Looking for a Marketing Consultant?

When you are searching for the best marketing consultant  to hire to improve your business, you need to know how to see through the gloss and polish and get the facts about each prospective consultant’s skills, experience, and customer satisfaction.

Remember that as marketing professionals, these consultants should be highly skilled at sales and spinning details to their best advantage. Knowing what to look for in a marketing consultant  will help you find the right candidate to hire for your project.

HIRING AN INTERNET MARKETING CONSULTANT CAN BE DIFFICULT IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO ASK

When you are choosing a marketing consultant it is important to find someone with experience in your business or industry. A marketing professional with background in your segment of the business world will understand the needs and challenges you face and have experience engaging your clients and potential clients.

Here are some questions to ask prospective marketing consultants when you interview them initially:

• What is your marketing background? (Get specific details – where did the consultant study marketing? What courses? Where has the consultant worked?)
• Where have you worked during your career?
• How long have you worked as a marketing consultant?
• Who are your most recent clients?
• What is the longest time that you have worked for a client? (Remember that you want to see demonstrated success over a year or two – not a series of different clients with nothing longer than a few months.)
• Do you have a portfolio that showcases your recent work?
• What kind of marketing strategy do you think will build my brand image and capture the interest of prospective clients?
• How will you direct marketing efforts to qualified clients so we don’t waste time and money?
• Do you usually work alone or do you work as part of a team? (Specifically, does the consultant work with local skilled talent or does the consultant outsource work to cheap labour in India or the Philippines?)
• Is your focus primarily on marketing or do you consult in other areas? (You don’t want a Jack of all trades who is master of none – find out how much experience relates directly to the type of marketing you require.)
• How do you measure your success for a client?
• How often do you review analytics? (Also ask if analytics are done at an additional fee; a reputable consultant will not charge extra for analytics because the analytics show success and progress of campaigns.)
• May I call clients for a reference or recommendation?
• What are your marketing consulting rates?

As you consider which marketing consultant to hire, take the time to call for references and review the consultant’s websites to see if it looks professional, is easy to navigate, and utilizes the latest social media. Does it have fresh content that is well written and informative? Has the consultant been featured in the media? An exceptional online presence is definitely an indication that the consultant is an expert in the field.

Related Reading

• Looking for a marketing consultant? Here’s a handful of reasons why you should  hire me (Brent Purves)
• Looking for a full-service strategic Internet marketing agency  instead of a consultant?
• Internet marketing strategy & tactics blog