Plugging into experienced marketing expertise, how you need to, when you need to, at rates you can choose.
Adding new marketing staff, or hiring an advertising agency, will usually cost 2 - 2.5X+ the salaries for the services these resources actually provide. Why?
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You're not just paying the salary. You're paying for recruitment, for benefits, 401K contributions, equipment and other costs. Are your needs ongoing or are they less predictable? It affects costs.
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Agencies are another option. They have considerable resources, diverse talent, and some other advantages. A large network, for instance, can help a client that needs reach. But agencies are also very expensive. Usually 2X+ salary, as they also have to pay for benefits, office space, equipment, IT, back-office staff and a lot more.
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If you need dedicated staff, have ongoing needs and can make the investment case, permanent staff or retaining an agency are strong options. But if not, why pay for what you don't need?
The existing, external marketing services model will undergo rapid disruption. The new model will be based on remote, agile services delivery.
As a marketer or agency, do you ever ask these questions?
Marketer
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Can I get a high level of expertise, and only pay fees for the staff I need? Not the additional overhead, administration and margin costs?
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Can I avoid long-term agency retainers and plug into affordable, agile teams only when I need them?
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Can I have flexible pricing options, based on my budget, not an agency's fixed, rate-card?
Agency
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Should we be more selective in what we pitch? Are we pursuing the right, or wrong, clients? Do we even have a new client acquistion strategy?
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Would our new business win rate improve if we had the right specialists helping us pitch? Would our client retention rate improve if we had these same specialists servicing these accounts?
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Would our margins be better if we could run lean, augmenting staff when it's needed?