When marketing stops being something you do in spare moments, the question arrives: do I hire someone to take care of it, or hand it to an outside team? There's no single right answer. It depends on what you need, what you can afford and how much day-to-day control you want.
What there are, though, are clear criteria for deciding, and a few very common mistakes. Let's go through them, using examples from small and medium businesses.
The real cost, beyond the payslip and the invoice
Comparing a salary with an agency's monthly invoice is misleading. A staff member costs their salary plus employer social security contributions, and on top of that paid tools, training, holidays and sick leave that leave the role uncovered. And that's a single person: rarely will one individual master design, copywriting, advertising, analytics and technical work all at once.
The agency charges a fee that includes all of that, but in return it doesn't dedicate its whole day to you. The useful question isn't which is cheaper, but what you get for what you pay and whether you'll use it fully. A neighbourhood shop that needs to post now and then doesn't fill a full-time role; a business running campaigns all year round might.
Specialisation and continuity
An agency has several profiles working at once and has seen many different cases, so it usually solves problems faster than a lone professional would take to research. It also keeps running if someone falls ill or leaves. If your only marketing employee goes, you're left with no knowledge, no documented access and months to regain momentum.
An in-house team, on the other hand, lives inside your business: it knows your customers, your products and internal changes before anyone else. That closeness matters a lot when what you sell is complex or very local. An agency has to learn your business from the outside, and that takes time and good information from you.
Control and speed
With your own team you have direct control: you change a priority in the morning and it's done by the afternoon. With an agency there are processes, deadlines and work slots, which can be slower for urgent matters, though it organises the work and avoids improvisation.
On the other side, an agency can start straight away, with no recruitment or training, and scale up for a month of intense campaigning without you having to hire and then let people go. Be clear, too, that if you outsource, the accounts, logins and materials must always belong to you.
The mixed model
It's the most common solution for growing small businesses: one internal person (or the owner) who knows the business, sets priorities and answers to customers, and an agency or several outside specialists for what takes real craft: advertising, technical SEO, web development, design. That gives you closeness and specialisation without paying for a full team.
It works well when there's a clear owner on your side and objectives agreed in writing. It fails when nobody on your side spends time steering, and the agency works blind.
How to decide for your situation
Ask yourself four questions. How many hours a week of marketing do you really need? How many different disciplines have to be covered? Do you have someone who can direct and review the work? Do you need flexibility to scale up and down with the season?
If you need few hours and several disciplines, an agency usually fits. If you need many hours of one constant task, such as managing social media daily, an in-house person makes sense. If you're somewhere in between, start with the mixed model and review it after six months.
Frequently asked questions
Can I switch option later?
Yes, and it's sensible to review the decision every so often. To make switching easy, insist from day one that accounts, logins and documentation are in your name.
What if I can't afford either?
Concentrate your effort on the one or two actions that bring you the most, and outsource only specific tasks, such as a well-built website or one particular campaign. Doing a little consistently beats doing a lot halfway.
How do I know whether my agency is working?
By the objectives agreed at the start, clear reports and regular communication. If you don't understand what's being done or what the results are, ask them to explain it without jargon.