses may also add up as time pass by.
Rates tend to go up every year.
Conduct a feasibility study first.
See for yourself whether getting digital marketing services would be worth it or not.
The pros of in-house digital marketing
-
Control
The main reason businesses choose to do their own digital marketing is control.
If you have your own team, you get to directly manage your digital marketing.
No need to discuss it with a third-party agency.
You do whatever you want because it is your team.
You can tell them exactly what you want them to do.
You won’t be restricted by certain packages or plans.
You can also easily change marketing strategies, add new tactics, and improve plan execution.
-
Transparency
Digital marketing agencies are businesses as well.
They have their own interest to protect.
Even if you are their client, there are things they might be able to share with you.
Moreover, there is a border between you and their team.
The transfer of information may not be that fast.
This is not the case with in-house digital marketing.
Since you are doing it in-house, you can quickly obtain needed data.
You also have your files safely stored within your company.
So the risk for breach of data is kept low.
-
Grow your team
Your employees are among the greatest assets of your business.
When you do in-house digital marketing, you are giving your employees an opportunity to grow.
This gives you the chance to empower and give them the ability to advance their careers.
Growing your team means you are also making an investment for the future.
As your team improves through training, they can be useful to reach long-term goals.
-
Familiarity with your brand
Forming a team from within your company allows you to tap into people who already know your brand.
They know how the company works and what your goals are.
They already recognize the vision of the company as well as its core values.
With this in mind, you don’t need to spend so much time explaining what you need to achieve your goals.
Your in-house team of digital marketers can quickly align services to your brand’s mission and vision.
The cons of in-house digital marketing
-
Bigger startup cost
Before you form your own digital marketing team, make sure you also consider its negative implications.
In-house digital marketing needs a bigger amount of money to set up.
You need to hire new people, buy additional equipment and technology, and rent a place for your team.
This is the main reason that some business owners prefer to outsource marketing as it saves them money.
-
Lack of expertise and experience
If you are unfamiliar with digital marketing, it may take quite some time before you get a hang of it.
Extensive training may also be needed to have your teamwork effectively.
Moreover, learning by experience is proven to be more expensive.
If your team doesn’t have the formal training or experience, you might spend the first few months doing trial and error.
Sometimes, mistakes can be costly and may lead to irreversible damage to your company.
It will sure take a lot of time before your team could work like a well-oiled machine.
-
To outsource or not to outsource
Now that you have seen the two sides of the coin, the choice is for you make.
Generally speaking, if you want to simply not worry about digital marketing, then let the experts do it for you.
If you want to grow your own team that you can harness both today and in the future, then doing your digital marketing yourself could be the way to go.
Before making the final call, make sure you explore your current and future situations.
It is important to sit down, think about your options, and write down the various reasons you should choose one over the other.
–
If you’d like the more about digital marketing & what you should do what you execute it, get our FREE e-Guide on “ROI-Based Digital Marketing” by clicking here or the image below.
Discover what goes on behind-the-scenes to make sure your Digital Marketing brings extraordinary results for your business!