The decision whether to form an in-house marketing team or instead team up with a digital marketing agency is not a decision many Perth business owners make lightly.
And they shouldn’t.
That’s a decision that really can make or break how your marketing performs.
Chances are, you’re here because you’re struggling with that question.
Do you take months to hire, train and manage a team internally? Or would you be better served learning from experts who do it every single day?
Both tactics have their pros — and their cons. What’s new today is that this is the moment you need to be trying to get other relief, because now all of a sudden there’s potentially going to be a second tranche and we don’t know if it’s going to be limited broadly.
Let’s get into the details of what that looks like so you can make an informed decision for your business.
The Case for In-House Marketing Teams
Building an internal marketing team sounds appealing on paper. You get people who are completely dedicated to your business, right there in your office, working exclusively on your goals. But is the reality as rosy as it seems?
The Advantages of Going In-House
Now, before we jump into the potential pitfalls, let’s talk about the reasons the in-house route is such a draw for many business owners. There are real advantages that you just can’t get from outside partnerships, no matter how good the agency is.
- Own Your Marketing Strategy: Walk down the hall and change your strategy at any time. Offices all within one building meaning direct access to your team, no account managers, no middlemen – just your vision coming to life.
- Intimate Knowledge of Your Business: Your in-house creates and thrives your business atmosphere. They’re so well aquatinted with your customers, products and competition that they can realise much more authentic marketing messages.
- Ready When You Are: Something needs to be adjusted NOW? Your team pounces on it, right? No *
- Short Term Will Cost You Long Term: There are no rotating account managers with an in-house team, it is committed to your long-term success with a tailored strategy and execution that is relevant, and reliable.
They can provide real advantages, and shouldn’t be dismissed. Internal can be a brilliant solution for some companies, especially those with consistent predictable marketing requirements and large budgets. But there’s a second half to this story that’s well worth diving into.
The Reality Check: In-House Challenges
The Reality Check: In-House Challenges
Now here’s where it gets more interesting – and where most local Perth businesses start to realise that assembling an in-house marketing powerhouse isn’t as simple as they think. None of this is necessarily a deal-breaker, but it is nothing less than a reality check you will have to account for in making up your mind.
- The Hiring Nightmare
To be truthful, finding talented digital marketers in Perth can be a challenge. You need someone who gets SEO, Google Ads, social media marketing, content creation, analytics and probably web design as well. It’s the choice between one very expensive unicorn or a few specialists – and both might be a stretch for most budgets.
- The Learning Curve Problem
Even if you find great people, they will take time to really understand your industry, your customers, what actually works for your business. That period of learning could add months of suboptimal performance while they figure things out.
- Skill Gaps and Knowledge Limitations
Digital marketing evolves as fast as the weather in Perth. What you figured out six months ago is probably totally obsolete now. Maybe your in-house team are geniuses when it comes to Google Ads, but are flummoxed by TikTok marketing. Or they might be a social media whiz, but have no idea how to handle technical SEO issues.
The Real Cost Factor
Here’s where the maths gets sobering. A digital marketing specialist in Perth averages $103,750 per year, but that’s just the starting point.
The total employment cost typically ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 times the base salary due to superannuation (12% from July 2025), workers’ compensation, payroll tax, and leave entitlements. That specialist actually costs you $124,500-$155,625 annually.
Want a complete team covering SEO, Google Ads, social media, and content? Multiple specialists easily push your commitment beyond $400,000 annually – before factoring in recruitment costs, training time, software licences, and the risk they might leave after six months.
The Digital Marketing Agency Alternative
Working with a digital marketing agency means accessing a team of specialists without the overhead and management headaches. But agencies come with their own set of considerations.
Why Agencies Often Win the Battle
This is where the scales begin to tip in favour of the agency model for a lot of businesses. But if you step back from the emotion and really consider pure practicality, agencies get some surprisingly compelling benefits on the table that are very difficult to achieve inside.
- Expertise on Demand Across All Channels: Bring SEO specialists, Google Ads pros, social media managers, content creators and data analysts under your roof at a fraction of the cost – and give your brand the round-the-clock capability it needs to keep up. At SLINKY we offer one manager, Peter Brittain, responsible for clients, who connects the clients with all the specialists in all mediums only one call away, instead of multiple employee interface from other companies.
- Tried and Tested Systems and Processes: Have worked with hundreds of businesses in various industries. They’re able to identify an opportunity or a problem that even new in-house teams usually overlook.
- Access to Premium Tools and Technologies: Tools and Technology cost money to use, hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month! Such tools are already in the arsenal of agencies and can be deployed most effectively by those best trained in their use.
- Quick Results: Established processes and experienced teams shorten the time to market over newly formed in-house teams. No months-long learning curve about your industry itself.
- Grow without Growing Pains: Add people during your busy season or test new marketing channels without hiring and firing. Agencies adjust their services as your needs ebb and flow.
Sure, all that sounds great in theory. But agencies have their drawbacks, too, and it’s helpful to know potential pitfalls before settling on your choice.
The Potential Downsides of Agency Partnerships
Of course, agencies aren’t perfect either. If they were, every business would use them and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. There are legitimate concerns that come with outsourcing your marketing, and pretending they don’t exist won’t help you make the right decision.
You’re Not Their Only Client
Let’s face it – agencies juggle multiple clients. While good agencies manage this well, there’s always the possibility that other clients’ urgent needs might take priority over yours at crucial moments.
Communication Challenges
Working with external teams sometimes means communication gaps. You might find yourself explaining the same business context repeatedly to different team members, or waiting for responses when you need immediate answers.
Less Control Over Day-to-Day Activities
You can’t just walk over and change direction mid-campaign like you could with an in-house team. Changes often require meetings, approvals, and coordination that can slow things down.
Potential for Cookie-Cutter Approaches
Some agencies rely too heavily on templates and standardised approaches. If they’re not careful, your marketing might end up looking and sounding like everyone else’s.
The Hybrid Approach: Getting the Best of Both Worlds
Smart companies are increasingly realizing they no longer have to pick one. There are lots of successful companies from Perth that takes a hybrid approach to the internal / external dimensions.
You would potentially hire one marketing coordinator internally to manage day-to-day communications and coordination, but work with a specialised agency on strategy and execution. This is a way that you get the internal, internal control and external expertise, but without all the overhang of a massive team.
Or you could keep certain marketing work in-house (say simple social media posts or email newsletters) and outsource the more complicated stuff (like SEO, Google Ads management, or website builds) to experts.
How to Spot the Right Agency Partnership
If you’re leaning towards the agency route, here’s what actually matters when choosing a partner:
- Look for Transparency, Not Fancy Presentations: The best agencies are transparent about their methods and results. At Slinky, clients receive meaningful statistics that translate to actual business growth, not impressive-sounding vanity metrics.
- Direct Access to Decision Makers: Avoid agencies that hand you off to junior account managers. You want direct access to experienced professionals who make decisions quickly.
- Industry Experience and Local Knowledge: Perth’s business environment has unique characteristics. Local agencies understand the market better than generic national providers.
- Focus on ROI, Not Vanity Metrics: The right agency focuses on leads, sales, and revenue growth rather than impressive numbers that don’t impact your bottom line.
These criteria will help you separate the genuine partners from the slick sales operations. Remember, the right agency should feel more like an extension of your team than an external vendor trying to impress you with industry jargon.
Making the Final Decision
Here’s a framework to help you decide:
Choose In-House If:
Building an internal team makes sense when you have the resources and specific business requirements that benefit from dedicated, full-time marketing staff.
- You have a large enough budget to hire multiple specialists
- Your industry is stable with predictable marketing needs
- You have the management bandwidth to lead a marketing team effectively
- Your business model requires deep, ongoing customer relationship management
- You’re planning to scale significantly and need dedicated internal resources
Choose an Agency If:
The agency route often works better for businesses that need flexibility, expertise, and results without the overhead of building internal teams.
- You want faster access to proven expertise across multiple channels
- Your budget is better suited to monthly retainers than annual salaries
- You lack the internal management capacity for a marketing team
- You need to quickly scale up or down based on business cycles
- You want access to premium tools and technologies without the overhead
Consider a Hybrid Approach If:
Many smart businesses combine both approaches to get the benefits of internal control with external expertise.
- You want some internal control but need external expertise
- Your marketing needs vary significantly throughout the year
- You have budget constraints that make full in-house teams challenging
- You want to test different approaches before committing fully
Use this framework as a starting point, but remember that your specific business circumstances should ultimately drive your decision. The key is making a choice and moving forward – while your competitors debate their options, you could be gaining ground in the digital space.
Wrapping Up
Neither approach is inherently superior. What is important is that you align your selection with your business needs, budget, and goals.
If you go the agency route, do the work. Find partners who are open about how they do what they do, care about business results, want long-term relationships — not just quick wins.
If you opt to develop in-house, have realistic expectations when it comes to the time, cost and management commitment it will take. Don’t discount how difficult it is to find and retain high-performing digital marketing pros.
Most successful companies tend to bring the best of both worlds here. They keep a little bit of marketing coordination in-house, but rely on outside specialism to handle some of the technical and complex work.
Either way, the point is to make a determination and go with it. The most damaging decision is not taking action while your competitors are taking digital over.
Your marketing success has less to do with whether you go in-house or agency, and more to do with hiring partners or bringing on team members who genuinely get your business, hit measurable goals and react to facts about what works.
Ready to explore your options? To be frank, examine your situation, your budget and your desires. Then make a decision and see it through. Your very livelihood depends upon it.
Thinking about engaging a Perth digital marketing company to execute your marketing strategy? Get in touch with SLINKY today to speak about the ways we can help your business to grow using trusted and clear cut digital marketing techniques. Having helped Perth businesses grow online for over 20 years, we’re dedicated to delivering genuine ROI – not just more visits and page views.
