Marketing for SME's: Agency vs. In-House

Selecting the best marketing structure is critical to achieving growth and improving customer experience. We compare Agencies and In-House teams based on a number of factors like cost, speed, quality, and alignment with business objectives, and introduce the OutpostX model as a hybrid approach tailored for SMEs.

1. Agency Marketing

Agencies come in two forms, Specialist Agencies that focus on a single area, such as SEO, branding or social media and Full-Service Agencies that offer comprehensive marketing solutions across multiple channels.

I think for SME's full-service agencies are so much better. SME's require a bit of everything, rather than specialist support in any one channel like SEO or Paid-ads. They need brand building, content creation so the flexibility is an asset. You often find businesses forcing the specialist agencies to then undertake the extra tasks like improving the website which gives poor results. Faizan Khan - Founder OutpostX

Benefits of using Agencies

• High-quality output: Agencies employ specialists who have years of experience in the area and familiar with the latest trends, tactics, and technologies. This allows them to deliver a higher quality output.
  

• Bandwidth and speed: With larger teams, agencies can execute campaigns more quickly and efficiently. Executing quickly and efficiently is important in modern day marketing.

Drawbacks of using Agencies

• Cost: All of this quality comes at a high cost - which makes them less feasible for SMEs. The agency model is after all designed for much larger organisations.
  

• Attention: SME's will be smaller clients for these agencies and as a result may receive less focus compared to larger accounts, resulting in generic strategies, copy paste tactics and tasks going to the 'intern' or inexperienced team member.
  

• Alignment: Agencies won't be invested in understanding your business goals and customer base, leading to surface-level solutions that may deliver on paper but not in terms of actual increase in sales.

2. In-House Marketing

In-house teams in SME's typically consist of one or two individuals handling multiple marketing responsibilities. In-house teams offer flexibility which can both be a positive and negative. We've seen in-house teams having to deal with non-marketing tasks, which is inefficient in the long run.

Benefits of an In-house marketing teams

• Alignment with business goals: In-house marketers better understand the product, customer, and company objectives. They attend company meetings, talk to product developers, sales teams and all of this extra knowledge helps them become better marketers.
  

• Honesty: Teams can prioritise strategies that deliver tangible value rather than chasing vanity metrics. Although with the average marketer lasting 1.5 years in a role, 'short-termism' has impacted internal teams as well.
  

• Cost: In-house teams are not 'cheap' - especially given the recent rise in NI costs - but depending on expertise and team size, SME's can control the cost with who they hire and for how long (part-time / full-time).
  

Drawbacks of in-house marketing teams

• Limited bandwidth: A small team or one person marketing operation struggles to manage multiple channels effectively. Failing to get the impact required. The tasks can easily add up often forcing SMEs to get additional agency support.
  

• Slower execution: Managing multiple responsibilities often delays project completion. Fast execution is key in modern marketing where trends, competitors and algorithms change so quickly.
  

• Quality: Lacking expertise in specialised areas can lead to below par results. Poor design, SEO mistakes that cost your business and poor strategy. More than half of marketers say they have not studied a marketing related course or qualification of any kind.
  

3. The OutpostX Model

The OutpostX model combines the strengths of both models, offering a flexible and cost-effective solution for SMEs. The OutpostX model is designed from the ground up with SME's in mind, changing the traditional approach to marketing. The OutpostX model revolves around 'Brand Immersed' marketing leads (Marketing Manager or Head of Marketing) that work closely with your business to understand the product, customer and business objectives. And an experienced Central Production Team that specialise in individual marketing channels to give the highest quality without typical agency costs.

• Brand-immersed marketing leads: Work in-house (up to two days per week) to gain an in-depth understanding of your business and objectives.
  

• Centralised production team: Delivers agency-level quality and speed without the high costs associated with traditional agencies.
  

• Flexibility: SMEs can choose tailored support across all marketing channels based on their specific needs. The OutpostX team scales when you do.
  

  
  

Key Takeaways

Factor	Agency	In-House	Outpostx
Cost	High	Variable	Flexible
Quality	High (if focused)	Mixed	High
Speed	Fast	Slow	Fast
Business Alignment	Limited	Strong	Strong (via immersion)
Scalability	High	Low	High

For SMEs looking for an efficient and scalable marketing strategy, the OutpostX model offers a balanced alternative, providing the expertise of an agency with the alignment and flexibility of an in-house team.

Find out more about the OutpostX model - get in touch