Agency or in-house? Here's when each one is right.
This page explains what to include in the cost comparison, when an in-house hire makes sense and when an agency can help. We're an agency, so read it knowing that. The starting point is the work you need done and the people you already have.
Which skills and capacity are missing from your team?
An in-house hire gives you dedicated time inside the business. An agency brings several specialists for an agreed scope. Compare the work each would own and the time your existing team would need to spend managing it.
- If you have a marketing lead but need delivery capacity, consider an employee for the recurring work or an agency for specialist channels.
- If people can deliver the work but nobody owns the direction, a marketing leader or fractional director may be the missing role.
- If both direction and delivery are missing, list the skills needed before expecting one new hire to cover every channel.
When an in-house hire makes sense.
Hire in-house when you need someone closely involved in daily business decisions, or have enough ongoing work in one discipline to fill the role. An in-house lead can also work alongside an agency that delivers specialist channels. About a third of our clients have someone in-house we work with. We agree who owns what at the start.
In-house marketing vs agency: compare the full cost.
Hiring costs
Salary, employer costs, recruitment, equipment and training.
Compare using your own hiring budget.
Agency costs
Monthly fee, agreed scope and any separately priced work or media.
Compare using the written proposal.
For a hire, budget beyond the salary: employer costs, recruitment, equipment and training. Include the time your team will spend recruiting and helping the person learn the business.
For an agency, compare the fee with the work included, the people assigned and anything charged separately. Ad spend, shoots or a website project may sit outside the monthly fee.
Continuity matters in both models. If a sole marketer leaves, you need a handover and someone ready to take over. Ask how an agency records account knowledge and handles changes in its team too.
What to ask an agency before you commit.
Who does each part of the work?
Ask which specialists would work on your account, what they own and how you can speak to them.
How will they learn the business?
Find out what they need to know about your customers, products and commercial goals before recommending the channels.
How is account knowledge shared?
Ask how plans and decisions are recorded, and who covers the work when someone is away.
What will the report tell you?
It should start with performance against the goals you agreed, such as sales or qualified enquiries, then explain what the team will change.
People to chat with that know our business yet are not in our business, so offering an impartial service based on best practice in the industry.
Esther Russell
Inky Thinking
A knowledgeable and supportive team that genuinely feels like an extension of our own marketing department.
Nathan Wadwell
Digital Marketing Manager, Centre for Life
Start with the work that needs an owner.
List what keeps getting delayed and the skills it needs. Then compare the people, budget and support each option would require. That gives you a useful brief for a hire or an agency.
See how we workIf you want to talk it through.
Step 1 of 3
A 20-minute call
Tell us what you've got in-house and what's not working. We'll say which shape fits, even if that's a hire.
Next: A written plan, if it's us
Agency or in-house, answered.
Is an agency cheaper than hiring a marketing manager?
It depends on the role and the agency scope. Compare the full cost of employment with the fee and any extras, then compare the work each option covers. An agency gives you access to several disciplines; an employee gives you dedicated capacity inside the business. We'll help you compare the scope on the call.
Can we have an in-house marketer and an agency?
Yes. About a third of our clients have someone in-house we work alongside. We agree which decisions stay with your team and which channels we run, so each part has a clear owner.
What should an agency actually give us?
A clear scope, named people, a plan based on your business and reporting against the goals you agreed. Ask how account knowledge is shared and what happens when someone is away.
How do we know an agency won't just hand us to a junior?
Ask who will do each part of the work and who will supervise it. At Mira the people named in your plan work on your account, and you can speak to them directly.
Everyone working on your account works from the same record.
miranda™ is the intelligence system we built to support our team. It draws on thousands of data points about your business, our methods and your live results, and every service you buy from us uses it, so the people running your paid search, paid social, SEO, email, social and web work from the same picture of your business.
Our people do the analysis, plan the work and carry it out. miranda puts what we know in front of them before they start.
Tell us what you've got, and we'll tell you what fits.
The first call takes 20 minutes. If the answer is "hire someone", we'll say so. If it's us, you'll have a written plan before anything runs.