Why the smartest businesses don’t go it alone for marketing

What is the best way to successfully deliver PR and marketing services - create an in-house function or outsource to an external agency? Having worked on both sides over the past 28 years, here are some observations.

How close is too close?

In-house staff will be closer to the day-to-day running of their organisation, with a detailed understanding of the brand and of how products and services are sold. However, a nose pressed against the glass can mean the bigger picture is missed, making it harder to innovate and bring in new ideas.

That’s not to say that good in-house people cannot see anything that is happening outside their company, but external consultants can bring ideas and insights across from other teams and clients, or other practices and disciplines. It can also be easier for them to deliver positive critiques of positioning, messaging or delivery than it would be for a full-time employee.

Access all areas

Agencies should come with a greater breadth of skills across different communications disciplines – something that is especially valuable for smaller companies lacking a large communications department. If the in-house team is only one or two people – or integrated vertically into a particular sector or product line – they will need to be experts on each communications discipline. That is not an easy task, especially as there are more now than ever before.

A strong agency account manager gives you access to every skill and expert you need. Let’s use Large Language Models (LLMs) as an example: instead of trawling through YouTube videos hoping the advice found is credible, you can ask someone who already understands your organisation and how AI impacts discoverability instead.

Cost vs benefits

However, as we all know, decisions about internal appointments versus outsourcing aren’t driven by skill, but by cost. Does this mean agencies are “expensive” or “wasteful”? Not at all. That misconception comes from comparing retainers to salaries, not retainers versus the total employment cost and the capacity gap you’re trying to fill.

Hiring an experienced Marketing Manager in the UK means a salary around £50,000 (likely more in London or the South East), plus recruitment fees. National insurance is one thing – which rose to 15% in 2025, increasing annual employment costs by £800-1200 for each employee – but there’s also pension contributions, bonuses, software licences, paid databases, services and training to consider, which makes the real cost climb quickly.

Spend the same money on an agency and you immediately gain access to a team of highly skilled, well-trained professionals who already have the systems they need. Furthermore, onboarding an agency shouldn’t take any longer – or be any harder – than onboarding a new member of staff.

Haste vs speed

In-house staff should have faster access to senior leaders, subject matter experts and spokespeople, which often means work can move quickly without briefing an external team. Yet the time gained through an agency – where several consultants work in parallel – is significant. It may feel like a slower start, but with a clear brief and sensible deadlines, you often get far more back than you put in. Plus, if you’ve hired a good agency (one already immersed in your sector and familiar with your organisation) that briefing stage is short anyway.

Often the expectation of in-house teams falls short of the reality. According to the ISBA, 93% of companies expect that bringing marketing and creative functions in-house make delivery cycles faster and more agile. In fact, the same report found that only 40% of brands actually experience it.

However, the real test of how well an agency and client operates at speed comes during a crisis. When media calls surge, the CEO wants constant updates and the pressure is high, you quickly see whether your agency truly understands your business. In these situations, a strong agency becomes invaluable, slipping seamlessly into crisis mode with you – and nothing builds a stronger partnership than that experience together.

Arms and legs (and shoulders)

This togetherness is vital since life as an in-house marketing and communications lead can be tough even with extra expertise and strategic advice to hand. Competing priorities from multiple internal ‘clients’ and unreasonable deadlines still pile up, and sometimes what you really need from your agency is simply more resource. Yes, AI can handle some basic tasks, but someone still needs to manage that process, and it helps if they know what they’re doing and have capacity to take on the grunt work you don’t have time for.

Additionally – should it all become too much – an agency can offer its most underrated service: therapy, of a sort. We can be the shoulder to cry on, the pillow to scream into, or the friend or priest you confess too… whatever keeps you going!

We are all in this together

So, what’s my conclusion? Having worked in-house with agency support and in an agency with some brilliant clients, my answer is that you need the right combination of both.

There’s a reason why 64% of UK B2B small-to-medium businesses now run hybrid marketing models centred around both in-house and agency workforces for strategy and execution. You need the “close to the coal face” benefits of good in-house people working in tandem with external experts who provide extra resources, expertise and strategic insights. The right agency wraps around and works with the in-house team to enhance their effectiveness and to provide the organisation they work for with the best marketing and communications function possible.