Hire a Marketing Consultant
Hire a Marketing Consultant
When you hire a marketing consultant, you are gaining an outside person or team who helps a firm with marketing planning and initiatives while saving them time, money and resources. This article will illustrate the reasoning behind why you should hire a marketing consultant.
When many companies are pulling back by reducing staff and spending, it should be a time when leadership is investing in new ways to (re)organize the business through marketing and sales efforts. An outside marketing consultant or consulting firm can help re-energize your team and bring forth fresh ideas to jump start your marketing efforts and increase sales while the competition might be short-sighted and downsizing.
You Don’t Have Enough Time
As a business owner or manager you get so busy working in your business you no longer have the time to work “on” your business. It is a good problem to have – to be so busy you no longer have time to spend on marketing initiatives to support your continued growth. So, why not hire a marketing consultant who understands your business and industry to do some of the heavy lifting for you? This way, you will have more time to focus on operations and customer service. Time is something you cannot get back, so it is advantageous for you and the future of your business to focus on your competitive advantage rather than trying to “reinvent the wheel” to do your own marketing.
Marketing is not a one and done item. Marketing is something that takes a lot of time, dedication and consistency and if you are not able to devote that kind of commitment, it is imperative to hire a marketing professional who will.
You Don’t Have Enough Money
You Don’t Have Enough Money
Every business leader is always thinking about the bottom line. Marketing should be looked at as a business investment rather than a business expense. When done properly, your marketing efforts will help to retain your current clients and attract new ones.
In addition, when you hire a marketing consultant you are hiring a professional who knows how to make the most of a marketing budget. They know what marketing campaigns and expenditures are worth it and will yield a return on investment (ROI).
It is also worth mentioning that when you hire a marketing consultant it is very likely that it will be less expensive than hiring a regular, full-time employee. Here, you can work with the consultant on a part-time or hourly basis to help you reach your marketing and sales goals without sacrificing time and resources for company training and onboarding. In addition, you will not have to pay all of the employee benefits and paid time off as you would a full-time employee.
You Lack Marketing Experience
Most business owners and professionals are not marketing experts. They may have some experience in selling and maybe creating marketing campaigns but they most likely do not have the experience to execute everything successfully. That is where the efforts fall flat.
A marketing professional knows the best ways to reach and engage your target audience. When you hire a marketing consultant, you are gaining access to their marketing and business development experience as well as their network of contacts that can help grow your network. They may even come up with ideas and campaigns you had not even thought of.
Better Engagement with Audience
Having someone who is solely dedicated to your marketing success means you will ultimately have better engagement with your audience. The marketing professional can “take the temperature of the room” and see what your clients really like and what they would like you to do differently.
Ways the Marketing Professional Can Engage with Your Audience
Ways the Marketing Professional Can Engage with Your Audience
You would be surprised how many business professionals are not asking their audience the right questions. Do you know what your client’s problems and pain points are? Well, have you asked them? Sometimes just simply asking your clients what they like and don’t like about your product can yield amazing results. Even if you do not like the answer, it gives you insight on where you need to improve.
- Asking the right questions
- Client Surveys
- Email Blasts
- Social Media
- Webinars
A simple survey you can send out to your clients may only consist of three questions. Having a short survey means a greater chance they will fill it out and send it back because it is so simple. If you want to conduct a survey among your clients and potential clients, ask them these three questions:
- What would you like us to start doing?
- What would you like us to stop doing?
- What would you like us to continue doing?
Simple. And the answers to these three questions will give you a lot of insight on your current product/service offering.
Marketing vs. Sales
Now, if you are looking for someone to meet a sales quota and immediately start closing deals, then a true marketing consultant may not be for you. It is important to understand the fundamental differences between marketing, sales and business development. Far too often all three of these jobs get confused for one another or are rolled into one position. This can leave too much room for grey area and confusion when expectations of the role are not clearly communicated and agreed upon.
Let’s break this down simply:
Marketing Professional: Someone who creates “the script” for the sales and business development professional or team. Marketing includes creating brochures, websites, articles, social media, educational content – any materials or information you want your client to know about your business and what solutions your company provides. Marketing also includes events and presentations. The marketing professional may also get involved in networking activities and business development based on their abilities and experience.
Business Development Professional: A person who networks, builds and leverages relationships on behalf of their company to receive opportunities for new work. This person usually does not close the deal, they turn over the stones to find the opportunity and gives management a seat at the table to close the deal. This is not to say they never close deals but, typically the closer is the sales person.
Sales Professional: A person whose sole responsibility is to generate sales revenue for the company by closing deals. They can, however, also participate in marketing activities and networking events. But their main duty is to directly close sales. Typically, the sales professional has a quota they must meet each month, quarter or year. A quota is usually not indicative of a business development or marketing position.
To learn more about this topic, please visit: IBDPros Article
In conclusion, there are a variety of positives as to why you should hire a marketing consultant. You should consider what your goals are and what you are looking for when hiring a marketing consultant, so everyone is on the same page and aligned for success.
If you are interested in learning more about marketing consulting: please visit www.vailmarketingsolutions.com