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Ready for Strategic Marketing Consulting?

Small businesses often wonder at what point, if any, they should seek an outside consultant to provide objective marketing advice or run their marketing functions. There is no clear-cut answer to this question. However, I do offer a few words of advice to small business owners (or managers).

1. Define your needs. To the extent possible, you should know and be able to articulate exactly where you feel such a consultant would be able to help your business. This is important because it helps you to be (and feel like) a partner in the marketing process when you begin to interview consultants. It also helps you to remain a partner as the relationship progresses.
2. Quantify success. Once you have defined your needs, be sure to identify how you will quantify success. After all, regardless of the number of marketing actions taken, you will judge the consultant by the level of success attained through those efforts. Since this is the case, make sure you define your expectations for success (your goals) and be prepared to relate them to the consultant.
3. Define a budget. A good starting point is to determine how much marketing spend you can afford per dollar in earned revenue. This information helps to provide marketing parameters by stating what marketing expense can be tolerated within your industry (and within your particular model of operation) while remaining competitive and profitable.
4. Be open to scrutiny. Small business owners, particularly first time business owners, can feel very personally about their business. As a small business owner, I know this to be true! You might be flustered by the level of scrutiny that will be brought to bear on your entire business by a good strategic marketing consultant. The many questions that you receive are designed to probe your knowledge of your business, of the market, etc. At some point the consultant may recommend that your business model be adjusted in order for you to be competitive. Be prepared for this possibility.
5. Be involved. The marketing process will be a partnership between the consultant and the business owner; both parties must commit to the success of the business venture. Therefore, the business owner needs to set aside time each week for following, understanding, and being involved in the marketing efforts.
6. For a specific need, hire a specialist. Good strategic marketing consultants bring a circumspect approach and like to look at the big picture. So if you are looking for someone to handle a specific need (rather than to provide comprehensive insight for your marketing plans), you aren’t looking for a strategist or overall marketing manager—you are seeking a specialist. For example, if you merely want someone to manage your existing graphic design and printing needs, you should consider hiring a graphic designer/director who takes a consultative approach and is used to working directly with printers to manage projects.

Interviewing and selecting a marketing consultant, as well as the engagement process itself, will no doubt influence positions established prior to the hiring process. You may work with the consultant to create a revised set of needs, a goals statement, and budget. However, all of the above items are necessary groundwork to define for what purpose and at what point it is reasonable to hire a marketing consultant.

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