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There is a growing need for marketing consultants to provide their digital expertise to large and small businesses.
And with good reason.
Because they stay on top of the ever-changing online marketing trends, just think about how many businesses were affected by the pandemic.
Around 64% of Australian companies were pressured to implement new marketing campaigns, channels and strategies to keep their businesses visible in the eyes of the homebound consumer.
As many companies are still new to the digital space, there’s a growing trend for digital marketing consultants to provide expert guidance and help with fulfilment.
In this article, we’ll explore the question: “what is a marketing consultant” specifically one that specialises in digital marketing strategies.
What is a Marketing Consultant?
Marketing consultants play an integral part in the success of a business.
The marketing consult job description includes analysing a business holistically to see the marketing gaps and how they can bridge them to move the money needle for the brand.
Day-to-day marketing consultants are responsible for studying current marketing trends and crafting high-level strategies based on their findings.
It’s a constant learning curve and one that is never mastered.
The way that digital marketing consultants approach their analyses and fulfilment varies between each of them. Some only do marketing plans.
While others provide holistic audits while making the option available to hire them as a freelance marketer to fulfil the work themselves on an ad-hoc, hourly, or project basis.
Roles of a Marketing Consultant
A successful marketing consultant typically has more responsibilities than just advertising your business to the world. Like you, they wear many hats in the digital sphere.
Some are generalists who can help your business in many ways but likely do not excel in any particular thing. And others are specialists who only stick to a few channels but produce predictable results.
Some specialities include social media marketing, copywriting, content marketing or email marketing.
Whichever type of digital specialist you choose, depending on the project you’ve partnered with them to do, they should be well-versed in sales psychology and general psychological principles relating to marketing.
Here are some typical traits you’d expect of a marketing consultant.
They’re excellent at market research
At the core of every project is well-researched insights that drive strategic marketing campaigns.
A good marketing consultant will constantly be on the lookout for the latest news and trends and will work out ways to transfer them into actionable strategies that work for your business’s marketing needs.
That said, more experienced consultants will take caution of fads and fly-by-night tactics before prescribing them for your business.
Before considering whether to adopt a new strategy, it’s best practice to revise your target audience and judge whether it makes sense for them.
For example, you wouldn’t run a new Instagram ad if all your target customers live on the LinkedIn platform. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
They can both create and execute strategies themselves
Experienced consultants will be able to develop and launch full-scale strategies themselves.
This may be designing and developing a brand’s website redesign to revitalise its positioning or creating and managing profitable Google Ads campaigns.
Either way, the consultant should be capable of doing the work themselves.
You’ll sometimes come across consultants who only prescribe recommendations and do not offer to fulfil the work themselves.
This is a clear warning sign that they may not have the marketing skills or practical experience in the field they’re providing advice for.
They emphasise both long-term and short-term goals
Depending on where a business is in its lifecycle will determine how desperate they are for sales.
Typically, startups and small businesses will think more short-term because there’s a level of scarcity due to a lack of revenue.
Whereas more established companies past this point of scarcity will think more long-term because they have enough revenue to make mistakes and perform exploratory research and development.
There’s a saying in silicon valley that your first million is the hardest to make. And that it’s relatively much easier to scale a business from $1 million to $3 million.
In either case, experienced digital marketing consultants will have worked with various clients in many stages of the business lifecycle.
And thus offer unique strategies that are tailored to where your business is in its lifecycle.
That means that if you’re still within that $100k to $2 million range, chances are you’re looking for lead generation or expert-build sales engines (websites, funnels, ads, email campaigns) to drive more bottom-of-funnel traffic.
Whereas if you’re part of a Fortune 500 company, you’re looking for more brand awareness campaigns that aim to keep your brand at the top of consumers’ minds for longer (lift).
Meaning that direct-response marketing is likely not suitable for your campaign goals.
They can save a lot on salaries by providing an in-house feel.
Sometimes, marketing consultants can offer to be in-house advisors that act as chief marketing officers or board-level advisors for your marketing department.
So instead of paying $150k+ on an in-house CMO, you could hire an external marketing specialist and work out an arrangement where they can work part-time or on day rates which still works out to be a fraction of the cost of an executive on a salary.
No holiday pay. No sick leave. No tax obligations (in most cases).
The downside is that if there isn’t an arrangement in place, the consultant’s availability could be booked up in advance, leaving you to fend for yourself.
So there are certainly pros and cons to hiring a marketing consultant.
When Would I Need a Marketing Consultant?
It’s important to get a clear grasp of why you need to hire a consultant. Many people start their journey and think hiring an agency is the best fit.
This section will explore whether that truly is the case — or not.
You don’t have a predictable way of getting new sales
If you’re a service business and you do not have a high-converting website that generates high-quality inbound leads, or you’re an e-commerce business, and you know your cost-per-acquisition, then it’s time to hire a digital marketing consultant.
In addition to the reasons mentioned in the previous sections, consultants will give you clarity on your company’s marketing efforts.
No throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. No more trends and gimmicks because everyone else is doing it.
By hiring a marketing consultant, you’ll get a laser-focused strategy that helps you understand how to fix your leaky sales pipeline or lack of acquisition channels.
You’re unsure about what to do
If marketing isn’t your forte, or you’ve been tasked to hire someone in marketing, sometimes it’s better to hire a consultant who’ll guide you with their marketing expertise without committing to anything straight away.
It’s only natural to be a little confused about where to start. Do you need to run socials? Start a blog? Do this SEO thing that seems to be a buzzword floating around?
By hiring marketing consulting services, you’ll get a crystal clear idea of what you need to do and where to go with your online marketing efforts.
You don’t have time
Let’s face it; you get to a point where you have more money than time. And eventually, you understand the value of hiring people more qualified to the job.
But at the beginning, when you’re a small business owner, you want to take control of every aspect of the business.
That means micromanaging professionals due to budget constraints or not knowing when to let go.
However, as I said above, you will get to a stage where you have more money than time. You learn to let go and trust in the process.
That’s the moment when hiring an experienced marketing consultant is perfect.
And, if you’re past that point or not that type of person, even better. Marketing consultants will take care of a lot of the heavy lifting digital-wise.
Whether it’s finding and hiring new members of your in-house marketing team or taking care of your SEO strategy, consultants are perfect partners who’ll build your business with you until you develop your internal team.
So…did that answer your question about what is a marketing consultant?
As you now understand, consultants play a gigantic role in the success of your business. They’re the oxygen to your sales, the colour of your brand, and the character of your words.
