What are the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing your inbound marketing tasks?

Something to be considered as well, is that in this way you get to see the your business from another perspective, from a outsiders view, that's nice too.

Desde la perspectiva de una agencia de Inbound Marketing, considero que este es uno de nuestros puntos fuertes más destacados. Si bien los clientes suelen tener algunas herramientas, las agencias especializadas como la nuestra solemos invertir en las herramientas líderes del mercado y en personal altamente capacitado en la materia en particular.

There are two reasons people should outsource tasks, projects or work: 1. You don't have the skills in-house to do it 2. You don't have the time to do it If you don't have the skills or time/resource in-house, but have the ambition to, then it'll likely take time to recruit and train to get them to the desired level - and outsourcing *can* provide that instantly. You'll usually have to pay a premium for that knowledge and experience compared to the in-house costs too, which is another trade-off to consider.

Sometimes, if the skill or tool needs to be accessed in very special occasions, then outsourcing is a great tool! If it is more recurring, one should think a bit more into bringing those skills and/or tools in-house. The cost of outsourcing, especially for niche and very specific things, can be pretty high.

Let's speak frankly: Name ONE world-class inbound marketing case study where a company became the online leader of their industry by outsourcing their work... I've been in the Inbound space for about 14 years now and have NEVER seen one, especially in 2023 where the internet is more saturated than ever with companies trying to stand out online. Fact is, it's incredibly difficult to reach your potential with Inbound Marketing by outsourcing to an agency. You won't produce as much content as you should. You won't learn the essential skills you should. You won't learn the tools you should (like HubSpot for example). As the saying goes: "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, feed him for a lifetime."

If you're the person responsible for content or inbound marketing and have a team, you'll still "lose control" as you rely on a team member to "deliver the results you expect", "follow your guidelines", give "feedback" and "report on their progress and performance" to your own line manager. For me it's not much different between in-house or outsourcing... and here in the UK it's harder to replace an employee who's not quite up to standard than it is to replace the agency.

According to this logic, outsourcing any activity may lead to loss of control and potential communication and integration issues. I believe that having a competent internal team is crucial for the success of any project, regardless of whether it is executed internally or with the assistance of agencies or freelancers.

Inbound marketing is a holistic approach that requires deep integration with other marketing tactics and constant input from departments like sales and to be truly effective, it needs to always align with the company's evolving goals and strategies. In my opinion, while outsourcing specific tasks can be beneficial, a clear roadmap in-house is CRITICAL. Thus, having an in-house lead to oversee the entire process is crucial for ensuring alignment, control, and successful execution of sub-projects whether they are outsourced or performed in-house.

In other words, if an agency is truly going to "match" your brand, they need to embed themselves in your company and culture. They need to meet your people. They need to really understand your product, your service, and your ideal customer. So you have to ask yourself: If it's going to take that much effort to bring an agency up to speed, why would we not just hire someone in-house??

Diluting your brand is nothing to be messing with. If you spend so much time and effort into building a brand, you should as well spend it protecting it. Make sure that whatever is put out there is aligned with your brand.

I don't agree with the above paragraph. Let's look at it this way: Imagine you want to embrace video and you have a goal to create 100 educational videos this year (a very viable goal) that answer questions about your product/service-- questions you often hear in the sales process. These videos could EASILY be achieved by a full-time videographer at, let's say, 70k annual salary (could be higher/lower depending on the area). Or, you could outsource these videos to an agency. Do you know what it would cost to hire an agency to produce 100 educational videos for your company?? Just get some quotes and you'll start to see that insourcing can be MUCH more economical, especially if you're serious about your content approach.

Building an in-house team always gives you more independence, and security. You might need to consider to find the right training, and resources for your team. If you're not able to give them that, the rest doesn't matter.

Na minha experiência, me parece claro que o único caminho possível é o cliente e a agência trabalharem juntos: 1. O cliente precisa saber/aprender muito de Inbound e do que é possível realizar com a ferramenta escolhida. 2. A agência, que é especialista na metodologia e ferramenta, tem que aprender muito sobre o negócio do cliente. Desde 2016 eu lidero a área de Inbound aqui na Trammit.com. E n?o vejo grandes sucessos quando a agência faz tudo sozinha, e nem quando o cliente quer internalizar um processo e conhecimento t?o técnico e fora do seu core business como esse. Pelo contrário: vi fracassos retumbantes nas duas formas isoladas.

Ultimately, you need to ask yourself a question: 3 years from now, if I want to write an article, create a video, analyze a tool like HubSpot, etc.-- Do I want to call my agency and have them do it for me? Or do I want to have the freedom and skills to easily do these things, at scale, in-house? Honestly answer this question and that will quickly settle your insourcing vs outsourcing debate.

In Mexico, and as far as I am aware, in Latin America, collaborating with a specialized agency can yield more advantages than disadvantages. The agency assumes responsibility for staff management, which can be a complex matter in the region, and in the event of staff rotation, the agency is also responsible for team training. I do not believe there is a definitively superior or inferior option; some companies may find it more suitable to handle these matters internally, while for others, an agency may be the optimal solution. As long as the client possesses a well-defined strategy and clear objectives, either approach can be successful.