Challenges of In-House Marketing

There are some benefits to having an in-house marketing team; there are also several challenges that can be overcome with the support of an outside marketing partner.

Why In-House Marketing

There are reasons some companies choose to move their marketing in-house. Owning their own data, controlling exactly where and how money is spent, improving transparency, and managing their own marketing campaigns are some of the reasons they bring marketing in-house.

Benefits of In-House Marketing

Having an in-house marketing team to manage campaigns can be beneficial. Sometimes campaigns fail, and they can take that failure and learn faster through the campaigns. Strategies can quickly be changed, and adjustments are made to adapt to the changing conditions or issues within the industry faster than when working with an outside marketing partner.

Challenges of In-House Marketing

There are also several challenges to in-house marketing. A marketing strategy can become complicated very quickly and can be extremely daunting. There are many different pieces to remember and manage, making it easy for a team to get overwhelmed. Trends in tech and marketing come and go; staying current on trends is time-consuming and difficult. But, keeping your company at the top of the pack is key, which means keeping up with the trends and changes is vital.

One of the biggest challenges to in-house marketing is finding the right people for your team, and the cost of that talent can be a deterrent. Some companies incorrectly think that doing all marketing in-house will save them money. This is typically not the case. In addition to affording the right resources, there can be many additional costs to in-house marketing, such as fees for marketing tools.

How In-House Marketing Works

There are different ways companies run their in-house marketing efforts. Some in-house marketing teams are self-service; they do all aspects of the marketing on their own. Based on the challenges mentioned above, this is the most challenging way for a company to go about its marketing. Some marketing managers find themselves overwhelmed as they realize their team doesn’t have the experience necessary to run all strategies independently.

Due to the challenges of bringing all marketing in-house, some companies choose to have an in-house marketing team that provides the strategy. In contrast, an outside marketing partner executes it, and other companies outsource just a portion of their marketing. For example, in-house teams do social media marketing while the marketing partner runs all other marketing efforts.

Benefits of Partnering with an Outside Marketing Team

When partnering with an outside marketing team, you benefit from their marketing talent and project management. Depending on the marketing partner you choose, they will likely have several marketers with various skills and expertise in a wide range of marketing strategies and platforms. They stay up-to-date on the changes and trends in the marketing industry. When events like GDPR and the California Privacy Act occur, an outside marketing team will partner with you to ensure you’re meeting the new expectations, helping you avoid the emergency education that might have to happen otherwise.

Look for a marketing team with members certified in many different areas that apply to your marketing initiatives, including Google Analytics, Google Ads, Bing Ads, WordPress SEO, etc. This means you benefit from certifications in many different specialties without having to pay for your team members to maintain these certifications. Many agencies work directly with reps from Google and Bing and have access that you might not have as an in-house team. Also, ask what SEO, social media, and paid advertising platforms they subscribe to as an agency. Again, you get the benefit of these without the direct costs of maintaining subscriptions to multiple platforms.

Extend your reach and make your marketing efforts stronger by working with an outside group of experts.