Should You Do Your Marketing Yourself or Hire an Agency?

 
I get this question often –  “Should I hire a marketing agency or do it myself?”

Now, before I answer, let me tell you something about me.

I’m a co-founder of three companies. But if you ask me who I am, I’ll still say – I’m a marketer. Since 2018, marketing has been my craft, my obsession, my daily grind.

But here’s the twist – even as a marketer, I once hired other marketing agencies to run my own campaigns. Not once, but twice. I did this to understand how the marketing agency world works.

Because I learnt marketing in the real business world, neither formal education nor did I work in an agency before.

Just straight out of college, I started marketing and created our company. To understand how the real-world agency works, I outsourced my marketing work.

The first agency was in Chennai. I did my homework – researched, shortlisted, and finally signed them after believing they could deliver.

Within 2–3 months, I realised the reality. The work was below average. Not even “mediocre average” – just poor.

It was clear they weren’t putting in more than 2–3 hours a day on my account. So, I moved on.

Round Two!

Next, I went to a Bangalore-based agency. Different city, different team, but same story. And here’s what I learned: it’s not always about laziness or bad intentions. It’s about the agency model itself.

Let’s understand why this happens!

Let’s say you pay an agency ₹40,000 per month. Now, do you think the founder or top strategist is going to run your account personally?

No. Not at all!

Half that fee goes into the agency’s expenses and profit margin. What’s left will barely cover the salary of an intern or a junior executive.

That intern might be talented – but they won’t have the years of experience you imagine when you sign the contract.

The senior team might guide them, but their main focus will be on getting more clients, because that’s how agencies grow revenue.

At the end of the day, their business is running an agency, not building your brand. This is the harsh truth!

This is the reality I’ve experienced myself, and I’ve seen it happen to many brands. You shortlist 5–10 agencies, choose one, hand them your brand, and trust them blindly.

A few months later, you discover there’s no detailed reporting, no clear growth plan, and minimal daily effort going into your campaigns.

Now, let me be clear – good agencies do exist. But they charge in lakhs, and if you’re a new or growing brand, that may not be affordable.

So What’s the Right Approach? You can outsource marketing. But don’t outsource the entire thing blindly.

You need to know the fundamentals yourself – what platforms you want to be on, what content you want to push, and what goals you’re targeting.

Even if you can’t execute it yourself because you’re busy running the business or you are still working somewhere else, you should be the one dictating direction, approving strategy, and tracking results.

Agencies should execute your vision, not replace it entirely.

Because no one, absolutely no one, will care about your brand as much as you do.