Need A Marketing Consultant? Here Are 4 Critical Things You MUST Get Right

In todays business world, the buzz word “outsourcing” is constantly being thrown around. However, before you panic about missing out on the wave, you need to firstly make sure that you know what kind of marketing consultant your business requires, so that you can hire the right consultant for your business needs. Whether you are the owner of a small family-owned business or a larger international firm, you can ask yourself these questions to guide yourself through the process of hiring a marketing consultant, from deciding whether you need a consultant to conducting their activities within your business.  

1. What do you expect from a marketing consultant?

Before you hire your marketing consultant, you need to have a firm understanding of your current team’s capabilities, including their strengths and weaknesses. Ensuring your understanding of these areas enables you to see where your team is lacking, and thus which functions would be best served by seeking outside help from an expert.  

2. Do you require your consultant to upskill your in-house team?

When most people think of hiring a marketing consultant, they think of bringing in an expert with specialised skills to implement a project by themselves. However, many people neglect to remember that many of the best marketing consultants can establish processes and frameworks that will enable your in-house team to drive marketing once the consultant’s engagement has concluded. If you know that this education process is part of your requirements, ensure you brief prospective consultants clearly.  

3. What type and level of work do you want completed?

There is little point in hiring a content marketing specialist if your intentions are for the consultant to help execute a PR strategy. You need to make sure that you properly assess your business for its marketing needs, and choose your marketing consultant based on these needs. Popular types of marketing projects require specialisations in marketing strategy, content, brand, and digital marketing strategy, amongst others. At the same time, understand the level of experience that you require, as hiring a high level, experienced marketing strategist may not be the best use of your budget if all you need is help with execution. Make sure that the level and type of marketing expertise that your consultant has fits with the work requirements, so as not to waste your time, or the time of the consultant.  

4. What are the costs of hiring a marketing consultant, and does this fit with your budget?

It’s important that you have realistic expectations around budget timelines and costs based on your business requirements. Once you know what type of work you need completing and which type of consultant is the best fit, you will have a fair idea of the potential cost of the engagement. Even if you are lucky enough to have a hefty budget for hiring your marketing consultant, making sure you hire somebody with just the right level of expertise to fulfil your immediate needs, rather than overstating the level of experience required, will allow you to keep some money for a rainy day.   If you would like more guidance regarding hiring a marketing consultant, download our free e-book:

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This guide, developed by our experts, provides professional advice for you to help kick-start the process of hiring a marketing consultant for your business. Stay tuned for the next step in finding and hiring the best marketing consultant for you.  

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