Marketing isn’t just for big firms with big budgets. It is part of doing business for all firms no matter what their size. Marketing is the way we communicate the value of our products and services to potential customers. Our products provide solutions to their problems and marketing is how we let them know about it.

When it comes to putting marketing into practice it is easy to get lost. There is so much you can do and yet it often feels like there is no time to do any of it.

You are focused on the day-to-day running of your business, and marketing your business has begun to feel as a drain on your limited time.

This is where a marketing consultant can provide a fix to your marketing problems.

What does a small business marketing consultant actually do?

The first job of a marketing consultant is to take a bird-eye view of your business. To understand what your business goals are and help you craft your marketing activities to meet them.

They will review your marketing strategy, activities and processes. Then use their experience and knowledge to make recommendations on any gaps in your marketing or tweaks to make your marketing more efficient.

The end product of all this work can take many forms – it might be a strategy session meeting, a marketing strategy document or just a chat over the phone.

The important thing though, is whatever your challenge, a good marketing consultant will provide you with some actionable recommendations to solve it.

The second role many (but not all) marketing consultants will offer is to outsource your marketing to them.

Common outsourced marketing services include:

• Marketing Strategy development
• Branding
• Website Design
• Marketing Communications
• Content Strategy
• Exhibitions & Events

You might choose to outsource just part of your marketing activities (for example email marketing or exhibitions) or your marketing in its entirety.

Either way, outsourced marketing can be a useful option for a small business that wants to save the hassle of dealing with their marketing. Or if they feel they lack the expertise to do their marketing justice.

By outsourcing your marketing, you can focus on the day-to-day running of your business and leave the marketing to a specialist.

What are the benefit of a marketing consultant for small businesses

There are lots of benefits to using a marketing consultant as a small business – which is why so many small businesses do.

In many small businesses, marketing will be carried out by either the owner or a member of the team as just part of their overall job. And despite everyone’s best efforts, marketing can slip to the bottom of the to-do list.

A marketing consultant will help to give your marketing structure. They can use their expertise to deliver marketing that works, while being fully-accountable for the results and at the fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

The fact you can call on a marketing consultant when and as needed is especially important for small businesses. You can dial up their marketing flexibly in important periods, and then tone it down when not needed.

In summary, the key reasons a marketing consultant can be right for a small business are:

• They make your marketing accountable
• Your marketing can be flexible to your business needs
• You can tap into the expertise of a highly experienced marketer
• All at the fraction of the cost of hiring in-house

What are the drawbacks of marketing consultants

It is important to be aware that there can be drawbacks to using a marketing consultant. In most cases, these reasons aren’t dealbreakers, but simply common problems to be aware of.

The biggest reasons we see relationships between marketing consultants and small businesses breakdown is over communication and expectations.

This is often a two-way street. The consultant goes in over-promising and under-delivering. While the business expects bringing in a marketing consultant as the final solution to their marketing problems, rather than the first step in working to fix them.

Equally, beware of consultants that just try to sell you services without diagnosing your businesses problems.

No all marketing activities are necessary for every business (especially those with smaller marketing budgets), the best consultants will be the one’s that help you target your spend most efficiently.

Marketing at its heart is often about honesty and openness. The business needs to be honest about being receptive to new ideas and open to hearing things they might not like to hear. While the consultant needs to be honest about what services are really needed and open to understanding the unique needs of the business – not just applying a cookie-cutter approach.

How to find the right marketing consultant

Every business is unique, and not all marketing consultants are created equal.

This means picking the right marketing consultant for your small business can feel a tough task. There are a lot of options, but most aren’t quite right for you.

The first step is to think about what you want from your marketing consultant. What are the business objectives that you want to achieve.

You don’t have to know the how you are going to reach those goals (that’s what the marketing consultant is there to help figure out). But having a clear idea of what you want to achieve and being ready to let the consultant know is a helpful first step.

From here get in touch with a few different consultants and have an initial chat. Small business is all about relationships, and often the personal connection you get from an individual is worth more than just the technical specifications and case studies listed on their website.

Where do I look to find a marketing consultant?

In terms of where to actually find the right marketing consultants, there is no one place to look.

The best place to look will depend on what your business needs are. Are you looking for a digital specialist? A marketing consultant who understands your local area? Or a marketing consultant that is a specialist in your sector?

Online, quite rightly, has become the default port-of-call for pretty much any initial research. This is the spot to look if you are looking for a marketing consultant with real digital nous. As their online visibility will directly correspond to their digital skills.

But be aware this can skew you heavily towards digital marketing specialists at the expense of more niche or local experts. This is not inherently a bad thing, but it is worth being conscious of if you are after a more traditional marketing approach.

You can also ask around your personal network or local business networking groups. Some very good small business marketing consultants often do a lot of work through word of mouth, meaning the best way to find them can be through recommendation and networking.

This approach can also help you find a local expert who really understand the local geography of your business environment.

Finally, if you operate in a specific niche or sector then a trade show or exhibitions can be a good way to find the right marketing consultant. By going to an industry trade show you’ll almost always find a few marketers with stands or doing talks.

These marketers will often be experts in that particular niche and have a better understanding of the particular challenges facing businesses in the sector. This can also be a great opportunity to quickly assess a few marketing consultants in quick succession.

Will a marketing consultant cost too much?

A common first question, especially from smaller businesses, is will a marketing consultant be too expensive for my business?

Afterall, you’ve worked hard for your money, and you don’t want to see it frittered away on services that add no value.

In these cases, you might be pleasantly surprised by how good value a marketing consultant can be. As you can hire a consultant to only work on marketing projects when needed, they can come in at the fraction of the cost of an in-house hire. A marketing consultant won’t come with the fixed costs of an employees’ salary, equipment, training and office space.

A marketing consultant’s role is also to add value to your business. So, whether your aim is to grow your business, save time through slicker marketing processes, or find ways to use your marketing budget more efficiently – a marketing consultant can often cover their own costs through helping to grow your business.

If you are thinking about finding a marketing consultant for your small business and would like to discuss your options. Get in touch and book a complimentary consultation with one of our marketing experts. We will be able to chat through possible approaches to your marketing and advise you on next best steps.

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