Deciding when to hire a marketing agency versus building an internal marketing team is an important but sometimes tricky decision for companies. Each option comes with benefits and drawbacks, and the choice ultimately depends on the company’s goals, stage of growth, available resources, and specific marketing needs.

This guide will help assess whether your business would benefit more from outsourcing your marketing efforts to an agency, hiring an in-house marketing leader, or choosing a blend of both.

The Case for Hiring a Marketing Agency

Marketing agencies are a go-to solution for businesses looking for quick, cost-effective, flexible, and highly-experienced marketing support. Here are specific instances when partnering with an agency makes the most sense:

1. You Need Specialized Expertise

Marketing agencies offer skilled teams dedicated to various disciplines such as omnichannel GTM strategic planning, branding, performance marketing, creative execution, and analytics. Agencies can also provide invaluable industry insights and expertise that your internal team might lack, which can help you prevent missteps as you launch and grow your brand.

For example:

1. Need a disruptive campaign to launch your new product or brand? Choose an agency that has deep branding, creative, and advertising expertise in your industry.
   
2. Looking to launch a direct-to-consumer campaign that complements the healthcare provider marketing your company is already doing? Agencies with deep consumer health expertise can help you navigate these tricky waters and ensure you’re reaching and motivating the desired target consumers/patients without alienating the trust of physicians on whom your company depends.
   
3. Struggling with how best to maintain a compelling presence on social channels? Agencies can provide seasoned specialists to help build your content strategy and weave your brand into relevant national dialogs.
   
4. Interested in maximizing conversion on a limited budget? The right agency can provide smart, strategic guidance on how best to deploy your marketing dollars to deliver the greatest return on investment.

In summary, hiring an agency allows you to gain access to deep expertise if and when you don’t have the resources to hire experts internally.

2. You Need to Scale Quickly

When time is of the essence, agencies can ramp up your marketing efforts faster than an in-house team. No need to lose valuable time recruiting, on-boarding, and training a new hire. The right agency can handle the heavy lifting while you focus on running your business.

Furthermore, if your company is in growth mode or launching a new product, a marketing agency can build momentum fast, ensuring that when a marketing leader is eventually hired, they step into a well-structured, data-informed role rather than starting from scratch.

3. You’re Not Sure Yet What You Really Need

Hiring a marketing agency first gives a company valuable time to assess its true marketing needs before making a long-term commitment to an in-house hire.

Marketing is a broad discipline, covering brand strategy, digital marketing, content creation, media buying, analytics, social media, and more. If a company hires a Head of Marketing too soon, they may discover later that they actually need a leader with very different skills in order to be successful going forward. Furthermore, bringing in a full-time Head of Marketing or team too soon can be expensive and risky—especially if the role isn’t clearly defined. If the first hire is misaligned with company needs, replacing them can be costly in both time and resources.

4. You Have a Lean Internal Team

If your internal team lacks the bandwidth to execute a comprehensive marketing strategy, agencies can step in to fill the gap. They can handle everything from content creation and campaign execution to performance monitoring and more—allowing your core team to concentrate on more mission-critical initiatives or initiatives that are more squarely in your wheelhouse.

5. You Need Flexibility

Agencies typically offer project-based or retainer-style partnerships, making it easier to adjust resources as your marketing needs evolve. If you need to scale up to support a big ramp or during high-growth times or to scale down during slower periods, agencies offer flexibility that full-time hires cannot.

6. You Want Fresh, Unbiased Insights

Sometimes, being entrenched in your own operations can make it difficult to see the bigger picture. Marketing agencies work across multiple clients, bringing innovative ideas and competitive insights to the table. Their fresh perspective can spark creativity and new opportunities for your brand.

7. You Lack the Budget for a Senior Executive

Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or senior marketing executive can be prohibitively expensive, especially for startups. Instead, agencies provide access to high-level expertise at a fraction of the cost, ensuring you still get insights from seasoned professionals.

When to act: If your goal is to see fast, measurable results from experts without the overhead cost of building an internal team, hiring an agency may be your best bet.

The Case for Hiring a Head of Marketing

Unlike agencies, a full-time head of marketing or CMO offers long-term commitment and leadership. Here’s when making this investment is the best move for your business:

1. You Need Long-Term Strategic Leadership

A dedicated marketing executive should drive the vision, strategy, and structure of your in-house marketing team. They ensure marketing aligns closely with your business goals and sets a course for sustainable growth.

2. You Want an Internal Champion for the Brand

A head of marketing lives and breathes your company. They should set (and should embody!) your brand’s voice and values, ensuring deeper alignment between marketing efforts, company culture, and goals. By working closely with other departments such as sales, operations, and product development, they can seamlessly integrate marketing into every part of the business in a way that is more difficult for an agency to do (unless the agency has been engaged and is being compensated to become an integral part of your company).

3. Your Marketing Needs Are Ongoing and Integrated

If marketing is a core driver of revenue for your business, an in-house team ensures better coordination and consistency across initiatives like campaigns, partnerships, and product launches. A full-time leader makes sure every effort is aligned with your overall strategy.

4. You Want Direct Control Over Marketing Operations

Bringing your marketing leader in-house gives you more control over day-to-day operations. This ensures greater accountability and allows you to build processes tailored specifically to your business.

5. You Have a Long-Term Growth Vision

When marketing is central to scaling your organization, a dedicated leader can establish a solid foundation. They can build your internal team and resources, ensuring scaling efforts are sustainable and aligned with your growth objectives.

When to act: If your focus is long-term growth and you’re ready and able to invest in a sustainable, internal marketing structure, hiring a Head of Marketing is a wise choice.

When to Combine Both?

There are times when leveraging both a marketing agency and in-house marketing talent can deliver the best results. These scenarios typically include:

1. Hire a Head of Marketing and use an Agency if… 

1. You need a marketing leader to set strategy but don’t yet have or cannot afford to hire a full internal marketing team to execute on that strategy.
   
2. You want core marketing functions handled internally but need specialized expertise in certain areas such as creative campaigns, media buying, or specific industry knowledge (e.g., consumer healthcare marketing). 

In this scenario, your Head of Marketing would offer strategic oversight and coordination, while the agency provides tactical execution or niche expertise.

2. Start with an Agency, Then Hire In-House If: 

1. You’re testing different marketing approaches and want to see results before committing to a full-time hire. 
2. You need results quickly but plan to transition to an in-house marketing team once your business is ready.

This staged approach allows you to gain traction and refine your marketing strategy before scaling internally.

Making the Right Decision for Your Business

The choice between hiring a marketing agency, an in-house Head of Marketing, or both depends on your unique business needs, goals, and budget. For startups seeking flexibility and fast results, agencies can be a game-changer. For businesses prioritizing long-term vision and control, investing in a full-time marketing executive brings unmatched value.

No matter which path you choose, the key is to focus on finding the right expertise to help your business grow strategically and sustainably. Remember, marketing is more than just running ads—it’s about creating a differentiated and lasting impression in the market and driving meaningful customer engagement and loyalty.

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At Wheel+Dow, we have 60+ years of combined experience crafting and building highly emotional brands and brand experiences for our clients. Contact us today to explore how we can help you accelerate growth and customer evangelism for your brand by marrying quality data with humanized storytelling.