Should you use an email marketing agency, run email in house or use a hybrid model?
In-house vs. Email Marketing Agency vs. Hybrid Models – Finding the right fit
Email marketing remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels for businesses to engage with their audience, drive conversions, and build brand loyalty. When it comes to executing email marketing campaigns, organisations have three main options: in-house, agency, or a hybrid model combining both. In this blog, we will explore the pros and cons of each approach, helping you determine the best fit for your email marketing strategy.
In-house Email Marketing:
- Control and brand consistency: With an in-house email marketing team, you have complete control over your campaigns. This allows for maintaining brand consistency and ensuring that your messaging aligns with your overall marketing strategy. In-house teams can swiftly implement changes and respond to market dynamics without relying on external parties.
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- Deeper knowledge and understanding: In-house teams possess an intimate understanding of your company’s products, services, and target audience. This knowledge can lead to more personalised and relevant email campaigns that resonate with your subscribers, fostering stronger customer relationships and higher engagement rates.
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- Flexibility and cost efficiency: Building an in-house email marketing team provides flexibility in terms of campaign scheduling, immediate responses to customer feedback, and quicker turnaround times. Moreover, in the long run, it can be cost-efficient as you avoid agency fees and have full control over the budget allocation for tools, software, and resources.
Email Marketing Agency
- Specialised expertise: Multi-discipline agencies often have small teams dedicated to email marketing or like PAASE are solely dedicated to the channel. They bring extensive knowledge of industry best practices, design trends, and emerging technologies. Leveraging their expertise can lead to more sophisticated and effective campaigns, higher deliverability rates, and enhanced performance tracking and analysis.
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- Scalability and resource optimisation: Agencies can quickly scale email marketing efforts based on your needs. They have the resources to handle large volumes of campaigns, segmented targeting, and automation. By outsourcing to an agency, you can leverage their infrastructure and technologies, reducing the burden on internal resources.
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- Fresh perspective and industry insights: An agency brings an external perspective and can offer valuable insights and creative ideas that may not have been considered in-house. They stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends, benchmarking data, and competitor analysis, enabling you to stay ahead of the curve and explore new opportunities.
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- Be mindful that some agencies will specialise in one specific ESP (Email Service Provider) which is great but does limit you to one toolset. An agency like PAASE works with multiple marketing leading technologies such as Klaviyo, mapp, bloomreach, salesforce (amongst others) to ensure that the ESP you are using is the best fit for your requirements.
Hybrid working with an Email Marketing Agency
- Flexibility and resource allocation: A hybrid model allows you to combine the best of both worlds. You can leverage your in-house team’s knowledge and control while tapping into an agency’s specialised expertise for specific campaigns, strategic guidance, or peak workload periods. This approach provides flexibility and optimises resource allocation.
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- Collaboration and knowledge sharing: With a hybrid model, collaboration between your in-house team and the agency fosters knowledge sharing. The agency can provide training and guidance, helping your team enhance their email marketing skills and stay updated with industry trends and best practices.
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- Risk mitigation and contingency planning: By diversifying your email marketing resources, you mitigate the risk of relying solely on one approach. If an issue arises with your in-house team or agency, you have backup support to ensure continuity of your email marketing efforts.
Conclusion:
When it comes to email marketing, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Choosing between in-house, email marketing agency, or a hybrid model depends on various factors, including your budget, available resources, expertise, scalability needs, and strategic objectives. Each option offers distinct advantages, whether it’s control and brand consistency, specialized expertise, or flexibility and resource optimisation.
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Consider your organisation’s specific requirements and goals to determine the most suitable approach for your email marketing strategy. Remember, you can always reassess and adjust your approach over time as your business evolves. Ultimately, the key is to find a model that aligns with your goals
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If you have any specific questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch
