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Choosing Your Marketing Consultant – 5 Questions to Ask Before You Hire
Whether you want to optimize your lead generation efforts or need an expanded creative team, selecting the right marketing consultant is a great way to get the help you need. But with so many options available, how do you know which is the best marketing consultant for your needs?
Once you have put together a list of potential marketing consultants to work with, find out the answers to the following questions when you're deciding who to work with. This process should help you find the best fit for the marketing consultant that will be the most compatible for your business.
1. What industries do you primarily work with?
The way a marketing consultant responds to this question will reveal whether they understand the complexities of your business. If the consultant understands your space or can draw a close parallel, they will be in a better position to scale up your marketing efforts quickly.
Do they have any experience (direct or tangential) in your industry or marketing to the audience you are going after? During the interview, check to see if they speak and understand your industry’s language, or if they can share a few anecdotes that give you confidence that they are familiar with your industry and know which strategies work well, that they can implement right away.
2. What do you think about our current marketing strategy?
Ideally, the marketing consultant should provide you with an objective assessment of what they believe is working with your current marketing strategy and where there is room for improvement. It is an excellent way for you to gauge if they have a good grasp of how your business actually operates.
3. How do you track results?
Measuring and reporting on the performance of each campaign is arguably the most critical aspect of marketing. Your marketing consultant will be unable to deliver the results you expect if you are not aligned with what a successful campaign looks like. A good marketing consultant should be able to define key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to your marketing objectives and explain in detail how they plan to monitor them.
4. What about money?
Another significant factor to consider when hiring a marketing consultant is the budget. You should clearly understand the marketing consultant’s fees and what you will get in return for what you are paying. Fees are charged by the hour, or as a retainer fee, or by the project. Get the specifics, so you are not surprised with a bill you weren't anticipating.
5. Do you have references?
Testimonials and case studies are helpful, but nothing compares to speaking directly with a few references. Ask the agency if they can provide you with a list of references; a good marketing consultant should have no problem providing plenty of references. When you have a list of names, call a few of them and inquire about the marketing consultant's transparency, communication, competence, and professionalism. Do not forget to ask if any unforeseen challenges arose during the campaign and how the marketing consultant handled them.
Ask these five questions during the interview process to start off the relationship correctly with your new marketing consultant.
If you are looking for a marketing consultant who has been helping companies grow for over 15 years, we would love for you to consider Winsby Inc. Call us at 312-305-1970 or fill out an online form to talk to one of our marketing specialists today.