Should you hire a marketing agency or contract a freelance professional for your next project? Each provider type has strengths and weaknesses, but who performs better in a head-to-head matchup?
Spoiler alert! It’s complicated. Choosing whether to hire an agency or a freelancer depends on accurately assessing your needs from a project and organizational perspective and then aligning them to the provider type.
With lean budgets for headcount becoming the norm across many marketing teams, outsourcing skills with agencies and freelancers is a good option for organizations of any size. Freelancers or agencies can also fit into companies with mature, highly-complex workflows as well as those with developing marketing maturity. Determining which type of provider is best positioned to interface with your team and fulfill your project scope boils down to the following factors.
Freelancer capacity is fixed. The amount of work that can be completed, managed or delegated is limited to the capabilities of an individual. Freelancers can accommodate flexible hours but are still just one person, while agency capacity is generally more elastic.
Result: Agencies win! Fixed capacity is critical unless a single individual can easily perform the scope of work or you’re willing to hire (and manage) multiple contractors.
Tip: Don’t just assume that an agency has a deep bench with the expertise you need. Ask and verify skillsets across your chosen agency partner, in case your project gets reassigned.
Both freelancers and agencies offer varying degrees of depth and breadth. Determining whether you require depth or breadth in your project is most important and then you need to validate each provider's capabilities. Avoid assuming that an agency has more range of expertise simply because they have more staff. Confirm capabilities for both through certifications, customer testimonials and documented delivery standards.
Result: Draw! Provider type is no indication of expertise. It can be harder to confirm agency expertise because it changes with staff turnover, but a collection of experts can also create value through innovation and shared experience.
Freelancers may have flexible timelines, can accommodate extended hours, and are often willing to accept large fluctuations in their work volume. However, agency staff are more interchangeable. Agencies also tend to employ a wide range of skillsets across their staff, so if your scope changes significantly, you may require a resource change. Whether a resourcing change is necessary due to expertise, availability, vacation coverage, or the stuff life throws at us, an agency typically has you covered, and the best agencies make resourcing changes painless.
Result: Agencies win! While it depends on whether your organization will benefit more from highly agile individual resources or the flexibility to change personnel, agencies offer more resourcing flexibility.
Freelancers typically handle fewer projects than agencies and can often afford to provide more personalized attention to your needs. This focus can lead to a deeper understanding of your business. At the risk of offending very passionate agency consultants, freelancers are more likely to become personally invested in the success of their projects, understanding that their client outcomes are tied to their individual success.
Result: Freelancers win! Some agencies also offer dedicated service staff that operate as an extension of the client team, but this depends on the agency's service model.
Both freelancers and agencies can offer the benefit of direct communication with talented experts. However, this approach can require more oversight and time investment from your team to ensure objectives are achieved and any scope changes are approved by marketing leadership. Agencies with a strong project management practice can provide the highest quality communication and keep a close eye on project scope, reducing time demands on your internal resources.
Result: Draw! The staff you plan to interface with your provider and their role in the project are huge factors here.
Tip: Understand how the provider structures their delivery team and the role and responsibilities of your main point of contact so that you know exactly how you can expect to receive communication.
Agencies are more likely to have documented delivery standards e.g. service playbooks, discovery templates and testing processes, than freelancers, unless the freelancer provides a specific service they deliver repeatedly. Agencies are more likely to invest in iterative process improvement and service delivery frameworks that reduce delivery times and deliver more value to their clients. It is not the rule, but it is often the case.
Result: Agencies win! While agencies win in this category, don’t assume they have documented delivery standards or practices. Ask both, and the freelancer might just surprise you.
Freelancers typically offer lower-priced services than agencies. They have lower operating costs and can pass those cost savings on to their clients. This can allow freelancers to provide sizeable value for the investment.
Result: Freelancers win! While the cost of managing, coordinating and contracting freelancers is important to consider, they are typically the most affordable provider option based on price alone.