So, you’re thinking about outsourcing your marketing. You invite two or three potential suppliers into see you, all of which provide you with a quote…and then at some point you start asking yourself whether you should employ someone in-house instead.

When you’re faced with this dilemma, it can sometimes be helpful to breakdown the advantages or using a marketing company vs employing in-house so here’s a quick comparison:

• Experience

The person you choose to hire may have some experience in marketing. They may use some of the current systems and practices out there and be able to get up to speed quickly. However, they may well not know all of the things you’d like to use in your business. A marketing company on the other hand, will have a great deal of experience in-house. Not only are they likely to know all of the current marketing systems and not require training on any of them, but they’re also like to have experience in a wide range of marketing practices including telemarketing, branding, email marketing, PR, social media to name but a few.

• Access to a team

A marketing company is likely to have access to a team that will work on your account. Your marketing will be discussed daily within the team and different people will give their experience on what may suit your business the best. Contrast that with someone you employ in-house. Unless they have someone to bounce ideas off and get input from, it’s likely they’ll be asking you for ideas. This may be fine until you get busy and then you may not have the time to devote to them, leaving them on their own and ‘stuck’.

• Costs

Employing someone in-house may well mean you can keep your marketing costs lower. However, their experience and lack of access to a team may mean they take longer to get up to speed on things. Typically, it takes a new employee at least three months to learn the ropes, whereas a marketing team will be up and running and moving your business forward much quicker than that. Bearing the experience, getting up to speed and access to a whole team in mind, often the costs of hiring a marketing company may be much lower.

• Results

Regardless of whether you’re employing someone in-house or outsourcing to a marketing company, results are paramount. Results are likely to be quicker and at a higher standard by outsourcing compared to employing and if all doesn't go to plan, a marketing company can be much easier to cease working with than the person you've taken on.

• Choosing someone to work with

When we employ people here at Exceptional Thinking, it typically takes around 3-4 months until a new employee starts, with applications, interviews and notice periods. On the other hand, you can talk to three or four marketing companies and have them working with you in the space of 3-4 weeks.

Taking everything into comparison, outsourcing to a marketing company might be the better option for you, but then again, we would say that wouldn't we?