Internal vs. External Marketing: Pros and Cons
The marketing industry has long offered many external marketing options. From freelance graphic design, to marketing management consultants, external marketing has been, and will continue to be, a thing.
Yet, most companies also structure their companies with an internal marketing department. Which means, there is also internal marketing at work.
But which one is best for YOU? And how do you choose?
Well, let's explore some of the pros and cons of each, and hopefully you take away the path that's right for YOU in this world of choices 💖
Understanding Pros vs. pros
Let's start here, because I'm thinking of all the External Marketers who call themselves "Pros" or "Experts". Today I'm calling them "Capital P" Pros.
I mean, what does that even mean when it comes to a Marketer?
Something that always makes me laugh is when people say they have 3 years of experience in ONE Marketing methodology, and therefore they are an expert. Now, it's possible they have a level of expertise that you don't have, BUT, does that make them the expert you need?
Some people are ACTUALLY Pros (aka professionals) at what they do. And others are just Cons.
Right now, there's no one centralized marketing organization that deems someone an expert or not. And honestly, even if there was, it's usually based on a certain amount of EDUCATION, and not a specific amount of RESULTS.
So, if there's no industry organization that can help you understand the different between an External Marketing Pro vs. Con, how do you decide?
It's as simple as that...YOU decide.
Who feels like they know what they're talking about? Who seems confident in the way they do things? Who has great references? Who aligns with the way you do business?
THAT'S 👆 the Pro that's right for YOU.
And if you decide that person ISN'T the Pro for you, if that person starts to try to convince you that they are right and you are wrong? They're probably a Con 😉
So, assuming you've empowered yourself to the point where you can decide what's right for you, we can move on to the "little p" pros and cons.
External Marketing - pros
Ok, so what at the pros of working with an external marketing resource?
They have more direct experience in marketing than you do, and have likely gained specialized skills that you don't possess.
They are cost effective, often providing a better return on investment (more extensive skill sets and expertise without the overhead costs of hiring and training internal staff).
They generally have a more innovative nature, as they get to create in a multitude of industries.
They are usually more flexible and can scale their offerings to your specific needs, instead of focusing on creating full time work.
External Marketing - cons
But with every pro comes a con:
Because they have more specialized skills, this can mean that they come at a cost that some companies can't handle from a budget perspective.
Because they aren't directly employed with your brand, the resources are by nature self-managed, which takes away a degree of control.
Because they are the ones creating the ideas, there is a risk of losing creative control over your brand.
Because they can scale as necessary, this can lead to issues with technology integration, as more and more pieces are added on in an ad-hoc way.
Internal Marketing - pros
As you can imagine, the pros and cons associated with Internal Marketing are pretty much the opposite of those for External Marketing:
You have full control of the creative process, which can be managed in alignment with the company values and experience.
You have better tracking of data and ROI associated with marketing efforts as you are not dependent on how someone else defines success.
You have (potentially) stronger team communication - aka, a stronger US - which allows that feeling and message to come through to your target audience.
Internal Marketing - cons
But each of those ALSO has cons:
Too much internal control of the creative process can actually LIMIT marketing innovation and creativity. To avoid this, there needs to be specific intent on ensuring it doesn't happen, which most companies ignore.
Too much of a focus on tracking data and ROI can disconnect you from the people side of the business. People create marketing. And people consume marketing, so in order to avoid this, there also needs to be an intention to take the people experience into consideration in measurements.
Too much focus on the internal US and not enough focus on the external WE can distract you from connecting with your target audience. To avoid this, there needs to be a specific intent on including external resources (clients, prospects, the community at large) in the conversation.
Learning to Weigh Things Responsibly
Now, each item listed above DOESN'T have an innate weight. The weight you assign to each of the items is based on YOU and YOUR Business. And what you are trying to achieve.
Maybe you assign great value to having external ideas and perspectives.
Maybe you assign great value to cost effectiveness.
Maybe you assign great value to owning everything internally.
Maybe you assign great value to specialized skills.
I know the answer for ME. But only YOU know the answer for YOU 💖
How To Use This List
So, how can you use this list responsibly?
Write down (or copy and paste), the list in your own document.
Next, assign values next to all of the items. Pros get + points. Cons get - points.
Then, when you're looking at your next marketing initiative, come back to that list and assess it with YOUR points.
For one, it might make sense to use an external resource. For others, it might make sense to manage things internally.
There's no Right and Wrong. There's only what's right for YOU.
And OWN it, my friends! This is YOUR business. Only you can decide what's right for you 💖
Opinions from the Author
Here's where you get to out your beliefs to the test against what I believe to be true MOST of the time (again, there are no absolutes here) 😉
I believe...
✅It almost ALWAYS makes sense to have an external marketing resource assess the effectiveness of your current initiatives. Often, we get too close to them on an internal level; I've even seen companies change their "KPI's" to match what they are doing instead of getting the results they want. That's a BAD practice, my friends. And a great external resource can call that out.
✅It almost ALWAYS makes sense to have your brand experience building resources internal to the company. External resources are delivering THEIR brand experience, not yours, and this will always be true. But your internal team? They are employed to provide your brand experience, which makes them the best resource to bring that to the wide world 💡
Now, you DON'T have to believe these things just because I believe them.
BUT IF YOU DO...and you DON'T have a trusted External Auditor of your Marketing or DON'T feel like your current marketing team is empowered to be the voice of the company, then we should chat 💞
