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Is your business ready to in-house your digital marketing in 2024?
As 2024 looms ever closer, you may be considering if the new year is the right time to bring your digital marketing inhouse. Our guide aims to help you assess whether you are ready to take the plunge or whether there are still gaps in your thinking or strategy that need to be addressed before launching into inhousing.
Agency vs. in-house options
Before diving into your readiness assessment, it’s crucial to understand the options available to you for managing your digital marketing, which generally fall into 3 choices:
1. Outsourcing: everything is managed by an external agency
2. In-housing: bringing everything in-house and establishing your own internal ‘agency’
3. Supported in-housing: a hybrid model where you use a mix of in-house and agency specialists
To determine if you and your business are ready for any type of in-housing, whether that be supported in-housing or otherwise, you need to consider the following factors:
Digital marketing in-housing readiness checklist:
1. Assess your digital marketing needs
Before making any decisions about in-housing, you’ll need to conduct a thorough analysis of your digital marketing needs. This includes evaluating the scope and complexity of your campaigns, the diversity of channels you’re using, and the level of specialisation that is required to manage each element of your digital marketing mix. Having a well-defined marketing strategy in place will make it much easier to implement in-housing.
2. Evaluate your budget and cost considerations
Cost is a significant factor in whether you decide to in-house your digital marketing. While in-house teams can potentially reduce costs associated with agency overheads, you’ll need to consider the overall budget required to establish and maintain an internal team and assess whether your business can manage potential cost fluctuations plus whether the long-term benefits outweigh the initial investment. Also, you’ll need to consider economies of scale. Big agencies benefit from lower costs for industry tools and also advertising costs and business overheads. These savings can sometimes mean that working with an agency is actually more cost-effective than taking your services in-house – at least for some aspects of your digital marketing.
3. Consider your company culture and values
How important is it for you to maintain a cohesive brand image and for your team to have a deep understanding of your products and services to deliver your digital marketing campaigns? An in-house team will make it more likely that every campaign you run resonates with the core values that define your brand whereas working with an agency may mean that your account manager is working on several brands at one time. In-housing enables your marketing team to develop a deeper understanding of the intricacies, strengths, and unique selling propositions of your product or offering and when they live and breathe your services or products, it reflects in your campaigns.
4. Evaluate your recruitment and retention
Consider your ability to attract and recruit top talent. If your brand/business is well-recognised and prestigious, you may find it easier to bring experienced professionals in-house. Also, you’ll need to assess whether your business can offer an environment that retains skilled individuals, contributing to the long-term success of your marketing efforts and meaning that you are not consistently needing to recruit and train new team members.
5. Assess the need to stay informed about industry trends
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital marketing, staying informed about industry trends is crucial. Therefore, you’ll need to assess your business’ and team’s capability to adapt to emerging trends and whether in-housing allows your business to be on top of its game when it comes to any industry changes. You’ll also need to consider the benefits of shared learning within agencies and whether your business can replicate this collaborative environment internally.
6. Find out which tools or platforms could help you in-house
Selecting the right mix of tools and platforms is essential for the effective in-housing of your digital marketing. You’ll need to consider the unique needs of your team, the scale of your operations, and the specific goals you aim to achieve. Implementing user-friendly platforms that integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows will enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness. The specific tools and platforms you’ll need to consider include covering your data management requirements, reporting, analytics and forecasting of your campaigns.
Ready to take the plunge into in-housing your digital marketing?
After considering these factors, you should have a clearer understanding of whether your business is ready to in-house your digital marketing in 2024. Striking the right balance between in-house expertise and external agency support might be the key to maximising the benefits of both approaches. You’ll need to carefully consider your budget, your specific marketing needs, and also your long-term goals which will help to guide you in making an informed decision that aligns with the dynamics of your business.
Can we help?
If you would like help in-housing your digital marketing in 2024, or would like an initial no-obligation consultation to assess your readiness to in-house with one of our experts, please get in touch at team@modo25.com. Alternatively, check out the Supported Inhousing Services that we offer.
In addition, if you would like more information about ASK BOSCO®, our all-in-one AI Marketing Platform for data analysis, reporting and forecasting, please ask us more at team@askbosco.com