As your organization grows, so do your marketing needs.
Whether you’re a healthcare practice, healthcare technology company, or growing business, one question inevitably comes up:
Should we hire a full-time marketing employee or partner with a marketing agency?
While hiring someone in-house may seem like the obvious next step, today’s marketing is simply too broad for one person to do everything well. The most successful marketing efforts combine specialists with expertise in strategy, content, design, video, digital marketing, public relations, analytics, and more.
The better question isn’t Which option costs less? It’s Which option delivers the greatest value?
Modern Marketing Is a Team Sport
Today’s marketing requires expertise across a wide range of disciplines, including:
- Strategic marketing planning
- Branding
- Public relations
- Content writing
- Video production
- Photography
- Graphic design
- Social media management
- Website design and development
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- AI search optimization
- Digital advertising
- Email marketing
- Analytics and reporting
- Media planning and buying
“Successful marketing today is rarely built around one person—it’s built around a team.”
Even the most talented marketing professional can’t realistically be an expert in every one of these areas.
That’s why successful marketing today is rarely built around one person—it’s built around a team.
One Salary Doesn’t Buy a Marketing Department
Hiring a full-time marketing manager often costs between $70,000 and $120,000 per year before accounting for benefits, payroll taxes, retirement contributions, software subscriptions, equipment, continuing education, and recruiting costs.
And after all that investment, you’ve hired one person.
Need a new website?
Need a television commercial?
Need professional photography? A media relations campaign? Search engine optimization? Video production? Paid advertising?
Those skills often require additional freelancers, consultants, or agencies—adding even more expense.
What an Agency Brings to the Table
When you partner with a marketing agency, you’re not relying on one person’s strengths.
You’re gaining access to specialists who focus on their areas of expertise every day.
At Practice Marketing & Communications, our network of experienced communications professionals, designers, developers, photographers, videographers, writers, and digital marketing specialists allows us to assemble the right team for each project.
- Healthcare marketing
- Public relations
- Journalism
- Content strategy
- Video production
- Graphic design
- Website development
- SEO and digital marketing
- Social media
- Advertising strategy
Instead of expecting one employee to wear every hat, each project is handled by the person best equipped to deliver outstanding results.
Experience You Don’t Have to Build Yourself
Marketing experience isn’t just measured in years—it’s measured in the stories told, campaigns launched, websites built, videos produced, and organizations helped.
Our team has spent decades working in newsrooms, healthcare organizations, marketing agencies, and communications departments. We’ve interviewed thousands of physicians, patients, executives, and community leaders. We understand how to communicate complex topics clearly, build trust with audiences, and create content that delivers measurable results.
That kind of collective experience would take years—and significant investment—to build internally.
Marketing Doesn’t Stop Because Someone Is Out of Office
Hiring employees comes with responsibilities beyond salary.
Recruiting.
Onboarding.
Training.
Benefits.
Paid time off.
Continuing education.
Employee turnover.
When an in-house marketer takes vacation, leaves the company, or simply has too much on their plate, marketing often slows down.
An agency provides continuity. Your projects continue moving forward because there’s an entire team supporting your organization—not just one individual.
Fresh Perspectives Drive Better Ideas
One advantage businesses often overlook is perspective.
Agencies work with organizations across different specialties, industries, and markets. That exposure allows them to recognize emerging trends, identify opportunities, and apply ideas that have proven successful elsewhere.
Whether it’s improving your website, producing compelling patient stories, launching a digital advertising campaign, or strengthening your brand, an outside perspective often uncovers opportunities an internal team may never see.
Grow Without Growing Your Payroll
Marketing needs change over time.
One quarter, you may need a new website.
The next, you may be launching a new physician, opening a new location, producing educational videos, managing social media, or planning a public relations campaign.
An agency gives you the flexibility to scale services up or down without hiring additional employees every time your needs evolve.
The Bottom Line
Hiring a talented marketing professional can absolutely be the right decision for some organizations.
But for many healthcare practices and growing businesses, partnering with an experienced marketing agency provides greater flexibility, broader expertise, and better value.
Instead of hiring one person, you gain an entire team of strategists, writers, designers, videographers, digital marketers, and communications professionals working together toward the same goal: helping your organization grow.
Wondering Which Marketing Model Is Right for Your Organization?
Every organization has different needs. We’d be happy to help you evaluate whether building an internal team, partnering with an agency, or using a hybrid approach makes the most sense.
If you’re evaluating your marketing strategy, we’d love to have a conversation about how our team can help yours.
