Many marketers like to keep things in house as they believe this will be the most cost effective method and they can do everything themselves. While some things can be kept in house, in some situations there’s a heavy price for not hiring someone else. To figure out the price marketers pay to keep things in house, read the article below.

The Price Marketers Pay To Go In-House

BY Paul Talbot Contributor

Nov 28, 2018, 04:11pm

Reflecting on his career, Advertising Hall of Fame member David Ogilvy revealed that he would often offer up a simple prayer. “Please God, send us smart clients.”

From Ogilvy’s perspective, one measure of the smart client was an aversion to the self-imposed limits of in-house marketing, and the willingness to place a premium on the insights of a talented, independent partner. But partners have a way of being downgraded into vendors. Insights have a way of becoming easily dismissed opinion. The capabilities of the caliber of an agency Ogilvy designed, staffed and ran to serve clients have been commoditized, peeled away or otherwise cast aside. Capabilities available to today’s in-house marketing team are plentiful. They range from media placement via programmatic to branded content offered by publishers from The New York Times to Vice.

The Unanticipated Consequences Of Taking Marketing In-House

A successful move in-house comes down to the talents of the people involved. This holds equally true for the agency, but the leadership of the in-house team may face higher hurdles. “Business can be easily limited by the skill-set of their internal team,” says Megan Carrigan, strategy director at Union, a digital marketing agency in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ms. Carrigan has previously worked the in-house side.

“They are unable to be as nimble or make marketing changes, because their staff isn’t large enough to move talent around based on their needs. While you can educate and train your employees, you are more often training them for their next job. Having a core team that understands the business and then can outsource execution can provides much-needed flexibility.”

The Backdrop Of A Strategic Decision

The dismantling of an agency relationship should be handled with care. It should also be predicated on strategy. “This should be a moment of clarity for the company,” says Marcus Collins, lecturer of marketing and co-director of the Yaffe Digital Media Initiative at The University of Michigan. “What exactly is the catalyst for the potential change? Is this a matter of cost cutting? Is there an issue with their current agency arrangement?”

When In-House Marketing Works Best

“In-house marketing can be very impactful if it is loosely aligned and tied to the product team,” says Carrigan. “Developing marketing strategies based on early product development allows for quicker to-market strategies. Conversely, the product team can learn about gaps in the marketplace and what customers are saying they really want.”

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