How IHAs Deliver on CMO Priorities
Today there’s a closer alignment among Marketing, the IHA and company goals than ever before. In-house teams are in an enviable position to drive improvements in quality, speed and service—all essential to deliver on CMO objectives. Here are some examples.
Cost Savings
No doubt about it, IHAs are less expensive than external agencies, and proof positive that right-work/right-partner is a worthy best practice. These cost savings should be considered as table stakes. The IHA has to deliver quality, speed, effectiveness and service in order to maintain its success. As for the savings, they can be redirected in additional R&D, product development and impressions—the kind of dynamics that lead to greater profitability for the company and drive even more growth, capabilities and wins for the in-house team.
Average hourly rate for IHAs
Average hourly rate for external agencies
Strategic Alignment
Simply put, the IHA has skin in the game. As company employees, they’ve developed a ton of knowledge about the company’s products and services in addition to the brand, culture and history. They’re colleagues to the company’s product owners and marketers, making collaboration easy. They have the inside track to participate in meetings, to live the company culture and to embed with client teams in order to serve them most effectively and responsively. The company is the IHA’s one and only concern; the company’s priorities are the IHA’s priorities. No other business is vying for their time, attention and genius. And nowhere else is this level of brain trust made available to Marketing.
Speed to Market
Now more than ever we see how quickly things can change—consumer preferences, buying patterns, competition, supply chains, regulations and more. Companies that fail to spot these changes and quickly adapt to them put their customer relationships and financial well-being at risk. A key way to help accelerate cycle times is to bring critical elements of the marketing strategy and execution in house. This will tighten the interconnections and collaboration among product managers, marketers and creatives. At a minimum, in-housing will keep brands from falling behind. In the best-case scenario, it creates a competitive edge.
First-Party (Proprietary) Data Ownership
Robust websites, CRM software and marketing automation solutions create a valuable closed loop of proprietary data. Used correctly, this data drives the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and improves speed to market. It enables real-time trend analysis that empowers marketers and product managers to adjust strategy and tactics in order to pivot when necessary. Proprietary, first-person data has always been important, and Google’s removal of third-party cookies from Chrome makes it absolutely critical now. Sharing this asset with external parties increasingly seems like an unwise risk for many businesses.
Effectiveness
According to industry experts, in-house agencies have become more numerous due to two major factors: the economic environment is forcing marketers to do more with less cost; and the growth of social, digital and mobile channels requires marketing responses to be quicker and nimbler. The ability to react quickly and refine messages based on an understanding of what worked and what didn’t allows for more targeted marketing and better outcomes. An IHA team that partners and collaborates closely with Marketing has primary access to data on how well a tactic performed—making changes in real time to strengthen consumers’ and buyers’ interactions with campaigns. It all adds up to higher conversion rates.
Brand Management
There’s no breaking the brand rules when you own the brand. However, unlike an external agency, the IHA can take the lead in managing the brand’s evolution. Companies benefit from the loyalty and tenure of employees whose creative, digital and marketing output reflects the pride they feel in being part of an evolving brand and team. Having this level of commitment and exclusivity on board will build stability and help continuously drive company culture in a positive direction. No fees to outside agencies involved. As Forbes.com contributor Will Burns has written, “…outside agencies often include some form of ‘company immersion’ as part of their strategic process so they can better understand the company, its culture, and its ways. The in-house agency doesn't need any help. They can just look around and breathe it in."