Sooner or later, every growing company asks the same question: should we hire our own marketing people, or keep working with an agency? There is no single right answer. The best choice depends on your stage, your budget and how much of your marketing is ongoing work versus specialist projects.
What an in-house team does well
- Knows the business deeply. They sit with sales, hear customer feedback and understand the product.
- Moves quickly on day-to-day work: social posts, sales materials, updates, events.
- Builds lasting knowledge that stays in the company.
- Costs less over time for steady, repeating work.
What an agency does well
- Brings specialist skills you may not need full time: strategy, design, SEO, paid media, PR.
- Sees many businesses, so it knows what is working elsewhere.
- Scales up or down without hiring or letting people go.
- Starts faster than recruiting and training a team.
The hidden costs
In-house: salaries are only part of the cost. Add recruitment time, training, tools and software, management time, and the risk that a key person leaves and takes knowledge with them. A small team also struggles to cover every skill.
Agency: fees can grow, and an agency may not feel the urgency of your business the way staff do. Knowledge stays with the agency unless you insist on documentation and access to your own accounts.
A simple way to decide
| Situation | Usually better |
|---|---|
| Early stage, unclear strategy | Agency for strategy, then a small in-house team |
| Steady content and sales support every week | In-house |
| Specialist skills needed occasionally | Agency |
| Fast growth, need results now | Agency first, hire in parallel |
| Mature company, clear brand | In-house team, with specialist agencies |
The model many companies choose
The most common answer is both. A small in-house team owns the brand, the calendar and daily execution. Agencies or specialists handle strategy, big creative projects, SEO or paid media. The in-house lead manages the agencies, so nothing is lost between them.
If you build a team
- Hire a capable lead first, who can set direction and manage others
- Write clear roles, with measurable goals for each
- Give the team the tools, budget and access it needs
- Connect marketing and sales closely, with shared numbers
- Plan training, because skills change quickly
Building a team well is its own project. It usually takes three to six months to hire, settle and see results.
Quick answers
What is the right size for a first marketing team? For many small and mid-sized companies, two or three people: a lead, a content or design person and someone for digital channels.
Can an agency help us hire? Some can. They can define roles, assess candidates and train new hires, then hand over.
How do we know if our agency is working? Agree a few business numbers at the start, such as enquiries, cost per customer or sales pipeline, and review them monthly.
The takeaway
Agencies bring specialist skills and speed. In-house teams bring depth and continuity. Most growing companies do best with a small in-house team that owns the brand, supported by specialists where needed.
Thinking of building your own team? See how we help companies hire and train in-house marketing and sales teams, or read our guide to choosing an agency.
