The $250,000 Mistake

When my previous firm hired me to lead marketing, it was a mistake. 

I’m not being hard on myself. I was well-qualified for the job they offered me.

I’m being hard on them. 

When I joined the agency, a marketing team had already been established and was growing quickly. They had a content writer, a designer, and now a professional cat herder (that was me). We were a marketing team of three. 

Total annual cost to the agency (salary, benefits, etc.)? 

Well over $250,000. 

That $250k+ was not an insignificant number for my small/mid-size strategic firm. It clearly felt justified because there was a push to grow.

But when we really examine it, what are marketing teams at small creative firms tasked with? They’re not managing digital marketing campaigns that drive online transactions, nor are they producing large-scale brand advertisements that will be seen by millions. 

The job of the agency marketing team is to amplify the work and thinking being done by their billable teammates.

That’s it. 

In practice, that amplification takes the form of generating organic and paid content, managing the agency website, email marketing, events, general coordination between teams, and packaging all the external pieces up so it looks respectable. 

I may be too harsh in my assessment but, even as a beneficiary, paying a $250,000 - $500,000 per year for that isn’t a good use of money. 

I won’t get into the challenges around attribution here, but it is relatively easy to explain away the investment when deal sizes are large. We say one deal will make our money back. But it’s a poor investment for most firms. 

Growth at small(er), non-productized agencies is primarily driven by relationships, referrals, and reputations. Hiring a full-time, non-billable employee, let alone multiple, must be done with the utmost care to make sure marketing time is spent on deal driving activities rather than internal initiatives or non-productive brand building busy work.   

Are all agency marketing departments a waste of money or is there a way to do this properly? 

Generally speaking, if you have a marketing department at your agency with more than one person, that team is not returning your investment. There are some creative, ambitious, highly strategic teams that are the exception. 

In order to make the exception your reality, you need to start thinking about stacking skill sets and hiring the right personality or finding external help at a fraction of the cost. 

If you are hiring a full-time employee, stopping at one person is ideal for financial reasons. This person should have the below traits: 

• Average/Above-Average at writing, designing, and strategic planning.

• Strong interpersonal skills and unafraid to tell someone what they need and when they need it. 

• An appreciation for the business side of an agency and the role they play in it (they’re not the face of the agency, they won’t be managing a team, they exist in a support role). 

It’s challenging to find this type of person - a thoughtful marketer who doesn’t have significant leadership or decision-making aspirations - but is certainly possible. 

You know what’s right for your firm and that may be paying a full-time employee to manage marketing activities. If you’re thinking about a more cost-effective option, let us know.