Have you seen the trend of agency clients going the route of in house marketing? Let’s look at the numbers and what you can do about them.

In 2021, 41% of brands decided to sack their digital marketing agency and take their digital marketing activities in house instead. As you can see by the downward trend of agency revenue over the last 20 years, that statistic is only going to increase:

Change in Agency Revenue in the United States From 2001 to 2020

I’m guessing you already knew this, though.

But do you know why it’s happening? More importantly, do you know what you can do about it?

In House Marketing: Why Are Brands Taking Their Marketing In House?

Why would a brand choose to throw money at an inexperienced, in house marketing team rather than invest money in a team of marketing agency experts?

In house marketing challenge: You lack technical expertise

65% of businesses say that agencies don’t have the technical expertise that organizations need.

In house marketing challenge: You can’t utilize data as well anymore

50% of businesses believe they have more control over their first-party data and can utilize it better than an agency can.

In house marketing challenge: You don’t look at the whole picture

Incorporating other departments (like Sales, Product, and Customer Success) into the wider marketing strategy is crucial for a connected customer experience. But working with teams outside of Marketing falls out of the scope of many agencies.

In house marketing challenge: You’re not agile enough

61% of businesses say that agencies aren’t moving or evolving quickly enough to meet their needs.

In house marketing challenge: You can’t prove the ROI

Gone are the days when an agency could prove its value by only measuring the success of a few commoditized pieces. Now, an agency’s value lies in its ability to think strategically, to understand its clients’ audiences, to utilize social media data, to create the right messaging, and to help clients gain an outside perspective. That value can be incredibly difficult to measure.

Amanda Greenwood

Amanda is a content writer at Process Street. Her background is in marketing and project management, so she has a wealth of experience to draw from, which adds a touch of reality and a whole heap of depth to the content she writes.