Are you just saying "hire an agency" because you are one?

Fair question. And no, we turn away brands that would genuinely be better served by an in-house hire. If you need someone who lives in your Slack and sits in your team meetings, an agency isn't the answer. We're honest about it because a bad-fit client wastes everyone's time.

What does an agency retainer look like?

For us, retainers range from $3K to $10K a month depending on scope. That includes strategy, execution, reporting, and optimization across a few channels. A mid-range retainer gets you a team of specialists that would cost much more to hire in-house.

Can I start with an agency and transition to in-house later?

Absolutely, and this is a smart path. Use an agency to build your marketing foundation, test what works, and generate revenue. Then hire in-house when you know exactly what role you need. We've helped several brands make this transition and we're happy to do it.

What if I have a small in-house team already?

That's our ideal scenario. Your in-house team handles brand, content, and day-to-day decisions. We handle the technical execution: SEO, paid media, email flows, and analytics. You get both sides without hiring another specialist for every channel.

How do I know if my current agency is doing a good job?

Ask this: can they tie your marketing spend to revenue, not impressions? Is your cost per acquisition improving over time? And do they proactively suggest changes, or just do what you ask? If the answer to any of those is no, it might be time for a second opinion.

Marketing Strategy

Here is when an in-house hire is worth it, and when an agency is the better fit.

We're an agency. So you'd expect us to say hire an agency. But that's not always the right answer, and we'd rather be honest than close a deal that doesn't make sense. Some brands are better off building in-house. Some are better off with an agency. We've worked with 150+ clients, and many of the fastest-growing ones use both. The right answer depends on your stage, your budget, and your growth targets. Here is the comparison, including when you should NOT hire an agency.

Let's Talk About What You Need

150+

Clients

$70M+

Revenue

$23M+

Ad Spend

Klaviyo Gold Partner

Partner

This is not the usual agency sales pitch disguised as a comparison. In-house teams and agencies solve different problems, and the right mix depends on stage, budget, and which gap is slowing you down.

An in-house hire gives you depth on your brand. An agency gives you breadth across channels and industries. The question is not which is better. It is which gap you need to fill right now.

In-House Team vs Marketing Agency: feature by feature

Feature	In-House Team	Marketing Agency
Cost in Year 1	Salary plus benefits, tools, and training. Plus management time. Your first hire costs more than the posted salary once you factor in everything.	A GOSH retainer is $3K to $10K a month. No benefits, no overhead, no tools to buy. You can scale spend up or down monthly.
Breadth of Expertise	One person can't master SEO, paid media, email, web dev, and analytics. You get depth in one or two areas and gaps everywhere else.	A good agency has specialists across every channel. You get a team for the cost of one in-house generalist.
Brand Knowledge	Deep brand knowledge. They live and breathe your product, your customers, and your competitors. This takes time to build but it's invaluable.	Agencies learn your brand but never know it as deeply as an insider. Good agencies close this gap with thorough onboarding and regular check-ins. It's never quite the same.
Speed to Impact	Hiring takes time, and ramping takes more time. A new hire is not productive on day one. And if you hire wrong, you start over.	Agencies come with built processes and tested playbooks, and they've already made the mistakes on other accounts. You start with a working system, not a blank first quarter.
Flexibility	Scaling up means more hires, which is slow and expensive. Scaling down means layoffs, which is painful and costly. You're locked into fixed overhead.	Scale up by increasing retainer. Scale down by reducing scope. Pause if needed. Month-to-month flexibility beats fixed employment costs.
Control & Alignment	Full control over priorities, processes, and daily work. Your team is in your Slack, at your standups, aligned with your company culture.	Less day-to-day control. You set direction and approve strategy, but the execution happens outside your walls. Requires trust and good communication.
Industry Knowledge	Limited to their own experience. An in-house marketer at one eCommerce brand doesn't know what works across client accounts in different verticals.	Agencies work across dozens of brands simultaneously. Patterns that work in fashion get tested in supplements. Winning strategies cross-pollinate.

Our recommendation

For most eCommerce brands still well below enterprise scale, an agency is the smarter move. You get a full team for the cost of one hire, you move faster, and you don't carry the risk of a bad hire. Once you have the budget, the smart play is often both: an in-house marketing lead who owns strategy and brand, plus an agency for execution and channel expertise.

If you already have someone great in-house who's driving results, don't replace them with an agency. Augment them. The best client relationships we have are with brands that have a strong in-house lead who uses us as their execution arm.

Pick In-House Team if...

Build in-house when you can afford a senior hire, when brand voice and cultural alignment are critical, or when you're at a stage where marketing needs to be in the room for every product and business decision. Also the right call if you're in a niche so specific that no agency has relevant experience.

Pick Marketing Agency if...

Hire an agency when you need results fast, when you can't afford or justify a full-time specialist across every channel, or when you want to test marketing investment before committing to headcount. It's also the right call if you're a founder wearing the marketing hat and you need to hand it off to focus on the business.

FAQ

Honest answers to
common questions

Not sure what your brand needs right now?

We'll have an honest conversation about where you are, what you're trying to achieve, and whether an agency, in-house, or a hybrid approach makes the most sense. Sometimes the answer is you don't need us, and we'll tell you that.

Pick a Time

30 minutes. No pitch deck. Just your data and our honest take.

More comparisons

Paid Media Comparison

Do not pick one. Google and Meta do different jobs. Here is why.

Google Ads vs Meta Ads: which drives more eCommerce revenue? A paid media team managing $23M+ ad spend breaks down when to use each, and when to use both.

Learn more

Channel Strategy

Email keeps paying after you send. Paid ads stop the moment you pause. 150+ clients still need both.

Email marketing vs paid ads for eCommerce: owned list vs instant traffic. An agency running both daily explains where your money should actually go.

Learn more

Traffic Strategy

"Just focus on SEO" is the most expensive advice in eCommerce.

SEO vs PPC for eCommerce: which drives better return? An agency running both explains why just doing SEO is bad advice and when to invest in each channel.

Learn more

Email Platform Comparison