Marketing can easily feel overwhelming. Between paid ads, direct mail, email campaigns, and endless content options, knowing where to start can be tricky. Many small businesses hesitate to invest in it because they can’t see the value, even when they’re doing less than their competitors and are falling behind. Others jump in with both feet, hiring a full-time marketing manager before having a clear strategic plan.
There’s a smarter middle ground: hiring a marketing consultant. If you’re stuck deciding where to go next with your marketing strategy, this guide will show you when it makes sense to bring in a professional consultant and how to hire one.
When Do You Need a Marketing Consultant?
First off, do you even need one? Here are a few signs that working with a marketing consultant is the right move for your organization:
- You’re a sales-heavy organization – For us, this is the most common scenario we get called. You might be in charge of both sales and marketing, or have a marketing coordinator who only supports sales calls and trade shows. A consultant can help develop your marketing strategy to take your sales to the next level.
- You believe marketing is a one-and-done deal – A tough mindset to break. You might have launched a website only to expect leads to pour in. A marketing consultant can help you understand why this approach doesn’t work and why marketing is an ongoing, long-term process.
- You know the marketing tools, but you don’t know how to master them – You could learn the hard way (and waste a lot of time, money, and resources along the way) or get it right the first time. Consultants will help you run your Google Ads and email campaigns.
- You’re a self-starter who needs some direction – If you’re a small team with a limited budget, a marketing consultant can guide you through the setup and some of the pitfalls to avoid. As a result, faster campaign setup with less capital investment.
Whether you’re a startup or a scaling business, a marketing consultant helps build the clarity and momentum that you need to grow your sales.
Why a Marketing Consultant Saves You Time and Money
For the self-starters out there, trying to do it all yourself is rewarding, but often inefficient. Many business owners hit a ceiling when juggling marketing alongside their day-to-day work. In fact, marketing usually gets neglected in this scenario.
A consultant saves you time by focusing your efforts. They can save you money by:
- Taking the right approach to SEO and AEO and avoiding costly mistakes to your brand.
- Avoiding dead-end tactics that don’t work.
- Preventing advertising spend on the wrong target segments or terms.
- Running ineffective and outdated marketing campaigns that waste money.
How Would a Consultant Develop a Working Marketing Strategy?
Before developing a marketing strategy, a good consultant must learn about your business. If they don’t and go right to tactics, move on. That means asking the right questions:
- What’s worked (and what hasn’t)?
- What are your business goals?
- What do you know about your target audience, and have you developed buyer personas?
- How does marketing fit into your overall growth plan?
Once this groundwork is laid, your consultant can then create a strategy with clear objectives, timelines, key performance indicators, and the execution that ties everything together. For example, if your goal is to break into new markets, they’ll help you assess the competitive landscape, target audience behavior, and channel mix. Then, they’ll lay out a campaign playbook, backed by real data, not guesswork.
Is Their Marketing Strategy Backed by Sound Data?
In digital marketing, decisions must be driven by data, not assumptions.
Data tells the story of what your customers are doing, what they care about, and where your business should invest. A consultant with a data-first mindset can identify patterns, validate channels, and adjust your plans as trends shift. They should ask for data from Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Microsoft Clarity, Bing Webmaster Tools, Bing Places, and even your CDN.
What Should You Look for in a Marketing Consultant?
A good marketing consultant brings the three S’s of common sense:
- Simple: Their approach should be easy to understand. No jargon. No fluff. Just clear communication and practical steps.
- Scalable: Your business will evolve, and your marketing strategy must evolve with it. Look for consultants who build adaptive, flexible strategies that grow with you. They don’t take a cookie-cutter approach or try to fit you inside a box.
- Smart: Recommendations must be tied to research, performance benchmarks, and market data. You’re hiring someone to lead with confidence, not guesswork.
Your consultant should empower your business to grow and scale, rather than creating more uncertainty.
How Much Consultation Do You Actually Need?
It depends on the work. Some businesses need a 3-month marketing campaign. Others need a 5-year roadmap with detailed monthly campaigns.
As digital marketing experts, we offer both. We’ve helped businesses A/B test their websites, launch seasonal promotions, and develop long-term omnichannel strategies. We’re also happy to audit your current marketing, then propose a common sense solution based on your budget, timing, and goals.
What Else Do You Need to Get the Most Out of a Marketing Consultant?
Consultants are strategic, but you’ll still need people to activate your marketing tactics.
If you don’t already have an in-house marketing team, you’ll need access to web developers, designers, campaign managers, and content creators. At Uplancer, we provide both consultation and full-service digital marketing execution, so you don’t have to look elsewhere.
That means we don’t just tell you what to do, we can help you do it too. From web design and branding to ad campaigns and SEO, our team becomes an extension of yours; one that is outsourced but feels like your own in-house marketing team.
The Bottom Line / TLDR
If you’re struggling to bring focus to your marketing, a consultant may be a good hire. Whether you’re building a strategy from scratch or refining an existing one, a marketing consultant gives you the clarity and structure to make smarter decisions.
Know when to hire and how to hire one with our above guide. Ready to get started? Uplancer offers tailored consulting packages that combine strategy with execution. We’ll help you build a marketing engine that grows with your business.
