Hiring A Digital Marketing Agency Or Employing Someone Internally?

Hiring digital marketing expertise or employing a digital marketing agency is a decision that every modern business will have to go through at some point. Some businesses are in a position to utilise internal knowledge to make strides in either employing or hiring this business critical skill-set, but others are not.

The overriding issue in the majority of cases comes down to trust. It can be quite difficult to know if the information you are being provided with is going to get your business the results you require. Sure, your business receives hundreds of phone calls a day offering a variety of services which on the face of it, seem like a great fit. But what do you need that is urgent and what is going to make the biggest difference to your long term business goals?

Employing Internally

In an ideal world, every business would have all the talent they require internally at their disposal. Unfortunately, this isn’t economically viable, geographical feasible or often at all practical in terms of internalising all the required skill sets. This is the reason that agencies exist in the first place. They offer businesses the ability to tap into a wealth of talent that can open up skills and resources that would otherwise have taken years to build.

It is also important to note that by building an internal team of specialists in design, development and digital marketing proficiencies, there is essentially a considered effort there to build a business within a business. Hiring true experts in those proficiencies requires an interviewer with those skills in the first place. Otherwise how can you be sure what to look for in a specialist? This is where the internal model becomes difficult and costly to obtain and then maintain.

“99% of businesses would, understandably, love to internalise all their business related digital expertise. However, 99% of businesses simply do not have a viable model to achieve this.”

Working With An Agency

Working with an agency becomes an increasingly viable as a way of ensuring that your business has all the expertise to tap into, with minimal management overheads to go along with it. But what is it that a business should look for when wanting to bridge this gap?

• Trust – It can be something that is difficult to quickly build but is extremely important in determining if the information you are getting will be of benefit to your business. Does the agency have an impressive client list? Are their staff professional and knowledgeable? How are they demonstrating their expertise?
  
  All these factors can go a long way to deciding if the agency you’re conversing with is of the right ‘fit’.

• Previous Business Success – Can the agency demonstrate a record of previous business success? How relevant is that success to your industry? Industry knowledge can often be important for SEO elements like digital PR where existing industry contacts will already exist.
• Business Size / Cultural Fit – Does the size and number of employees at an agency correlate with your business? When judging everything from cost through to delivery, the size of the agency and their culture can help to tell a lot about how the relationship will go.
• Desire To Win Your Business – Does the agency you are conversing with really want to win your business or does it feel as though you may just be another client in a large pool of clients?
• Listening To Your Needs – Ultimately, an agency must be able to listen to your business requirements and then refer to those when putting together a solution for your company. An honest and bespoke solution will be important for sustainable digital growth.

And remember, an agency that cares as much about you being their client in 5 years time, as it does about you being a client today, is an extremely important find.