Costs · 7 chapters
Marketing agency vs in-house: which option is worthwhile?
Salary is not the full cost of a position. A former financial controller compares agency and in-house delivery: full costs, utilisation and the cases in which you need neither.
Overview
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Introduction
Whether your marketing belongs with an agency or in-house depends on factors including full costs, utilisation, required expertise, management effort and risk. You can calculate this more reliably than you can judge it by instinct.
Before starting the agency, I worked in financial control. One lesson is that a payslip does not reflect every cost of a position. That is precisely why the comparison needs the same cost categories and the same scope of work.
That is why we work through the calculation together here, honestly and in both directions, including the conclusion that you do not need an agency at all. Ours included.
Chapter 01
What an agency can really do
An agency can bring together specialist expertise in SEO, Google Ads, social media, web design and video production. Whether you could keep these disciplines fully utilised in-house depends on your needs.
Experience across different projects can provide useful points of comparison. It replaces neither knowledge of your business nor an assessment of whether a pattern applies to your case.
The term and termination of an agency service depend on the contract. Any comparison with an employment relationship must consider employment, contractual and commercial aspects separately.
For businesses between Saarbrücken and St. Wendel, proximity is another factor. We are based in Ottweiler and travel to our clients. On site, with a camera in hand. You do not need to explain the local market to us.
Chapter 02
When in-house is the better choice
An in-house team has direct knowledge of the product and day-to-day operation. An agency can build this knowledge through collaboration but remains dependent on good briefs and approvals.
In-house delivery can suit areas where rapid responses and direct product knowledge matter, such as community management. Whether an internal response is faster or more appropriate depends on ownership and process.
Internal expertise can be an advantage in content marketing. External support remains dependent on good briefs, sources and subject-matter approval.
In regulated sectors, expertise, documentation and approvals must be organised clearly regardless of the model. Internal processes are not automatically shorter or more legally robust.
Utilisation remains decisive: compare the full cost of a position with the actual volume required and the cost of available alternatives.
Chapter 03
The full-cost calculation: what a position really costs
What exactly do full costs mean? Every cost caused by a position, not only what appears in the employment contract. From my time in financial control, this is the calculation I see omitted most often.
Add employer contributions and social security contributions to the salary, along with tools, the workplace and the onboarding phase. The amounts and duration depend on the role, experience and business.
Holiday, sickness, staff turnover and cover also belong in capacity planning. Assess the specific set-up to determine whether an agency or internal team can absorb absences.
Management also requires resources: briefs, feedback and decisions consume internal time. Value that time using a transparent method instead of ignoring it.
My rule from financial control applies here too: specific amounts depend on your case. At a minimum, review these cost categories:
- Salary plus employer contributions and social security contributions
- Tools: licences, camera, editing workstation and workplace
- Onboarding: internal time, learning effort and temporarily limited capacity
- Absence and cover: holiday, sickness, staff turnover and available cover
- Management: your time for briefs, feedback and decisions
Chapter 04
When is an agency worthwhile?
An agency may make sense when you need specialist expertise but cannot fully utilise a dedicated position. The full-cost and needs calculation shows whether this applies to your business.
Typical cases include starting without a marketing team and wanting to establish the function properly from the outset, or lacking internal expertise in areas such as advertising or social recruiting.
Or a project exceeds what your day-to-day operation can absorb: a website relaunch, a new social media strategy or opening your second location in Neunkirchen.
In such cases, you buy expertise defined by time and contract. The proposal must regulate the minimum term, termination and handover explicitly.
Prefer to have it done for you?Let’s assess your next step with clarity.
In 30 minutes, we review your objective, current situation and priorities. Afterwards, you will know which next step makes sense and whether we are a good fit.
- Assessment of your current situation
- Priorities and open questions organised
- A recommendation for a sensible next step
Chapter 05
And when do you not need an agency at all?
If you can achieve your current business objective without an additional marketing measure, it may make sense not to invest for now. Assess capacity, the bottleneck and expected benefit instead of buying activity for its own sake.
Without internal time for briefs and approvals, the risk of delays or unsuitable results increases. Plan for this capacity regardless of the model you choose.
If the offer, availability or sales process is the bottleneck, additional reach will not automatically solve it. Examine the entire chain first.
Chapter 06
The hybrid model: one person in-house, specialists outside
A hybrid model may fit: an internal team member coordinates the work and retains knowledge in the business, while external specialists take on clearly defined tasks.
Brand and product knowledge can remain in-house while external specialists handle defined tasks. The right allocation depends on the expertise and capacity available on both sides.
A clear division of work matters: who plans, who produces and who measures. Without that clarity, you pay twice for the same task.
Treat agency, in-house and hybrid delivery as organisational models that can be assessed. The central question is: who takes on each task, decision and responsibility?
Chapter 07
How to recognise a good agency
Not by its website, but by the order of its work: measure first, then reallocate, then implement. And by reports you can understand without a marketing degree.
Reporting is our own benchmark: we track campaigns through to the enquiry, not merely the click. Clicks flatter. Enquiries pay the bills.
Talk about figures too. Which conversion rate is the work intended to improve? ‘It contributes to the brand’ is not an answer. Anyone unwilling to measure is unwilling to be measured.
Finally, personal chemistry matters. You work with people, not a logo. Hold two or three initial consultations and compare how specific the answers are.
Check five points in these conversations:
- References from your sector or region rather than an anonymous wall of logos
- Reporting through to the enquiry, not merely the click
- Understandable terms and clearly regulated account, access and usage rights
- One dedicated contact instead of changing responsibilities
- The confidence to advise you against a service
In short
The key points at a glance
Agency or in-house delivery is not a matter of faith. It is a calculation: full costs against full costs, utilisation against need. Comparing only salary with the agency invoice produces a deceptively favourable but incorrect answer.
In-house delivery may suit high utilisation, deep product knowledge and direct communication. An agency may suit specialist expertise and projects. A hybrid model is another option, not a universal winner.
Sometimes neither option wins. If your business is already at full capacity without marketing, save the money. It is advice you rarely hear, but it remains true.
If you would rather calculate than guess, we will assess your current marketing free of charge before you advertise a position or sign a contract. With figures, not opinions.
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