In-House Marketing VS Agency | Whom to Choose?
As an entrepreneur, your job is to produce the maximum revenue by taking the right decisions. It involves hiring the right talent and going with the right contracts. In this article, we advise you about selecting between an In-house marketing and agency marketing depending on your current situation and goals.
In-house marketing and Agency marketing
In-house marketing is any marketing activity that takes place inside an organization. It includes internal blogging, market research and survey, direct marketing, in-house advertising, public relations and media relations campaigns. Agency Marketing refers to the practice of outsourcing traditional advertising services to specialist agencies, instead of handling them in-house.
Choosing between In-house marketing and agency marketing
The difference between In-house marketing and agency marketing is that in the former it is an organization's own staff who do the work while in the latter it is an outside organization. In-house marketing is favored by small and mid-sized companies because of the efficiency of having staff on site focused on their business, as well as its potential cost savings. Agency marketing, however, is preferred by larger companies because of the expertise of third party firms and its potential to increase the effectiveness of a company's advertising due to external competition.
Both within-house and agency marketing can have their advantages, depending on the company's advertising strategy. Some companies prefer to have their in-house and agency marketing work together, while others prefer to use both. Because of this it is important for companies to understand exactly what they want to take advantage of, what specific goals they want achieve before deciding which form of marketing will be best.
The main reason for using in-house marketing is the cost savings. In-house marketing allows the company to have staff work on their own products, like blogging and customer service, without having to pay an outside organization. In-house marketing is also faster than agency marketing because it can happen within the same business building rather than being held out of sight at an external office. Also, in-house marketing is more efficient because it allows management to keep a close eye on the process; this means that management activities can be condensed into fewer personnel hours which reduces both time and costs.
With in-house marketing it is important to manage the process so that it becomes more efficient and effective. This can be accomplished by using specific tools to track statistics. For example, using the blog, company executives can see exactly how many people are visiting and what areas of the site are popular. As well as using data tracking software such as StatCounter, a company can also use social media monitoring tools such as Radian6 along with website analytics platforms like Google Analytics.
Agency marketing should not be ignored and even when handled incorrectly can be effective if handled properly. With the intensity of competition in business today, many companies will want to choose an agency marketing strategy because of its ability to improve a company's sales and profits. Through creative advertising strategies agencies can help a company build a stronger brand image, increase sales and boost the company's share value. Agency marketing also helps with overall market awareness by providing the company with new customers; this can be important to help reduce pressure on existing products or services.
In-house marketing and agency marketing can work together
When making a decision between these two forms, above all, it is imperative that the company has clearly defined its advertising objectives and the best path on how to achieve them. Companies should keep in mind that they are not required to solely use one form of marketing strategy over another. In-house marketing along with agency marketing is a good way for companies to make certain that they are getting ahead of their competitors while at the same time saving money, increasing revenue and increasing brand recognition.
