How Should I Work With a Marketing Consultant?
Sometimes, as business owners, you are excited to put a marketing plan together and you have the best of intentions to make it happen! But, then it either gets put on a dusty shelf, never to be seen again, OR you realize you don’t have the marketing knowledge to do what comes next! It may be time to hire a marketing consultant to help grow your business. Read more to uncover things to consider when partnering with an outside marketing consultant.
1. Do they ask a million questions and do a lot of research?
As a business owner you know your company better than anyone, and marketers need to know what you know (or as much as possible).What marketing tactics have you tried in the past? Did they work? What is your end goal? Do you have a marketing budget? Who is your target market? What makes them tick? Ensure that your new marketing partner has access to various industry resources so they can create a unique marketing plan designed to achieve your company’s goals.
2. Do you fit well together?
Do your values align? Will your personalities mesh? It is important to make sure there is a good working relationship between business owners and their marketers.You will be working quite closely (or you should be!) with your marketing consultant. They should be your first call when anything marketing, internal or external, comes up, and both of you need to feel comfortable with each other.
3. Do they respect your budget?
Hiring an outside marketing consultant can make people a bit leery. When you partner with someone, be sure that they respect your budget, and will communicate with you whenever they plan to spend YOUR money! It is important that your marketer understands that, even though business may be good, your cash-flow may have stopped for one reason or another! And, it is best to give approval on each individual expenditure, even after you give the“go- ahead”on the plan.
4. Do they understand deadlines?
Making deadlines is a key part of marketing.As a marketer for various companies, every project is placed in order of importance based on the deadline! This helps prioritize projects so we don’t drop the ball.If you have projects you want your marketing partner to work on, in addition to the marketing plan, be sure to communicate a realistic deadline, so they can add it to their list of“to-dos.”They may have more than one client, so be realistic when you make your request.
5. Can they help you measure the results?
What good does marketing do, if you can’t measure the results? The only expensive marketing is that which does not work! Be sure to allow your marketing partner access to the pertinent information required to measuring results. Don’t be shy! If your sales are up for 3 months in a row, PLEASE share that good news with your marketing partner! They want to know so they can beef up what you are doing to improve the results even more! Some companies think that a marketing consultant will work harder, if they believe the plan is not working….WRONG! Marketing companies want to hear about success and reflect changes in the plan to keep doing what is working.
6. Do they have the expertise, or know where to find it?
Marketing consultants do everything from graphic design to public relations. Some companies may specialize in one service or another, so, if they don’t offer all services under one roof, it is important that are able to recommend and work with others in their field who can fulfill all areas of marketing (within your budget and expectations!) Plus, they need to handle all aspects of the projects seamlessly so you don’t have 10 different companies to work with. You have enough to handle! Your marketing partners should want to be the “middleman” and/or contact person for any other companies you need to work with to accomplish your marketing goals.
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