The benefits of having an in-house marketing team

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Affect change when it matters

The human attention span is at its lowest ever - a mere eight seconds! Early in 2018, a Microsoft study revealed the effects of an increasingly digitised lifestyle on the brain.

But all is not doom and gloom as it seems that while our attention spans might fall short of that of goldfish, we’ve gotten better at multitasking (something they’re yet to do!). This is why agile business development makes so much sense. If our brains like short, intense sprints then we must adapt our workflow to complement this.

Being agile means being able to respond when it matters. This is the prerogative of an in-house team that is able to respond to changes in the micro and macro environment as they happen - a competitive advantage if you’re brand likes staying on top of trends.

Ecommerce sites will benefit too. Google is constantly updating its algorithm and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll soon realise that your SEO keywords don’t rank like they used to before. Using the agile approach, your team can prioritise short-term projects and increase effective output.

Get more work done, faster

Do you remember author of Eat.Pray.Love, Elizabeth Gilbert’s elusive creative genius Ted talk? It reminds me of surfing… in short, an idea is like a wave that when it swells, you must ride. With an internal marketing team, you can brainstorm and arrange meetings with multiple team members at short notice.

Did you just have an idea for taking the brand viral? Bounce it off someone and find that perfect balance between genius and practical. If you’re careful not to interrupt workflow, you’ll find communicating in-house convenient and fast, particularly useful when running multiple projects or when you’re on a tight deadline. Just don’t fall into the trap of getting distracted by daily tasks that fight for attention with other priorities.

Align internal culture with external branding

When you bring a marketing team in-house you’re not just introducing new skills, but people to the workplace. It is your (company’s) responsibility to ensure that they fit into your existing cultural framework by hiring them from a value point of view first and skills second. If you do this, you’ll find that your marketing team has a deeper connection with your brand, mission and culture. Sure, an agency won’t ever suffer from tunnel vision and sometimes you truly need an outsider’s perspective, but you’ll never get this level of immersion when outsourcing to third parties.

Balance cost with benefit by getting the right skills

Next, you need to conduct a skills gap analysis. Employing an entire in-house marketing team is a big expense, therefore it is crucial to select only the skills that your business needs on a full-time basis. Which skills do you have, which do you require and at what level? Use these questions to narrow down the most essential positions for getting the job done.

A digital marketing team, for example, will typically comprise a manager, webmaster, designer, and content and SEO specialists. With the right team, you’ll be able to scale up your marketing efforts, but beware the pitfalls of hiring inexperienced candidates who require more training. This can cripple your time and money investment. An in-house team will often agree to work at lower rates compared to outsourcing on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis.

Find the right marketing mix for your busines

This may require a blend of both in-house and agency resources. Align the required skill sets with the allocated budget to achieve your overall marketing goals.