Should you outsource your marketing to an agency or bring it in-house and do it yourself? Although the obvious answer is “eventually both” – as in, you should have both an internal marketing function and external partners, this isn’t typically how companies start. They do either. So, if you have to choose, how should you navigate this decision?
Small vs medium-sized
This is an obvious one but also misunderstood. A tiny business should do its own marketing not only because of budget limitations but also because the marketing function is part of the founders’ overall responsibility to start the business. Put differently, marketing in a young business is not yet an independent role—it is still part of the overall entrepreneurship function. Even if the budget is not a concern, the role of understanding customers and learning what messages resonate and how they react to products and pricing should not be outsourced.
Particularly within startups, the founder is directly responsible for promoting the company with the help of a small selection of marketing support services, such as website development and a writer to help with the occasional content. Communicating with customers is a critical learning opportunity that allows the owner to refine the business.
Inside established small businesses or medium-sized companies, the marketing function can gradually be separated from the founders’ role once so-called product-market fit has been established. However, as I explain in this video, it should always be anchored inside the business.
B2B vs B2C
Businesses focused on serving other businesses (B2B) typically offer more complex offerings requiring an insider to understand and handle the marketing. Few external marketing providers will be able to properly immerse themselves in an industrial, professional services or technology business and do it justice. For this reason, we recommend that in B2B, SMEs first start with an in-house marketing person and then gradually build it out with the addition of external partners.
Contrary to B2B, in B2C (i.e. end-user-focused consumer markets), it is often easy to understand the product or service and much more feasible to outsource marketing to a third party. Since the product is a consumable, it is even possible for the outsider to try it themselves, making the marketing communications aspect much easier.
How big is the sale?
Marketing must enable sales, and the type of sale determines the marketing function needed. When a deal is of a high value and cost to the client, the marketing activity preceding the sale must be much stronger than a low-cost, low-risk purchase. You’ll struggle to sell a luxury consumer product or critical part to an industrial buyer on the back of low-quality marketing communications.
The higher the quality, the more specialised the implementation becomes, and you need to start working with professionals—an accomplished graphic designer, copywriter, social media manager and public relations agency. You may even require a boutique agency to help you create impactful marketing campaigns. At a certain point, marketing activities become too specialised for a generalist inside the company – and outsourcing becomes necessary.
A combination of in-house with outside support
To be fair, no matter the state of a business, even the smallest marketing effort will likely require input from insiders and outsiders. This article’s primary concern is where the day-to-day management resides, and in our experience, the answer to this depends on the above factors.
Marketing is not optional for an ambitious business – it must happen. The only question is how you implement it to deliver optimal results. Too often, companies take a haphazard approach that does not generate lasting results! The key is to gradually and intentionally move in a direction where marketing is a crucial function inside the business, with some support. You should never outsource your marketing entirely.
