How Much Does it Cost to Outsource B2B Marketing?

Marketing is a line item on the budget that’s often in the company crosshairs, yet its ROI can be challenging to measure precisely.

When discussing marketing efforts, outsourcing to a third party frequently emerges as an option. The primary question: What's the cost of outsourcing digital marketing?

Let's break down your potential investment and what it could offer your business – not just in saving money vs. hiring in-house, but also in revenue growth.

Outsourced Digital Marketing Cost Considerations

Let's talk numbers. Digital marketing (inbound or content marketing) pricing isn’t just a “who” question. You’ll also need to know when and how much:

1. WHO Will You Hire?

B2B marketing agency retainers typically range from $2,000 to $20,000/month. At our agency, $5,000 monthly is a common starting point. This is a viable investment for immediate access to trained experts who can quickly learn your business and get to work.

An agency’s price point will depend on its:

• Quality
• Location
• Markets served
• Breadth of services
  
  

2. WHAT Marketing Services Do You Need?

Once you're considering outsourcing, the next step is determining which tasks to delegate. 

Do you want to split duties between an agency and your in-house people? Or is there nobody on your staff with the time or talent to write content or design webpages? Are you interested in marketing coaching services?

Obviously, the more services you need, the more effort your outside team will need to put in. This drives up cost, but less so if you go with a full-service agency rather than piecemealing agencies or freelancers together.

Good marketing agencies prefer to focus on high-ROI, low-effort areas first. See if your potential agency offers these services:

• Website Build/Maintenance: Most companies don’t have an in-house employee capable of creating a website that meets modern B2B standards. Even if you’re able to launch a site, regular health checks and addressing issues like broken links are essential. Making a website isn’t a "set and forget" task.
  
  
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Getting your site to appear in search results requires constant adaptation to user experience trends and Google's ever-evolving ranking algorithms. Outsourcing leverages agency expertise in both on-page and off-page SEO, such as keyword use and proper meta tags.
  
  
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: Like SEO, PPC demands regular evaluation and adjustment. Outsourcing allows your team to focus on core business functions while experts manage research and bidding on keywords you want to win with Google Ads.
  
  
• Content Marketing: This encompasses written, audio, and visual content. From blogs to podcasts to product demos, outsourcing can give you access to tools and experts you’d never otherwise have.
  
  
• Email Marketing: Part of content marketing, an effective inbound marketing email campaign requires personalization, strategic subject lines, and compelling content. It’s a very different skill from cold calling or emailing.
  
  
• Social Media Marketing: Also an offshoot of content marketing, social marketing involves using unique best practices for each platform. Don’t go overboard with spending here unless your audience research suggests otherwise; LinkedIn is usually the only channel that brings ROI for B2Bs.

A website build can cost $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the scope of work and the bells and whistles you want. On the other hand, if you only want someone to manage a small PPC account for you, that could cost as little as $500 per month.

3. HOW Fast Do You Want to Grow?

Ahh, the forgotten one of the famous six “W” questions. (Probably because it doesn’t start with W.)

It’s imperative that you and your agency or freelancers set goals up-front. Where are your digital presence and total revenue at now? How would you like to be doing in 1*, 2, and 5 years?

(*Digital/inbound marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to get your content ranking in Google and bringing in leads, so don’t demand 500% sales growth in year one.)

How fast you want to grow impacts how much work your third-party marketers will have on their plates each month. Want to grow faster? Invest more dollars.

Now, Compare This to In-House Digital Marketing

For the sake of consistency and fairness, let’s use the standard number from before and say you receive a quote for agency marketing services at $5,000/month.

Now let’s say you’re also considering doing the exact same scope and speed of work, but keeping it in-house. Achieving comparable ROI would require:

• Hiring, an average 47-day recruitment process that itself costs ~$4,000/employee
• Training, 1-12 weeks
• Tools for web building, SEO/keyword research, lead management, etc., which combined can cost thousands of dollars/month

The price of building and executing a comprehensive marketing strategy can escalate rapidly. In 2024, estimates for a modestly sized, full-scope marketing team range from $250,000 to $600,000 annually ($20,833 to $50,000 monthly). A web designer alone could cost you $100,000 per year if you keep one on staff full-time. Then there’s the equipment, office space, software subscriptions … the list goes on.

A $5,000-a-month B2B marketing agency would cost you $60,000 annually. Great agencies (or freelancers) don’t necessarily grow on trees, but pick the right one and you’ll gain value at a much lower investment.