5 Warning Signs You Need a Marketing Consultant
Is your marketing working? Do you have time to devise, implement, run and manage marketing campaigns for your business? If you own a small business and do your own marketing, you’re not alone. Nerdwallet conducted a study and found 47% of small business owners run their marketing efforts themselves. (see the study) But, are your marketing efforts working? The answer is not really. Half of all businesses (31.7 million of them) fail within the first five years due to a lack of market demand.
Currently, 10% of small businesses don’t invest in any kind of marketing. And despite the top two channels consumers use for company and product research being online reviews (55%) and company websites (47%), 35% of small businesses believe they are too small to have a website. I believe every small business should have a website where consumers can learn about their products and services. Think of it as a digital business card.
92% of business owners believe that having a website is the most effective digital marketing strategy.
With 81% of shoppers researching products and services online before purchasing, digital marketing is esential for small businesses. Ironically, 50% of small- and medium-sized businesses don’t even have any type marketing plan or strategy. So, how are the 47% of business owners running their marketing efforts?
A successful marketing strategy allows you to build your brand, attract new and repeat customers and generate more sales. In fact, businesses that develop and implement a marketing strategy or plan are three-times more successful than ones that don’t. So if you don’t have a marketing strategy and you don’t have time to develop, implement and manage one, here are some more signs that you may need to hire a marketing consultant.
1. You don’t have a marketing strategy in place.
If you don’t have a clear plan or strategy for marketing your business, it’s a good idea to bring in a marketing consultant to help you create one in the following ways:
Conducting research
A marketing consultant can conduct market research to understand your target audience, competition, and market trends. This information is essential in developing an effective marketing strategy.
Defining goals and objectives
A marketing consultant can help you determine your marketing goals and objectives based on your business, budget, and resources.
Developing a plan
Based on the research and goals, a marketing consultant can develop a comprehensive marketing plan that outlines the tactics, messaging and channels to be used. Additionally, they can establish a reasonable budget, set a timeline, and identify personalized metrics for measuring your success.
Identifying the right channels
A marketing consultant can help you identify the most effective marketing channels for your business, whether it’s social media, email marketing, content marketing, paid advertising and more.
Creating messaging and content
A marketing consultant can help you develop compelling messaging and content that resonates with your target audience and aligns with your brand. The content can be used to enable sales to more effectively present your products and services, while highlighting features and benefits to consumers.
Measuring and optimizing
A marketing consultant can help you track and measure the success of your marketing strategy and make adjustments as needed to optimize performance and achieve your goals.
Overall, a marketing consultant can provide you with the expertise, insights, and resources to develop and implement an effective marketing strategy that drives growth and boosts success for your business.
2. Your sales are stagnant or declining.
If your sales have been consistently stagnant or declining, it may be a sign that your current marketing efforts are not effective. A marketing consultant can help you identify the problem and develop new strategies to increase sales in the following ways:
Identifying target audience
A marketing consultant can help you identify your target audience and develop messaging that speaks to their needs and pain points. This can help you attract the right prospects and convert them into customers.
Developing a sales funnel
A marketing consultant can help you develop a sales funnel that guides prospects through the buyer’s journey, from awareness to consideration to decision-making. This allows you to nurture leads and close more sales.
Improving lead generation
A marketing consultant can help you identify and implement lead generation tactics that attract qualified leads to your business through content marketing, paid advertising, email marketing, among others.
Optimizing sales processes
A marketing consultant can help you analyze your sales processes to identify gaps and areas for improvement and implement strategies to streamline and optimize the process for maximum efficiency.
Creating sales collateral
A marketing consultant can help you develop sales collateral that supports the sales process, such as case studies, white papers, and sales presentations.
Conducting sales training
A marketing consultant can provide sales training to your team to help them better understand your product or service, develop effective sales strategies, and close more deals.
As a whole, a marketing consultant can help you improve your sales performance by identifying and implementing marketing systems that attract qualified leads, streamline the sales process, and improve the effectiveness of your sales team.
3. You are not reaching your target audience.
If you are not effectively reaching your target audience, it may be time to re-evaluate your marketing efforts. A marketing consultant can help you identify who your target audience is and develop strategies to reach them. Here are some ways a marketing consultant can help you with your target audience:
Conducting market research
A marketing consultant can conduct research to gain a deep understanding of your target audience, including demographics, psychographics, and behavioral characteristics. This can help you create marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience.
Developing buyer personas
A marketing consultant can help you develop buyer personas that represent your ideal customer, including their goals, challenges, preferences, and decision-making criteria and processes. This can help you tailor your marketing messages and tactics to specific segments of your audience.
Analyzing customer data
A marketing consultant can help you analyze customer data to gain insights into their preferences, behaviors, and purchasing patterns. This can help you create targeted marketing campaigns that drive more conversions and sales.
Creating messaging and content
A marketing consultant can help you develop messaging and content that speaks directly to your target audience, addressing their pain points, needs, and aspirations. This can help you build trust and credibility with your audience and drive engagement and conversions.
Choosing the right channels
A marketing consultant can help you identify the right channels for reaching your target audience, whether it’s social media, email marketing, content marketing, or paid advertising. This can help you maximize your marketing ROI and reach your target audience more effectively.
Generally, a marketing consultant can help you better understand and target your audience, create messaging and content that resonates with them, and choose the right marketing channels to reach them, ultimately driving conversions and sales for your business.
4. You are not using the right marketing channels.
If you are not using the right marketing channels to reach your target audience, you may be wasting time and resources. A marketing consultant can help you identify which channels are most effective for your business and develop a plan to use them. This can help your business in the following ways:
Analyzing the target audience
A marketing consultant can help you better understand your target audience, including demographics, behaviors, and preferences. This information can be used to identify the marketing channels that are most likely to reach and engage with this audience effectively.
Assessing competitors
A marketing consultant can conduct a competitive analysis to identify the marketing channels that are most effective for other businesses in the same industry or niche.
Evaluating the business goals
A marketing consultant can help your business to identify their marketing goals and objectives, and to select the channels that are best suited to achieve these goals.
Testing and experimenting
A marketing consultant can help you test and experiment with different marketing tactics and programs to identify which ones are most effective for your particular business and target audience.
Monitoring and measuring results
A marketing consultant can help you monitor and measure the results of your marketing efforts across different areas, and adjust the strategy and tactics as needed to optimize results.
As a whole, a marketing consultant can provide valuable expertise and guidance to help your business identify the right marketing programs that will help you reach your target audience effectively and achieve your business goals.
5. You don’t have the time or expertise to handle marketing.
If you are a small business owner and don’t have marketing expertise, it can be challenging to handle all of your marketing needs. Hiring a marketing consultant can save you time and provide you with the expertise you need to effectively market your business.
Here are some ways a marketing consultant can help you save time and increase your ROI:
Providing a fresh perspective
A marketing consultant can bring a fresh perspective to your business and help you to see things in a new light. This can help you to identify new opportunities for marketing and develop more effective marketing strategies.
Developing a marketing plan
A marketing consultant can help you to develop a comprehensive marketing plan that is tailored to your business goals and target audience. This plan can serve as a roadmap for your marketing efforts, saving you time and helping you stay on track.
Implementing marketing campaigns
A marketing consultant can help you implement marketing campaigns across different channels, including social media, email marketing, and advertising. This can save you time and ensure that your marketing efforts are executed effectively.
Providing expertise and guidance
A marketing consultant can provide valuable expertise and guidance on all aspects of marketing, from developing brand messaging to identifying the right marketing channels and measuring results. This can help you to make informed decisions and avoid common marketing mistakes.
Monitoring and measuring results
A marketing consultant can help you to monitor and measure the results of your marketing efforts, and to make adjustments as needed to optimize your results. This can save you time and help you to achieve better results from your marketing efforts.
All things considered, a marketing consultant can provide you with the time and expertise you need to handle marketing effectively, so you can focus on running your business.
Also read, Why Your Small Business Should Hire a Marketing Consultant
A marketing consultant will pour all efforts into promoting your products and services, providing valuable sales enablement materials, building your brand and doing all of the ancillary marketing chores faster and more effectively. This marketing help will allow you to more productively manage your business. Just like an accountant or a sales person, a marketing consultant can take care of an essential portion of your business, so you can focus on your company – without having to hire a full-time employee with benefits.
A marketing consultant adds value to your business. With all the noise and distractions in today’s world, a business without effective marketing, is a business dead in the water.
Digital Consulting Services is a marketing consultancy firm that specializes in developing revenue-growing marketing programs including websites, SEO and increasing lead volume for small and medium sized businesses. We understand small business because we are a small business. We will take care of your marketing so you can take care of your business. Click here to learn more about us.
Unlike most marketing consulting firms, we are transparent and fully disclose our costs and your RETURN ON INVESTMENT. If we don’t deliver, you don’t pay – it’s that simple.