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Top 7 reasons to hire a small business marketing consultant

Written by: Jay Lipe

Article Overview: When should your small business hire a small business marketing consultant? Here are the Top 10 conditions for hiring this all important member of your small business team.

Top 7 reasons to hire a small business marketing consultant

Is your small business ready to hire a small business marketing consultant?
If you’re like most small businesses you’re not sure. But here are 10 of the best reasons to hire a small business marketing consultant…

1. You have a marketing project that’s beyond your staff’s knowledge– I recently helped a client in the consumer durables industry launch 1) a practical, workable marketing plan and 2) an internet marketing based set of tactics. The client turned to me because I have in-depth knowledge in each of these areas and also because I could transfer that knowledge to the client.

2. You face a critical marketing project that exceeds your in-house resources – If getting a critical marketing project out the door is of utmost importance, why not bring in some interim marketing help? This is especially effective if, after the project is completed, either a full timer is hired or the workload returns to normal.

3. You need an outside marketing perspective – Most growing companies can benefit from an outside assessment of their overall marketing effort. A good small business marketing consultant can come in, knock out the marketing project, and go away, without disrupting your staff. Outside eyes keep a marketing effort fresh.

4. Your expertise is not in small business marketing – Your expertise may be in financial planning, or outsourced human relations work, or manufacturing wood components. But the sad fact is that most small business owners have a functional expertise that is not marketing.

5. You need someone to drive your small business marketing forward – A good small business marketing consultant shows up to work on your marketing. When you see that person in the lobby, or get on the line with them for a group coaching session, you know you’ll be talking about marketing. This is a little like hiring a personal trainer. When you show up at the gym, that person is all business. Same with a small businesses marketing consultant.

6. Homegrown marketing looks too….well…homegrown – I can usually tell when a small business’ marketing is homegrown. There’s a preponderance of vague messages, cheesy artwork and poor production values. All these will get the attention of your market, for the wrong reasons. Turn to a professional small business marketing consultant to help your company stand out from the crowd, for all the right reasons.

7. Focus your small business marketing efforts – Too often when I work with my small business marketing clients, they lack focus. Like most people, they’re great at creating ideas, but fall off sharply when it comes time to execute. Part of the reason for this is a lack of focus; they have too many ideas and so aren’t sure where to start. . If the small business would just focus on a few marketing ideas and implement those relentlessly, they’d find themselves better off. Hire a small business marketing consultant who can help you focus on only the most important marketing ideas.

Jay Lipe has been a small business marketing consultant since 1994. He is president of EmergeMarketing.com, a firm that has helped hundreds of businesses grow through strategic marketing. He is also the author of two marketing books: "The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses" and Stand Out from the Crowd: Secrets to Crafting a Winning Company Identity".

Sign up for his free e-newsletter “Marketing Tips & Tools” at www.emergemarketing.com.

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Article Tags: consumer durables, depth knowledge, financial planning, functional expertise, homegrown, human relations, interim marketing, knock out, launch, marketing consultant, marketing help, marketing plan, marketing project, personal trainer, sad fact, small business marketing, small business owners, small businesses, utmost importance, wood components



Related Forum Posts
Experienced Consultant / Advisor - Hi all! I have been working as an independent business consultant for 10 years and think this forum is great! I have never been a real "idea" person, but I am a great planner and implementer -always figuring out how to get the impossible done. I have worked in many different industries including retail, Internet, entertainment and marketing and promotions, preparing business plans, strategic partnerships, marketing plans and arranging for financing for a variety of ventures. I am now in my last year of Law School (I went back when the Internet world crashed) and would like to get back in the entrepreneurial world. I am willing to work as a consultant and advisor for a percentage of either increased revenues or of the back end, depending on the situation. If you are interested, please let me know... Otherwise, I am always available to answer quick questions anyone may have - I know there are a lot of experienced people around these boards, but I'm offering up my $.02...
Re: Should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals - According to Guy Kawasaki, he says "you should only hire and keep people that you'd hustle over to and engage in a conversation...Life is too short to work with people you don't naturally like-especially in a young, small organization" ("The Art of the Start" pg 112). I think the reverse is also true and I wouldn't want to work for anyone I didn't like or want to talk to if I saw him/her outside of the office. In addition, Kawasaki also says "Steve Jobs has a saying that A players hire A players; B players hire C players; and C players hire D players...This trickle-down effect causes bozo explosions in companies. If there is one thing a CEO must do, it's hire a management team that is better than he is" ("The Art of the Start" pg 101). Kawasaki's quote is definitely in favor of hiring the ambitious worker, but do most CEO's even have the humility to admit that someone is better than them?
Re: In-House or Outsource? - Unfortunately, in the South African context, very few SMEs see outsourcing as an option. They believe it is too expensive, and they are paranoid that someone will "steal their ideas". I believe that the three main functions that cannot be outsourced are marketing, sales and strategy. These must be done in house I believe. If you do not have the marketing skills then get them. Hire a consultant or attend a course, but get the skills. Even if you use a consultant, you need to understand what marketing is about, as no one knows your market like you do. Marketing is made to seem difficult and complex, but everyone who really understands their markets, can easily learn to do their own marketing. In South Africa, labour legislation is extremely inflexibile, and consequently labour broking is a large industry. This is an ideal starting point for SMEs in South Africa, as it is a legally complex area, whih comes with severe penalties. I say do it! Rob Smorfitt
Should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals - As a small business owner, should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals? My friend's father is a relatively successful entrepreneur and it's his belief that you should primarily hire employees with no ambition because you can get away with paying them less and they're less likely to leave (thus saving you money from a high turnover rate). "Grunts" are the way to go, even though ambitious workers are typically smarter. What do you think?
RE: Life isn't fair / 'Ol Boy Network - I certainly won't argue that 'Ol Boy Network practices exist and probably always will to some degree because, yes, people like to work with those like themselves. I am curious, though about reactions to the content and approach of the article itself, particularly given that it is from an HR / Management consultant: 1) What does the phrase "'Ol Boy Network" mean to you? 2) Do readers view his discussion as an impartial observation of the phenomenon or do his comments such as "...is not a bad thing," "it's natural," and "are normal occurences" sound like he's expressing an opinion that the practices are OK to continue because that's how it's always been? 3) Would the nature and direction of the content affect your tendency to hire this individual as a consultant? I tried to explore this with the author himself but he was extremely defensive and somewhat insulting regarding the possibility that his article might be perceived as endorsing the practice. I'm looking for a barometer check.


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