Most small businesses reach a point where marketing starts to feel heavier than it should. Leads slow down. Messaging feels inconsistent. Execution falls behind ideas. At that stage, one practical decision tends to surface.
Should you hire a full-time marketer or should you work with a marketing agency?
At Beyond Borders Marketing, we see this question come up most often when a business is growing but does not yet have a clear, repeatable marketing engine. The right answer is rarely universal. It depends on how defined your needs are, how quickly you need traction, and how much risk your business can comfortably take on.
Hiring a full-time employee is a long-term commitment.
Working with an agency is a flexible one.
Neither option is automatically better. Each one fits different stages of a business. The problems usually start when decisions are made based on instinct or familiarity instead of actual needs.
A marketing agency tends to make more sense when a business is still figuring out what marketing should actually do for them.
This is often the case when:
In our experience at Beyond Borders Marketing, many small businesses reach this phase before they fully understand which activities drive growth. Agency support provides room to test, execute, and learn without committing to a permanent structure too early.
For many teams, this stage is about momentum and clarity happening at the same time.
A full-time marketing hire becomes the better option once the work itself stabilizes.
This usually happens when:
At this stage, marketing behaves more like an operational function than a discovery exercise. Ownership and proximity start to outweigh flexibility.
We often see frustration when businesses hire too early and expect one person to solve undefined problems. When the role is clear, however, internal hires can create real leverage.
The most frequent mistake is hiring before the role is clearly defined.
Many small businesses bring on a marketer hoping they will “figure it out.” In practice, this often leads to slow progress and unmet expectations. One person cannot realistically cover strategy, content, demand generation, and analytics at the same time.
Another common mistake is staying with agency support when what is really needed is internal ownership. When marketing decisions require daily input and rapid approvals, external execution alone can become inefficient.
From what we see working with growing companies, the issue is rarely the choice itself. It is almost always the timing.
There is a middle ground, and many businesses end up there naturally.
Some teams keep a generalist in-house while using an agency for execution or specialized work. Others start with agency support and move toward a full-time hire once responsibilities become clearer.
This approach often reduces risk while maintaining momentum. It also allows businesses to evolve their structure instead of locking into a decision too early.
The structure that works today does not have to be permanent.
At Beyond Borders Marketing, we work with business owners and leadership teams who are weighing this exact decision. We are happy to help. Feel free to call us if you want to talk it through and pressure-test what makes sense for your situation.
That is usually the first concern. When you look at total costs, including salary, benefits, and the risk of a bad hire, an agency is not always more expensive. If you are unsure, you can just give Beyond Borders Marketing a try before committing to a full-time employee.
That usually means it is too early to hire. Flexible support can help clarify priorities before making a long-term commitment.
There is no fixed timeline. Many small businesses wait until responsibilities become consistent and predictable.
Yes. Many businesses do exactly that once they understand what the role needs to deliver.
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