3 things to look for when hiring a marketing consultant

3 things to look for when hiring a marketing consultant

Your marketing company chooses you just as much as you choose them – when you’re on the hunt for marketing help for your business, look a little further than simply price and a great sales pitch.

In the business world, when things get rough, the first area where costs are so often cut, is the marketing budget – and I get it. Your focus is on self-preservation, cashflow and protecting your immediate assets.

Which is why there is all the more reason to be very selective of the marketing capabilities you enlist to help you to grow your business.

Here are 3 things which you need to consider when considering new marketing help.

 

  1. Hire a Learner

As marketers, although we’d love to tell you that we know your industry inside and out, there is always something new for us to learn. Yes, the obvious point would be to find someone who is experienced in your market and understands the pain-points and opportunities to give you a head start, but remember that there is a lot of value in an independent mind looking at things from a new perspective. So, if you’re looking for marketing help, make sure you hire someone who likes to ask questions, is naturally curious, and is ready to learn from you, your customers and your markets, to come up with new strategies to extend your business.  After all, if you’re still using the same strategies that you’ve always been using, there’s probably a reason why they’re not working.

 

  1. Hire a Do-er

A new global study of more than 10,000 office workers, revealed that Brits spend a whole month a year (30 days)  doing work that a colleague has already completed. Tasks such as responding to constant emails and message notifications, attending unexpected meetings and chasing people for input or feedback, now consumes 60% of the average office worker’s time at work.  Not great productivity. So, when you’re paying for someone’s time, that amount of non-productivity becomes a catastrophic waste of cash for you.  When looking to hire a marketing person, hire someone who is a hybrid blend of the Strategic And the Tactical. Someone who is able to help you build a plan, and then has the capability to execute that themselves – whether you want them to or not. The ability to execute demonstrates that they understand the requirements, and they are able to give you solid practical advice on how to do things better.

 

  1. Hire an enabler

As much as we would love to work alongside your business for the rest of our business existence, for many consultants like ourselves, we see our roles as filling a gap in your business, to help you grow further and faster. And once growth is there, it may happen that you need to hire your own internal team to help you grow even more. That’s why, when you hire a marketing consultant or company, hire a company that spends as much time enabling your existing teams to work better and more efficiently, hire a team-player and someone who speaks about “we” as much as you speak about “we” – with the “we” being the same persona!

Yes, you want to find a consultant that work can work at your pace, and is able to hit the ground running with the huge need for upfront training. They need to have proven experience in their field and have visible reviews from other customers who have truly benefitted from using their services. Take the time to understand their own mission, what’s important to them, and use a business that becomes a partner in your vision, rather than just a service provider.

 

 

About the Author

Katy Roberts administrator

Katy Roberts has over 15 years's experience in helping businesses amplify their brands, build their customer bases and engage effectively with audience communities in order to build relationship for long-term business success. Having left the corporate world and now working independently since 2015, Katy continues to help local and national businesses tell their story.

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