6 – 8 minutes
If you own or run an automotive business, be it a franchised or independent dealership, workshop, garage, supplier, or motorhome and campervan dealership, chances are you’ve had to think seriously about marketing.
And not just the occasional Facebook post or one-off leaflet drop. I’m talking about consistent, strategic marketing that generates enquiries, builds trust, and helps you achieve your goals. Buyers are researching more, comparing more, and expecting a better experience from the first search through to final sale.
The question many owners ask is: Should I hire a marketing consultant, work with an agency, or build a team in-house?
It’s a common question and it comes up regularly in conversations I have with garage owners, workshop managers, and dealer principles.
This comparison breaks down what each option involves, what it might look like inside an automotive business, and what you can expect in terms of return and direction to help you decide what’s right for your business. It also helps you think ahead, not just how to solve today’s marketing needs, but how to build a clear route toward the future of your business.
What Does an Automotive Marketing Consultant Do?
In the automotive industry, this means a consultant should be able to sit with a dealership principal or garage owner and work out what they want to achieve. This could include:
- Planning where the business is going over the next year
- Identifying how to attract better-quality leads
- Reducing reliance on third-party platforms
- Improving the way the business presents itself
A consultant typically creates a marketing strategy, supports its delivery, and makes sure everything stays on track. This support is often more personalised and adaptable compared to other options.
Marketing has become more visible within the sector over recent years, with bodies like the Institute of the Motor Industry highlighting the importance of dedicated marketing plans across all areas of the trade.
A marketing strategy gives you control over how potential customers see your business. It allows you to appear in the right places, at the right time, with a clear message about what makes your garage worth choosing. Without a strategy, marketing efforts often become inconsistent.
What Does a Marketing Agency Offer?
An agency is usually made up of a team with a range of skills, including design, digital advertising, social media, SEO, content, and account management. Agencies can take on the delivery of marketing activity on your behalf. This might suit a business that doesn’t want to recruit or manage anyone internally but wants marketing activity to happen on a regular basis.
Automotive businesses working with agencies often find the relationship task-based. You send in a brief or request, and the agency carries it out. This can work well when the marketing plan is already in place and your needs are mostly delivery-focused such as website updates, social media posts, PPC campaigns, or email newsletters.
What agencies may not provide as much of is direction. Without a clear brief or strategy from the business, campaigns can feel disjointed or fail to support long-term goals. Some agencies will offer strategy planning, but this is often charged as an additional service or limited in its depth.
With a structured marketing strategy, every action has a clear purpose. You know who you want to reach, how you’ll reach them, and how you’ll track results. This helps avoid wasted time and money on activities that don’t bring in business.
What About Building an In-House Team?
Employing someone directly means recruiting your own marketing director, manager, executive, or assistant. It gives you day-to-day access to someone who works solely on your brand. This might appeal to dealerships with several sites, automotive suppliers with large product ranges, or larger independents who want more control over content and messaging.
In-house roles come with responsibility. You need to manage, support and train that person. You also need to provide direction unless you’re hiring someone with significant experience. For many garages or smaller dealers, the time and cost involved in hiring a full-time employee can be a barrier. Marketing is often one of many hats worn by an office manager or admin assistant, which can limit progress.
A good in-house employee can give you consistency. But without a wider plan, that work risks being reactive. If your business doesn’t have a clear strategy, an in-house role may struggle to show results.
Building your own team comes with long-term commitments, and not all businesses are set up for this yet. The CIPD’s breakdown of outsourcing vs in-house roles covers the wider business case well, including non-marketing functions.
Comparing Costs
A marketing consultant typically charges a project fee or retainer. For example, a bespoke marketing strategy might cost around £2995 for a two-month engagement. Ongoing support might be billed monthly or per session.
Agencies often work on a monthly fee. This could range from £750 to several thousand pounds depending on the services included. Some will offer fixed packages and others provide a bespoke quote based on requirements.
Employing someone directly involves salary, pension contributions, training, software, and workspace. A marketing executive might earn £28,000 – £35,000 per year, plus overheads including National Insurance contributions, pension contributions, holiday and sick pay.
Costs are not the only factor but they do highlight how much clarity you need about what you’re trying to achieve. If you are not sure what success looks like, it becomes hard to judge value in any of these options.
Direction vs Delivery
A consultant usually leads with strategy and guides the work.
An agency typically delivers tasks.
An in-house hire depends on what you put around them.
This means if you’re lacking direction or want someone to help you get from where you are now to where you want to be, a consultant can bring that structure. If you already know what needs doing and just want help delivering it, an agency might be a better fit. If you have the capacity to train and manage someone internally, and you want full control, in-house might make sense.
Thinking About the Future
What matters most is how each option helps your business move toward its goals.
If you want to sell more high-margin vehicles, enter a new geographical territory, improve the quality of your leads, or become less reliant on paid platforms, your marketing needs to support those aims. That doesn’t come from just posting more on social media or running a few ads. It comes from a joined-up and structured strategy and plan.
That plan is what a consultant helps you create. And if that plan says you need a marketing assistant or an agency partner later on, you can build from that base.
What Automotive Businesses Often Need First
For many garages, dealerships, and suppliers, the first priority is clarity. What are we trying to achieve? Where are we now? What should we stop doing? What should we do more of?
A strategy answers those questions.
Starting with strategy also makes it easier to brief an agency or employ the right person in-house. It saves time and avoids wasted marketing spend.
Many small and medium-sized businesses are choosing consultancy support first before committing to in-house hires or long-term agency retainers. This article from Marketing Week outlines why flexibility and direct advice are increasingly in demand.
Summary of Each Option
Consultant:
- Provides one-to-one guidance
- Helps you set direction
- Builds a strategy based on your goals
- Often works as a trusted advisor over time
Agency:
- Delivers marketing activity
- Brings specialist skills in design, digital and content
- Requires a clear brief to work effectively
In-House:
- Needs support, training and direction from within the business
- Gives you a dedicated internal resource
- Suits businesses with regular marketing needs
What to Do Next
If you know your marketing isn’t where it should be, but you’re not sure how to fix it, start with strategy. That gives you the plan, clarity and confidence to choose what comes next.
I offer a bespoke marketing strategy service for owners of automotive businesses. This includes:
- One-to-one sessions over eight weeks
- A bespoke plan with clear priorities built around your business goals, local market, and customer needs
- Help to identify what should be done in-house, outsourced or paused
- A 12-month implementation guide
Get in touch to discuss where you want your business to go and how marketing can help you get there.
For more practical advice, visit my Knowledge Hub for regular tips on marketing for automotive businesses.
