Thinking of hiring a small business marketing consultant to help your business?
Or just want to know what a marketing consultant can do for you?
I’d like to tell you the truth about hiring a small business marketing consultant…
Small business owners know, anything they invest in needs to be results driven.
So before you read on, know that the information below is designed to align with your business goals and maximize your marketing strategy.
Now, if you want to hire a marketing consultant, keep reading…
What Is A Small Business Marketing Consultant?
A small business marketing consultant is a marketing specialist that works with small business owners to identify the gaps and opportunities that are holding their business back from achieving their goals and overcoming challenges.
These goals and challenges can be attracting customers, customer retention, profitability, and growth.
Marketing consultants bring clarity, focus, and expertise to the business.
What does a small business consultant do?
Have you ever consistently fell short on goals you had for your business?
Perhaps now you want to increase your sales by 20%, but aren’t sure how to get there…
Or maybe, you want to increase profitability, therefore invested in advertising to drive more traffic—and nothing happened.
As a marketing consultant, I would have advised to try to convert the traffic you’re already getting instead. We call this conversion rate optimization. And I would have provided you the playbook.
What about challenges you faced that just were too steep to climb over?
You may currently lack a system to retain previous customers…
Or maybe, you’re having trouble creating awareness for your business, so no one has heard of you.
Simply put, you have goals you’re unable to reach, challenges you’re unable to overcome.
I’ve got the expertise to help you…
What can a marketing consultant do for my business?
Source: Statista
For ages, large corporations have always hired the top consulting firms like McKinsey or Accenture to maximize their efforts.
The industry is worth billions.
But now there are opportunities for the little guys like us to work together and tap into the same success.
Small business owners are usually spread pretty thin.
You know the feeling…
Today, you dealt with some business operation issues, worked with your bookkeeper, dreaded the thought of having to think about social media or your website design, and when you finally had a chance to think; you had to run out for an important meeting.
A small business marketing consultant is the brain for your employees’ (or agency’s) hands. We provide the clarity and focus needed to create a small business marketing plan that just works.
How much does a marketing consultant cost?
It depends…
I know. I know. Not what you wanted to hear. But I said, I’d give you the truth and here it is…
The average salary for a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in the US is $173,594. The average salary for a VP of Marketing in the US is $146,709.
The reason these numbers are important is because a tried and true small business marketing consultant with marketing agency experience and small business marketing expertise is going to charge accordingly—and they will provide CMO and VP-level knowledge.
However, you’ll pay a fraction of that salary because they’re not an employee. So, less overhead for you.
A win-win.
What about a Marketing Director? The average salary is $87,506. Still much higher than a consultant on retainer.
Now, clearly a marketing consultant for small businesses isn’t going to cost you those salaries.
However, even having a marketing consultant on a $2000/month retainer is much less than hiring a recent college graduate, and you get access to the expertise of a CMO.
The point is, your return on investment should at the bare minimum double, even triple with a marketing consultant.
In fact, my services will cost you thousands less than an entry-level marketing employee…
But what about hiring an agency instead?
Consultants are about strategy and long-term thinking.
Agencies are tactical and what needs to be done today to adhere to the long-term strategy.
A consultant is often hired to identify gaps and opportunities, to solve a problem. An agency is hired to implement the strategy or plan, if you don’t have an in-house team to do so.
You can choose to work with one or both. But a proven strategy is always a must-have…
When Not To Hire A Small Business Marketing Consultant
Hiring a small business marketing consultant is not for everyone.
As a small business consultant, it’s in my best interest NOT to say that, but it’s true. In fact, I strongly discourage you from hiring someone like me if you meet any of these points…
1. A champion is missing
If you’re not passionate about your products and services…
As a business owner, you need to be a champion for your products and services and it needs to show. If you’re not convinced, neither will your target market.
2. Lack validation in the market
If you lack earned results and want someone else to validate your ideas…
When just getting started, it’s easy to think about hiring someone to do the hard part for you. But, then you give up learning what it takes to sell to your potential customers and rely on a third party for the success or failure of your business.
3. Marketing as a cost vs. investment
If you don’t invest in sales and marketing because it costs money…
Henry Ford once said, “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” If you don’t invest in marketing or have a negative view of it, then you’ll face an uphill battle to embrace a basic requirement in business.
4. Change is bad
If you don’t like change or differing opinions…
It’s hard to push a car if it’s in park instead of neutral. You must be neutral and embrace different ways of thinking and actions if you want results that you have not typically gotten before.
5. Quick and easy
If you believe in magic bullets…
Let’s face it. If everything worked 100% of the time, we’d both be on a beach somewhere sampling the local seafood. Results come from consistently showing up to do the work.
Alright, if you’re still here, here’s why you should…
When To Hire A Small Business Marketing Consultant
Ok, can you relate to any of these below? If so, you’re a good fit to hire a small business marketing consultant…
1. Knowledge and expertise gaps
You recognize there are knowledge gaps in your business and you want to tap into that expertise.
When things get serious, your primary care doctor sends you to a specialist. Having an expert around to lean on when you need to make decisions for the long-term is crucial.
2. Lack processes and systems
You get things done but know there are inefficiencies in your business that can be improved saving everyone more time.
There comes a point in the business lifecycle when things get too chaotic from growth, success, and meeting goals. Processes and systems give you back your time so that things continue running without doing it the long way.
3. Honesty and candor from a peer
You value the need for an outsider’s point of view, telling you like it is, with no internal ties.
Always seek a second opinion. A business consultant by definition is there to do and say what no one else will because they are not an employee in the business.
4. Fresh ideas lead to change
You realize that innovation isn’t a nice-to-have, but a requirement in business.
Adapting and innovating is key to long-term success. All you have to do is look in the news to hear about businesses that have been slow or unwilling to accept change. Where are they now?
5. A commodity vs. a necessity
You don’t want to compete based on price, but based on the value you bring to people’s lives.
Competing on price is a race to the bottom and let’s face it, also attracts the worst customers. This is why working with a marketing consulting to build a strong unique selling proposition will differentiate you from the rest.
6. Willingness to learn
You like that consulting by definition is also training and learning new things as a result.
Readers are leaders and learners are earners. I just made that part up, but I believe it’s true. We have to be willing to learn new things in order to grow and apply that newfound knowledge to our business.
7. A better personal life
You realize that worrying about the business also negatively affects your personal life and you want to change that.
Having worries in the back of your mind while you’re with your family or friends is no way to live. It distracts you and takes away your attention on the more important things life has to offer.
Your business should work for you, not the other way around.
How To Hire A Small Business Marketing Consultant
Alright, if you’ve gotten this far, it means you’re genuinely interested in hiring a small business marketing consultant.
Or at the very least, you’re curious enough to learn more because you believe that goal you have in mind is possible.
So I’d like to offer you a free Clarity Call so we can see what gaps and opportunities your business has.
If we are a good fit, we can discuss working together, if not, you have valuable information to implement on your own.
