In-House vs Agency: Finding the Right Marketing Talent Mix

Is your marketing engine stalling, or are you just running out of fuel? Many growing businesses face the same pivotal question: Should we build our own digital marketing team, or should we call in the experts?

This debate is not slowing down, and both models are growing significantly. In fact, 46% of marketing efforts were outsourced in 2024, rising from 25% four years prior. At the same time, 45% of businesses chose to build new in-house teams.

This trend shows there is no single, fixed answer. We believe the goal is not "either/or". Our purpose is to help you find the perfect blend of talent that empowers your brand and delivers measurable growth.

Building Your Base: The Case for an In-House Team

Do you value total control and constant alignment? Building an internal marketing team offers significant advantages for a brand.

The pros of in-house talent

• Deep brand knowledge: An internal team is immersed in your company culture and knows your products deeply. This leads to messages that are instantly more authentic.

• Immediate availability: You get closer alignment with company culture and fast, dedicated support for day-to-day needs, such as daily social media management.

• The trend: This strategy is trusted by major players. As many as 82% of large companies now employ some form of internal agency.

The cons of building from scratch

• Building a full internal team can be costly overhead, especially when you need to hire full specialists for every digital marketing niche.

• There is a risk of skill gaps if your core team is small and lacks the capacity for big, complex projects.

• Internal teams can sometimes struggle to stay objective or scale quickly when market dynamics shift.

Scaling with Support: The Agency Partnership Advantage

Why do so many ambitious, growth-focused brands partner with an agency? It comes down to specialisation and rapid scalability.

Why agencies offer a quick scale-up

Do you need specialised skills fast? An agency like Mustard Seed Digital offers expertise on demand, giving you access to a wide range of specialised skills (e.g., Social media content, SEM, high-level design, and creative strategy). 

You get a whole team with diverse skills without having to hire them. This allows for scalability, meaning you can easily scale up or down based on your current project needs, completely avoiding the commitment of a full-time hire. 

Furthermore, we bring an outside perspective, offering an objective, strategic view that is built on experience across numerous industries and clients.

Managing the partnership challenge

While agencies offer clear advantages, they do come with management challenges. 

First, you will need to actively manage the relationship and provide clear direction to your partners. Agencies are also not as immersed in the day-to-day as an internal team, requiring more proactive communication from your side. 

Finally, while efficient for scale, project costs can sometimes be higher than a salaried employee for single, one-off needs, such as a large website redesign.

The Decision Framework: When to Build, When to Outsource

How do you decide which route to take for a specific marketing need? We suggest using three key criteria for clarity.

1. Frequency: Is the task an ongoing, daily need, like content moderation? If yes, consider in-house. Is it a one-off project or a quarterly campaign? An agency will be more cost-effective.

2. Expertise: If a need requires a highly specialised skill that your team lacks, an agency can fill the gap faster than a hiring process.

3. Budget: Outsourcing specific, high-cost tasks can sometimes be more cost-effective than hiring a full-time specialist with an equivalent salary and benefits.

The Optimal Solution: A Creative-Performance Hybrid Model

Is there a way to capture the best of both worlds? For most ambitious brands, the optimal solution is a mix, which we call the hybrid advantage. 

We recommend a small, strong in-house team to own strategy and brand guardianship, as they hold the ultimate vision. This core team is then supplemented by agencies for specialised execution and big projects. 

Under our model at Mustard Seed Digital, we often work with clients who already have a marketing team but need our creative-performance support for multi-channel strategies and measurable outcomes. We become your digital marketing teammates, not a replacement.

Management Tips: Treating Your Partners Like Teammates

Once you have established your blend of talent, the relationship must be managed effectively to succeed.

If You Choose Agencies

Integration is key. You must treat them like an extension of your internal team. Align them with your brand values and share your “north star” metrics. Your goals should truly become their goals.

If You Choose In-House

Focus on expanding their vision. You must guard against insularity by encouraging your team to seek external training, attend industry events, or collaborate with partners to gain new ideas.

---

Conclusion: From Seed to Success

Ultimately, the choice is not about either an in-house team or an agency. The ultimate goal is simply assembling the right capabilities to execute your marketing strategy effectively.

The key takeaway is to remain flexible and focus on building a marketing operation that is both efficient and innovative. Remember, this is not an "either/or" forever. You can and should re-balance as your company grows, bringing some functions in-house or outsourcing new ones over time.

Ready to assess your current marketing capabilities and fill your growth gaps? Connect with us to schedule a free consultation call.