Internal or External? Find the Right Marketing Service Model for Your Organization

In a landscape where expectations for marketing teams are higher than ever, businesses face a major strategic dilemma: should they build an in-house marketing team or outsource the function to external experts? This isn’t just an operational choice, it’s a structural decision that can directly impact overall organizational performance. According to Les Affaires (2023), 80% of managers today are considering outsourcing one or more marketing functions. A revealing statistic that signals a major shift.

What is an outsourced marketing service?

Outsourced marketing—also known as marketing as a service—involves delegating certain responsibilities or projects to a specialized external team. These partners bring deep expertise in areas like digital strategy, content creation, social media management, SEO, or automation campaigns. This model enables organizations to achieve quick, tangible results while minimizing risks related to hiring, training, and retaining talent. In a fast-paced environment, turning to an external partner means choosing performance without compromise.

Why choose external support? Tangible benefits

Working with an external partner means surrounding yourself with professionals who already have the right reflexes, tools, and methods. At Maïeutyk, our method is rooted in co-creation, designed to harness collective intelligence, strategic clarity, and organizational alignment to promote agility in the face of complex challenges.
We support SMEs at every stage of growth through agile, personalized services: from strategy to activation, through co-creation workshops, realistic action plans, and tailored tools.
What sets us apart? Every strategy we build is co-created with our clients. This ensures solutions are deeply grounded in their reality and market, a subtle but crucial difference.
While internal teams may take time to build their processes, our team arrives ready to act, with a strong grasp of your challenges and a relentless focus on delivering real results. It’s a choice driven by speed, but also by discipline. Our external perspective reveals blind spots and helps redirect efforts where they matter most. And all this without the administrative burden or fixed costs of hiring permanent staff. It’s a flexible, cost-effective solution that scales with your needs and acts as a powerful lever for sustainable growth.

The complementary role of internal teams

Internal teams remain essential. They know the company from the inside, live its culture, and interact daily with customers. Their contribution is key to ensuring consistency and authenticity in your messaging. But that doesn’t mean they should carry the entire weight alone. Partnering with an external team allows them to focus on strategic priorities and human relationships while experts handle execution, optimization, and constant monitoring of best practices.

What if the real answer is hybrid?

The hybrid model—a small strategic internal unit supported by a specialized external team—is often the most effective approach. It allows you to maintain control while boosting your capacity for action. This is especially relevant for SMEs that lack the resources to build a full marketing department but still want to remain competitive, innovative, and visible.
It also prevents the common pitfall of relying too heavily on a single marketing person—an all-too-frequent risk in small organizations.
Today’s high-performing businesses are those that know how to surround themselves with the right partners. Outsourcing isn’t about passing the buck—it’s about strategic intelligence. It’s about recognizing that marketing has become too broad, too technical, and too fast-paced to handle alone.
It’s a choice for excellence, agility, and execution speed. And that’s exactly what Maïeutyk offers. We support our clients across three complementary pillars: Brand Experience (BX), Customer Experience (CX), and Employee Experience (EX), with a full suite of services for each area.
Still hesitating between hiring and outsourcing? Let’s talk about the best combination to accelerate your marketing.