Many small businesses have budgetary constraints in terms of marketing, only being able to afford one or two employees to manage strategy development, branding, creating content, execution and lead generation. Working with an agency is an alternative option that many business owners weigh against, to see which one works best for them.
In this blog, we will break down the differences and similarities between direct hires and marketing agencies to provide content to help a business owner weigh their options and find what works best for their situation. Both options are good, it really depends on what your needs are and your budget.
When comparing the facts below, we assume that the price for the full-time employee is about the same as the agency. Meaning, however much you are willing to pay your full-time employee would be the same expense allocated to an agency.
Personal Experience & Service Variety
A full-time employee can only offer you their education and personal experience whereas an agency combines the expertise of several professionals, all from different backgrounds, making the advice they give often more comprehensive and creative.
An employee is often hired to focus on a specific role within the broader marketing scope. If the employee manages all of your marketing, they will only be able to do a little in each area and unable to thoroughly focus on one priority. If you were to hire a Marketing specialist, such as in SEO or email marketing, then you would have fantastic results in that area, without any results in another. To have a more balanced marketing team you would have to hire many specialists.
With an agency, you can have a lot of variety without needing to hire multiple specialists. Agencies will have an expert in each area and will only use them as needed depending on the projects that you have in motion.
Cost for Time Spent
When working with an agency you will often pay for a certain number of hours each month. The cost of those hours will be about the same as having hired a full-time employee. However, the efficiency of the hours used will be much better. With an agency you are billed by hour for the work that is done, keeping the company accountable for the cost of marketing. Instead with an employee, they may be able to work many more hours, but be unable to produce the same quality of work, given their limitations in skills and experience.
Additionally, the extra hours that you get by hiring a full-time employee are probably less than you believe. This article by the Seattle Times suggests that the average worker is only productive for a maximum of 5 hours. This means that on average you're receiving 62% of the total amount of work you expect from a 40-hour work week, or 25 hours of total work.
Many hours of an employee's workday go unaccounted for, so it's easy to overestimate the amount of work that gets done. On the other hand, agencies bill by the minute, so you get your money’s worth every time.
HR Benefits
It goes without saying that an agency doesn't need to be paid severance, given medical insurance coverage, vacation days, or any other benefits. You may pay a retainer fee, but other than that, the financial liability of the relationship is very small compared to a full-time employee. Adding up the cost of maintaining a full-time employee can make the agency option much more attractive.
Last Minute Communication
All businesses know that anything can happen at the last minute. If something comes up or someone changes their mind, bringing those changes to fruition may take longer working with an agency. The communication process may include a conversation with a project manager who will reach out to the person responsible for edits and seek approvals. If any of the key decision-makers aren't immediately available, delays are possible. When you are working with an in-house employee, they will be much more accessible to deal with a last-minute change or urgent communication.
The Hybrid Model
If you already have a marketing employee, but feel that they simply need more support within specific areas, then a marketing agency is a great solution to consider. This is known as the hybrid model. You would essentially augment your current marketing team with marketing agency services. So, instead of continuing to hire employees to fill the gaps in your business, you can have the best of both worlds: the nimbleness of an in-house employee with the expertise of an agency. This is a great option, but of course, depends on your budget constraints.
Onboarding
In the case of an employee, onboarding may take a few weeks for tasks like getting them set up in the company’s system, training them in technology, and getting them up to speed on the current state of the company.
For an agency, there is an onboarding process, but usually it’s the other way around, where they onboard you as one of their clients, and they shift to better understand how you work and help you. They already have the strategy and processes they use for success, and just need to understand your goals to apply them.
In Conclusion
There are pros and cons to partnering with a marketing agency or hiring staff. If you feel that you first need to have an internal person that is responsible for managing the overall marketing plan, then it may be best to do a direct hire. If you need more support for a specific project or expertise, then it's likely that an agency is your best bet, rather than hiring many experts. Your B2B Marketing would be happy to have a conversation with you to identify the best option.
